They even pole vault in Qatar...

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArti ... eeast&col=

Athletes back from training in Europe
Dateline Doha by Gina Coleman

21 July 2005


MORE than 80 student athletes from Qatar's Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence have returned to Doha from a summer camp in Europe, hosted by Bayer Leverkusen, many having tried alternative sports and beaten their own 'personal best' records in their own sports.


Amongst them were several boys who will join the academy full time only in September. The academy is a training ground for Qatar's future medal-winners and provides both their regular education and intensive sports training. The summer training camps are designed to provide the student-athletes with new life experiences, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures.

Exercising during the summer vacation is also vital for their fitness and to preserve the skills they have learnt during the year.

Apart from attempting what were, for them, totally new sports, the youngsters found that their training helped improve their general athletics skills such as hand-eye co-ordination. One group of eight students received professional tuition in judo, fencing and gymnastics. Others spoke to former Olympic Games competitors about their experiences. All benefited from competing against some of the world’s leading young athletes in their own events.

Aspire's multi sports head coach ,Kerry Hill, who was part of the delegation, said: “The boys proved particularly receptive to a range of exciting new sports. They quickly acquired new skills, covering human movement and conditioning principles".

Michael Browne, Aspire’s head football coach, said: “Our young soccer players have learned valuable lessons from their challenging matches, and the boys who are joining us in September gained crucial experience. Our 13 and 14-year-olds competed in a series of friendly matches across Germany and in Metz, France, playing two matches against Bayer Leverkusen, one against FC Köln, and one match each against Metz and Borussia Moenchengladbach.

"The tempo of European football is totally different from that in Qatar, and our boys rose to the challenge admirably. Having proved that they are able to shine in a demanding foreign environment, against some of the best young players in Europe, they seem well-placed to develop their sporting careers in the coming years.â€Â

[achtungpv]

a respectable NR of 5.22