Skiers wearing the UAE's colours are winning hearts as they race to qualify for the Winter Olympics 2026.
The national team is popular on the international circuit as the unlikely competitors from the desert, with loud cheers from the crowds everywhere they go.
“People are always asking us, even the journalists and TV shows want to know, ‘You’re from Dubai, how do you guys ski?’” coach Mohammed Moulay told The National.
“We tell them nothing is impossible, we can ski indoors anytime.”
Emirati skiers from varied backgrounds – high school pupils, university students and software engineers – have a single mission: to represent their country at the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in northern Italy.
To qualify for the Winter Olympics, the UAE team must compete in a specified number of international events and gather a certain number of points.
This will involve Alpine skiing, a signature Olympic event where athletes zip down a vertical descent at breathtaking speed, and the slalom, where they zigzag through gates or plastic poles marking the course.
They will also compete in freestyle competitions that will require acrobatic skiers to launch themselves into the air twisting in spins and flips.
Chasing the Winter Olympic dream
When many people head out of the UAE to escape the summer heat, it is practice as usual for the national ski team.
They pull on their helmets and protective goggles and glide down indoor slopes as they prepare for the world Alpine competitions leading up to the winter games.
“I love this sport. I’m the first female Emirati to represent the UAE in Alpine skiing and it’s my No 1 priority to qualify for the Olympics,” said Hamda Al Suwaidi.
“I know I can make it happen by training every day, being disciplined and believing in the goal.”
Al Suwaidi strapped on skis as a teenager just as a hobby but it turned into her “passion” five years ago. At her training session at Ski Dubai, at Mall of the Emirates, she crouches low while making sharp turns.
“I went from knowing nothing to wanting to learn more to become the best,” she said.
The 27-year-old trains daily after she finishes work as an IT engineer at a Dubai firm. She realises it's a steep learning curve, with a lot of time to make up on competitors.
“I started racing at 22, in Europe they start racing at age six,” she said.
Along the way – like her teammates – she has had her share of falls. A metal rod fitted in her right leg to set a fracture still sometimes aches, two years after the operation.
“The metal in my leg hurts when it gets too cold in the mountains.
“But the passion drives me to become stronger, to train harder.”
Desert team's 'biggest challenge'
Most Emiratis on the team learnt to ski inside the glass-encased slopes of the Mall of the Emirates, under the watchful eye of Mr Moulay.
This is where they mastered sharp manoeuvres using poles to control breakneck speed.
A competitive skier who represented Morocco, Mr Moulay is also head coach at Ski Dubai, where he has spotted many potential athletes.
“My dream since I was a kid was to participate in the Olympics, but it didn’t happen,” he said, while watching his wards weave to a stop at training, throwing up powdery snow as they halt.
“I’m not going to compete but I want to be there with my athletes from the desert, it will be a proud moment.
“Being in Cortina would be a dream come true. If we make it, we'll be the first UAE national team to be in the Winter Olympics.”
It was in 2022, that the UAE was ratified as a full member of the International Ski Federation (FIS), opening the doors for athletes here to compete in the Winter Games that's held every four years.
It also ushered in FIS-accredited international snow sports competitions to Ski Dubai, drawing thousands of professional athletes.
While skiing in summer is often out of reach for some professional skiers, as high elevation resorts are expensive, Emirati skiers enjoy all-year-round access at Ski Dubai.
The Emirati team trains at Ski Dubai in the mornings and late evenings to avoid the crowds.
Their biggest challenge, Mr Moulay adds, is to “compete against people who have grown up in the mountains”.
That's why the UAE team heads to Switzerland and Austria for training camps that help them acclimatise to blustery winds and low visibility.
“We have to explain every image – how it’s sometimes slushy, sometimes foggy, sometimes icy – until they go overseas and discover it,” Mr Moulay said.
“Indoors, there are different difficulty levels but it’s always the same conditions.
“We schedule overseas camps so they get as much experience of what is waiting for them outdoors.”
Currently, the UAE has three squads – the main team preparing for Olympic qualifiers and world games, a second competing in regional games and a third group of skiers aged 10 to 14 years.
Brave hearts
Talking about the thrill of launching into aerial manoeuvres that merge speed and agility during freestyle competitions, 17-year-old Sultan Al Ghandi said it calls for a “strong heart”.
“A brave heart,” chimed in 18-year-old Abdullah Al Rasheed.
“The challenge is [to face] the fear. Everybody gets scared when they see a jump but once you hit it, you go – ‘Oh this is easy,’” said Sultan.
“You want to do more, do something harder.”
He balances the dual pressure of studying in senior school with global competitions.
“My school is helping me chase my dream of skiing and competing in the Olympics,” he said.
Al Ittihad Private School Jumeirah sends him work to be completed when training overseas and postpones tests until he returns.
As well as training on the slopes, the young skiers, who competed in the junior world championships in New Zealand last year, work out in the gym – and on the trampoline.
“The trampoline pushes you up in the sky and you have time to learn tricks, especially for the jumps,” said Sultan.
Mr Al Rasheed, a student at the Higher Colleges of Technology, says he knew from the first time he skied – at the age of age 11 – that this was his sport for life.
“It’s about excitement, joy, adrenalin,” the aviation engineering student said.
“No matter how good you are, you need to keep practising, because at any time someone could take your spot.
“It’s about loving the sport and keeping on going.”
'Skiing is life for us'
“The challenge is competing with the mountain people,” said high school pupil Abdullah Al Balushi.
“We don’t have access to the mountains all the time, but skiing is life for us.”
Hassan Al Fardan, 24, said perceptions are changing.
“Before you would not see an Emirati doing Alpine skiing, it’s not a common sport in the Middle East,” he said.
“Slowly, people are getting to know us. They recognise us at competitions, and even cheer for us.”
His first overseas competition with elite skiers was in France during the World Championships, last year.
Mr Al Fardan juggles his skiing with university studies and work.
He says the biggest test is competing against countries with a tradition of winter sports.
“These people grew up in snow, we grew up with sand,” he said.
“But it’s a good challenge to have.”
