Beach Touch Rugby to kick off at Katara on April 17

By Sports Reporter/DohaKatara 2015 - Beach Touch Rugby will kick off at the Cultural Village Foundation-Katara, on April 17 at Katara Beach No 4. The sports meeting will be hosted by Qatar Touch Rugby (QTR), with the Cultural Village Foundation-Katara as a cultural partner.  The beach competition is the one of its kind that will be organised officially in the Middle East and has some strong interest and backing.  Katara director general Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti said, “The Cultural Village Foundation-Katara organises and hosts diverse sport events throughout the year, such as marking the Sport Day and hosting the beach soccer championship. Katara has also hosted FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 AFC Qualifier Qatar, and the 2nd GCC Beach Games. In addition, Katara hosts traditional marine events such as the Dhow festival, the Senyar Championship, and the Menya competition. Despite having ancestral heritage, these types of events can be perceived as marine sports as they require a high level of fitness and competitive skill. It is worth noting Katara managed to organise over 100 sport events during the National Sport Day celebration.”  Dr al-Sulaiti added: “Organising and hosting similar sport events and activities, afford the public a glimpse of various sports in a bid to introduce them to its practice after having an idea about its rules. We exude hope that the Beach Touch Rugby Challenge will achieve success and grab a significant presence of audience.”For his part, QTR president Samuel Rico vowed to a deliver an unforgettable experience. “It has been a long time coming and we will make it well worth the wait,” he said.Touch Rugby has been enthralling many around the world since the early 60’s and the Katara beach tournament weekend will be no different. The open division contest aims to pit the best of the best on the prominent soft sand and highlight the physical and social attributes that Touch Rugby has to offer. Commenting on the event, Rico said, “We are thankful to Katara for providing us a world class venue as we aim to create a fun and competitive atmosphere, encouraging health and fitness through our sport”.QTR is affiliated and endorsed by the Federation of International Touch (FIT) acting as the governing body of ‘Touch Rugby’ in Qatar. QTR is also responsible for the development and growth of the sport at all levels.   Touch Rugby or Touch, as it is known, is a minimal contact sport that is played worldwide by men, women and children of all ages. Touch Rugby has presence in over 82 different countries including Qatar. The Touch World Cup, to be staged in Australia later this month, will see 93 teams from 25 countries competing across nine divisions. Rico is upbeat about the progress of Qatar on the international sports scene stressing that he is “very optimistic that Qatar will and can host the Touch Rugby World Cup in the near future”.The Katara 2015 - Beach Touch Rugby tournament will see support of brands like McDonalds, XXL, Doha Rocks, Hurricane Storm RC, Gulf Agency Company (GAC) and the Lions RFC.