By Joseph Varghese
Staff Reporter
Team Al Khor won the third Annual Rowing Championship, ‘Shwalif’ organised yesterday by Qatar Olympic Committee as part of the fourth Traditional Dhow Festival, being held at Katara, the Cultural Village.
The Traditional Dhow Festival is an effort to revive the Qatari marine heritage and folklore. Considered the most exceptional maritime heritage festival in the region and the world, it is characterised by participation from various GCC countries. The festival comes to a close today.
A total of eight teams took part in the rowing competition. Team Al Khor won the championship by completing the race in 14.42 minutes. Team Al Wakrah came second in 15.32 minutes and Team Laffan came third with a timing of 16.18 minutes.
All the winners were honoured at a special ceremony immediately after the competition. HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, secretary general and CEO of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, general manager of Katara, presented the trophies to the winners.
Each team had 11 participants. Many were seen rowing the boats singing traditional folk songs. The competition was so close, that there was barely a minute’s gap each among the three teams that won the first three positions.
One of the spectators at the competition said the dhows used for the competition were called Shahoof in Arabic, and were traditionally part of the daily life of the people in the region. Each dhow is about 16 to 40ft in length and six to 12ft in width, with their height ranging from three to five feet.
These dhows were traditionally used for fishing and transportation of small goods. Each dhow can accommodate about 10 people.
Another spectator said the festival and the accompanying competitions bring back a lot of memories about the past. “When we were children, these boats were an integral part of our life. Many of the people used to go to the sea using the dhows for fishing. They were also used for carrying several goods from one place to another or even to the neighbouring countries.”
