Katara director general Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti (centre), Qatar Touch Rugby (QTR) president Samuel Rico (right), IEC general manager Joe Kharrat (second from right), and Doha Rugby Football Club (DRFC) marketing and sponsorship director Jim Hamilton (second from left) at the press conference yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
The Beach Touch Rugby Challenge will kick off at the Cultural Village Foundation-Katara tomorrow, at Beach No. 4. Katara is the cultural partner of the tournament.
This was announced during a press conference yesterday in the presence of Katara director general Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, Qatar Touch Rugby (QTR) president Samuel Rico, IEC general manager Joe Kharrat, and Doha Rugby Football Club (DRFC) marketing and sponsorship director Jim Hamilton.
The beach competition is a one of its kind event that will be organised officially in the Middle East and has some strong interest and backing.
Commenting on the occasion, Dr al-Sulaiti said: “Culture and sport are strongly correlated. Culture has a key role in creating civilisations and enhancing communication and interaction among people, and so does sport. It strengthens relationships and facilitates co-operation and affinity between nations. They both have a pivotal role in shaping the humane and civilised intellect, which fosters the values of love, tolerance, and mutual respect. It is from this perspective that Katara has joined the Beach Touch Rugby Challenge as a cultural partner. In addition, it is Qatar’s interest in sport that has turned Doha into a venue for international sporting events.”
He added: “Katara considers holding several tournaments, championships, and sporting events as vital. Although Katara is a comprehensive cultural city that aims to uplift the cultural and creativity movement, it tries to make sport a culture and lifestyle.”
For his part, Rico said: “It is QTR’s vision to facilitate and nurture the development and expansion of touch rugby in the country, holding first class international Touch Rugby meets including the World Cup. QTR further wishes to create and develop competitive national teams that can participate on the global stage.”
He explained that the competition on the day will kick off at 8am and continue into the early evening. Twelve teams consisting of 8 players will be divided into round robin groups. Each team is guaranteed 4 games before advancing into the elimination knockout phase ultimately leading to the finals.
“All in all there will be 39 matches consisting of 5 minute halves except the finals which will be extended to 7 minutes. That’s a whopping 7 hours of non-stop Beach Touch Rugby Action. All players will receive a participation award with the winners and runners up all receiving trophies and medals,” Rico added.
DRFC’s Hamilton said: “We at Doha Rugby concur and support QTR and its initiatives to develop the game. We share the same vision as Touch for Rugby and we are always exploring avenues that best suite rugby and its development. It is worth noting that Rugby will be catapulted to the international stage at the next Olympics making it one of the most popular sports in the world.”
IEC general manager Kharrat indicated the importance of sponsors and partners saying “their presence not only provides plenty of entertainment and activities on the day but it reiterates their commitment to Qatar’s national Vision 2030”.
The spectacle will see Qatar’s finest touch rugby teams vying for the most prestigious beach title of year. VIP’s, dignitaries, families, friends and lovers of sport are all expected to embrace the competition.
It is noteworthy that Katara has provided adequate parking to accommodate the large number of teams and supporters expected, while QTR has arranged a free bus shuttle service from Doha Rocks to the venue. The event is open and free to public.
