BEACH SPORTS – BAHRAIN is set to send around a 100-strong delegation to the third GCC Beach Games, set to take place starting later this week in Muscat, Oman.
The kingdom’s delegation includes athletes, coaches, support staff, and officials who will be taking part in all eight of the meeting’s sports. These include beach soccer, beach athletics, sailing, beach handball, tent pegging, beach volleyball, paramotor, and marathon swimming.
From the Bahraini squad, close to 60 of the members are athletes, both men and women. The kingdom’s women’s participants will be going for gold in the sports of beach athletics and sailing.
The Bahrain Olympic Committee has been stepping up its preparations for the multi-nation event, which will also features competitors from the other five GCC countries – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait Qatar, and hosts Oman.
The kingdom’s mission director is BOC Arab and international relations head Maryam Mardana. She chaired a recent meeting with other BOC officials to iron out all arrangements ahead of the third GCC Beach Games.
During the gathering, arrangements for the opening ceremony and parade of nations, the media plan, the delegation’s needs, flight arrangements and entering the delegation’s data into the event’s official website were discussed, as well as the distribution of the official Bahrain kit and equipment for athletes.
The final lists of the participating teams were also received.
The first group of the administrative delegation is scheduled to leave today, with another departing for the Omani capital tomorrow.
The official opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday, when action in beach handball and paramotor will also be held.
The first medals of the Games will be handed out on Saturday in paramotor, which is a unique form of the extreme air sport of powered paragliding.
Sailing contests will begin on Sunday and then beach soccer will kick off on Monday.
Beach volleyball, beach athletics, and tent pegging will take place from Tuesday onwards, and the marathon swimming will be the last to get underway, on Wednesday.
The last day of competition will be on Friday next week, when the final medals in beach soccer, beach handball, beach volleyball, and marathon swimming will be up for the taking.
The third edition of the GCC Beach Games is part of the official calendar of Gulf sports competitions, approved by the presidents of National Olympic Committees of the GCC countries.
The Gulf teams will gather in a competitive atmosphere reflecting the spirit of beach sports, which reflect the region’s passion for these games and strengthen bonds between athletes and spectators in an atmosphere of fair competition and high sportsmanship.
The first-ever edition of the GCC Beach Games was organised by Bahrain in 2010. The kingdom’s athletes participated in six sports then, including beach soccer, beach handball, beach volleyball, bodybuilding, sailing, and open water swimming.
The second edition took place in Doha, Qatar in 2015. The Bahrainis also competed in six sports, including beach soccer, beach handball, beach volleyball, 3x3 basketball, sailing, and swimming.
More than 300 athletes competing in 39 events across the eight sports are expected in Muscat later this week.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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