In an effort to promote Sport for Life and provide students across Qatar the opportunity to connect with professionals in sport – Team Qatar’s volleyball team welcomed 50 high-school students from the American Academy School to their training facility at Al Arabi Sports Club where they delivered an interactive masterclass.
During the visit, six-member Team Qatar volleyball athletes exhibited great team spirit in taking turns to explain the sport and its rules. Students from the 10th, 11th and 12th grades observed as the team illustrated different positions held by each volleyball team member. Over a brief presentation, the team also demonstrated the basic scoring guidelines when playing a game and laid down the health benefits and acquired skills from practising team sports in general.
Team Qatar’s volleyball team setter Khalid Shamiyeh said, “Having school students visit our training today was an impactful experience not only for the students but for us as a team. This reminded us of how important it is to always connect with younger aspiring people in Qatar; it definitely brought the best in us. I hope we were able to present volleyball in its enticing form making it an appeal and a choice of sport to the school boys.”
Before the practice session, students were encouraged to ask questions – some highlighted the reasons behind the team’s choice to take up volleyball. Other questions focused on the type of training and the different diet routines the team follows.
After the theory session, the athletes ran the volleyball masterclass that demonstrated what a regular training session looked like for the team. The students were divided into groups and each Team Qatar athlete took lead in starting a warm up and diving into practice with his group of students. To give students the full volleyball experience, Team Qatar’s athletes joined them for a quick and competitive match that then brought the school visit to an end.
Qatar’s first participation in volleyball took place at the Asian Volleyball Championships in South Korea in 1989. Qatar’s Asian achievements continued to be significant when the national volleyball team finished 4th during the Doha 2006 Asian Games. The latest Team Qatar volleyball team victory was when they brought home the Asian Men’s Volleyball Cup 2018 gold medal.
Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) celebrated its 40th anniversary on March 14, marking tremendous successes in the different sports fields at all levels over the years. During the ceremony, QOC secretary-general HE Jassim al-Buenain stressed on the organisation’s refreshed image and strategy. The new approach involves QOC to focus on uniting, inspiring and engaging the community through Team Qatar athletes.
Keeping that in mind, the QOC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and national federations, are arranging for 40 school visits this year. Team Qatar’s school visits will help QOC accomplish its mission to promote sport participation to the next generation and the whole community.
Team Qatar volleyball athletes held a demonstration and practice sessions with 50 students from American Academy School.
