ABU DHABI // Something has been stirring in the country's waters lately: a swelling movement to encourage swimmers of all levels in what is described as a family-friendly mass participation sport.
The organisers of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival hope to attract 700 entrants - from amateurs to elite swimmers - to compete in races next month. Already, 150 people have registered from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the October 16 event, which will take place on the beachfront of the capital's Corniche. Officials expect a further 500 to join over the coming weeks.
"We want to embrace the whole community, which is why we've included so many kinds of events, from the family races to the elite," said Jamie Cunningham of Professional Sports Group, which is organising the event.
"It's a great mass participation sport."
The swim meet will be bringing some international competitors to the Corniche, including Saeed al Jasmi, a member of the UAE national swimming team, who will compete in the Waha Capital Mile contest, the key event of the festival.
By far, though, most of the competitors will not be elite athletes of al Jasmi's calibre. The Muellers, for example, are an Australian family of five ranging in age from 14 to 50, and all will be competing.
The youngest, Paul, is tipped to outkick his family members in the open water mile. He can do a mile in about 26 minutes and 30 seconds, about half a minute faster than his sister Sarah, 18, and brother, Tom, 17.
Paul, along with the rest of the Mueller family, has already competed in several triathlons - a race usually consisting of swimming, cycling and running components.
"I like to compete against Sarah and Tom and see my times improve," he said. "I'd love to be a professional Ironman or be in the Tour de France."
The family has been in Abu Dhabi for seven years. In their native Darwin, in northern Australia, they had a pool at home. From as young an age as possible, Jennifer Mueller has had her children in the water.
"Primarily, as a mother, it's been about safety," she said, "but it's also such a great way for them to be fit and healthy in a low-impact sport where you're not worried about them getting injured."
The children have been competing since about age four and although the teenagers take part in meets at their school, Al Khubairat, and community competitions at The Club, they say it is really hard to find events in the capital. Instead, they travel to competitions in Dubai.
"There's much more of a culture of swimming back home in Australia, but it's growing here," said Tom, who said that even at school it is "a struggle" to get people swimming.
"But we want to see more stuff in Abu Dhabi, rather than having to travel to Dubai for these things all the time."
Dubai will be hosting the World Short Course Swimming Championship from December 15 to 19 at a new, 10,000-seat aquatic centre being built in Dubai Sports Complex, Dubailand, at a cost of more than Dh1 billion.
When completed, the Dubai Aquatic Centre is expected to be the largest indoor facility of its kind in the world. Al Jasmi, the UAE national team member, will take part in the Dubai World Short Course Swimming Championships.
One of its hotly tipped competitors is Andrew Chetcuti, 17, who will be representing Malta in eight events, including the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly. The Dubai College head boy scooped eight gold medals in competitions in Malta this summer and broke national records in the 100m freestyle and the 100m freestyle relay, with times of 53.06 and 53.10 seconds respectively.
Andrew, who has lived in Dubai since he was two, said he would like to see more clubs and organised competitions in the UAE, which would help raise standards.
"There are only two clubs here and without big competitions, people don't have role models to aspire to like they do in sports like football. But access to good quality training and facilities is just as important," he said.
"That's why I think the World Championships is a really good thing for Dubai, making swimming more public and getting more people interested in it."
Libra Sports has attracted 400 children of all nationalities, from age three to 17, to its seven academies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi since it launched last year.
Over the summer, 1,000 children attended its swimming summer camps.
"The demand has been overwhelming," said David Jenns, the managing director of Libra Sports. "There is so little provision here for lessons, but also little provision of development for elite athletes in the field."
For more information and to register for any of the events, go to www.swimabudhabi.com.
@Email:mswan@thenational.ae
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vault%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBilal%20Abou-Diab%20and%20Sami%20Abdul%20Hadi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EInvestment%20and%20wealth%20advisory%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOutliers%20VC%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E14%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners