Qatar Extreme Sports founder Farhan al-Sayed poses with participants in the ‘1st Go Skate Boarding Day Championship’.
By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
More than 50 participants from different expatriate communities joined the “1st Go Skate Boarding Day Championship” held at the Al Sadd Club grounds recently.
The event was held as part of celebrations of the “Go Skate Boarding Day” on June 21 which was also celebrated in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Japan and major cities worldwide.
Among the winners included Kiel Batao, who was named the Game of Skate champion; Karim Daman as the Best Run champion and Charles Silla as the Highest Ollie champion. Some of the best BMX riders performed during the competition, enthralling the crowd with their acrobatics and bike tricks.
Farhan al-Sayed, founder of Qatar Extreme Sports (QES) and Qatar Chain Reaction (QCR), told Gulf Times that he is promoting skate boarding and BMX riding, to give members and enthusiasts more exposure.
“I also want to organise and support their events,” said al-Sayed, who has been sponsoring various sport competitions in Qatar. He is expecting to have 500 members by the end of this year.
He believes that skateboarders and BMX bikers are among the most hard working sportspersons in the world. “It takes a long time to train and years of practice to improve your skills.”
In a bid to further popularise extreme sports, al-Sayed said they will be hosting the 1st Skate Boarding and BMX Championship 2013 on September 27.
The venue will be announced later through its fan page on Facebook. Besides this competition, they are also planning to hold at least 10 events every year particularly for the 2013-2014 season.
He also sponsors events of cycling groups in Qatar like the QCR, United Philippine Cyclist-Qatar and Padyak Qatar. This included a competition held in Duhail and which had the participation of 70 cyclists from the UK, Malaysia, Australia and the US.
“My goal is to promote and support cycling, skate boarding and BMX riding in Qatar and to bring awareness about sports and how to live a healthy lifestyle,” said al-Sayed, adding that many of the active participants are Filipinos.
“I personally find that the Philippine expats are the most active sports community in Qatar,” the Qatari national explained.
He thanked HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for supporting and leading Qatar to become the sports capital of Asia and the Gulf region. He also thanked Philippine Ambassador Crescente Relacion for fully supporting the activities of QES.
Al-Sayed also revealed his father Salem was the first cycling champion of Qatar in the 60s.