Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Mukayamna summer programme is giving children aged 6 to 16 early access to diverse sports, building confidence, healthy habits and potential pathways towards future athletic development across Qatar.
The camp, organised through Pre-University Education at QF, allows young participants to spend their summer exploring disciplines including cycling, taekwondo, swimming, basketball and volleyball. The wider initiative also features the Mukayamna X Ability Friendly summer programme, placing inclusive participation within the season’s sporting activities.
Abdulla Shaheen al-Kaabi, head of Sports Affairs at Pre-University Education, told Gulf Times that the programme was designed to create opportunities for children to discover activities they may not previously have tried.
"We have just started the summer sports camp,” he said. "This kind of camp focuses on sport and gives our students more opportunities to try new sports.”
Rather than concentrating on a single discipline, the programme introduces children to different coaching environments, physical skills and competitive experiences. Al-Kaabi said participants "come to join and explore a new sport and a new experience”, while the camp also gives them opportunities to take part in competitions.
"For athletes and elite athletes, it is usually preferable to start at an early age,” al-Kaabi said. "That gives them more confidence, gives them more skills and gives them time to improve as they grow.”
That early exposure can be especially valuable during the summer break, when structured activities offer children a productive way to remain active, interact with others and discover whether a particular sport could become a lasting interest, he added.
"We also try to work in parallel with the Qatar Olympic Committee’s vision and strategy, which seeks to improve and provide more opportunities for our athletes and students,” he added.