Hamdan bin Mohammed praises the success of the sixth session of the "Dubai Fitness Challenge" 2022

 His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, praised the remarkable success of the sixth session of the "Dubai Fitness Challenge" 2022 and the great achievement it achieved by attracting a record number of participants amounting to 2,212,246 people of different ages and physical fitness abilities, expressing His Highness He expressed his pride in the response shown by the participants, citizens and residents, as well as visitors who were keen to participate in achieving the goals of the challenge and made Dubai one of the most active cities in the world over the course of thirty consecutive days.

His Highness valued the efforts of those in charge of the Dubai Fitness Challenge for its good organization, as well as for everyone who contributed to the success of this great community sporting event. A city to live, work and visit.

This came on the occasion of the conclusion of the activities of the sixth session of the "Dubai Fitness Challenge" 2022, in light of a great turnout in order to achieve the goals of the initiative, which is held annually under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as it was launched by His Highness in the year 2017 to make Dubai the most encouraging city in the world. The society in its various groups pays attention to health by making exercise a part of their daily lifestyle, especially since it is the only city in the world that offers its residents and visitors a full month of comprehensive and free fitness activities.

Ahmed Al Khaja, Executive Director of the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, said: "Since its launch six years ago, the Dubai Fitness Challenge has inspired many success stories in terms of physical and mental health for participants of all ages and fitness levels. The challenge will remain a source of inspiration for citizens, residents and visitors of Dubai. Dubai, to encourage them to adhere to a healthier and more active lifestyle. We were pleased to achieve a new record with the participation of more than 2.2 million participants this year, including nearly 35,000 cyclists in the "Dubai Cycling Challenge" and more than 193,000 runners in the "Dubai Running Challenge" On Sheikh Zayed Road. We cannot commend the commitment of residents and visitors of our city to prioritize improving their health and fitness.”

His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, said: "The great success of this year's session demonstrated once again our common commitment to the importance of giving physical and mental health a special priority within our daily lives as one community working together to achieve one goal, which is a healthier and happier future." The Dubai Fitness Challenge was launched to provide an opportunity to enjoy a huge range of fitness activities and events spread across the city, and to take advantage of the city’s sports infrastructure, to encourage them to challenge themselves to reach new goals and adopt a healthier and more active lifestyle. ".

The 2022 session included a program full of virtual events and unique sporting activities, during which participants were encouraged to allocate 30 minutes a day of their time to exercise for 30 days, and to motivate residents and visitors of Dubai to embark on a journey to enhance their physical fitness.

This year’s edition, which was held from October 29 to November 27, also witnessed a distinguished schedule of activities within two fitness villages over a period of 30 days, which are the “DB World Fitness Village in Kite Beach” and the “RTA Village in Last Exit Fitness”, and 19 A city-wide fitness center, a host of unique sporting events, and thousands of free sports classes.

Sheikh Zayed Road witnessed the return of the two most prominent events during the month of the challenge;

The Dubai Cycling Challenge sponsored by DB World Group, the Dubai Running Challenge sponsored by Mai Dubai, in addition to the Dubai Expo City Sports and Fitness Weekend, more than 45 events organized by partners, and more than 13,000 classes. Free fitness across the emirate.

The fitness villages and centers attracted more than 263,000 participants who experienced a wide range of sports activities and events.

Including paddle tennis, football and rowing, and a wide range of group fitness classes suitable for all ages and fitness levels.

To motivate participants to adopt a more active lifestyle and build new healthy habits, the Dubai Fitness Challenge collaborated with the world's leading smart exercise apps such as Fitbit, Fitze, STEPPI and Count'd, Core Direction, LES MILLS, McGregor FAST, Runkeeper, Technogym, ENHAPP and Hygear, over a period of 30 days, by providing a series of various exercises.

And based on the initiative encouraging individuals to move, be active, and enjoy the wonderful places in the open air, some other features included, including the cooperation of more than 285 partners and gyms, and the participation of international sports brands, including Adidas, Nike, Asics, Under Armor, Puma, and Reebok, PepsiCo;

the joining of various hotels and shopping centers that have shown their support through dedicated sporting events and exclusive promotions;

In addition to free check-ups from health service providers across the city;

And the participation of schools across the city by offering more sports classes within their programs, in addition to organizing school trips to various fitness villages during the challenge period.

The initiative was also highly supported by a group of government partners and private sector partners, who helped promote community spirit, including the organizers: Dubai Economy and Tourism and Dubai Sports Council;

Sponsored by DB World Group, Mai Dubai and Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA);

And in cooperation with Sun & Sand Sports, Aviv Clinics, Emirates Airlines, Emirates NBD, Etisalat by &e, Fitbit, North Shamal-Kite Beach, Last Exit, Official Partners Aster Hospitals & Clinics, and Arabian Automobiles Dubai Chamber, Lipton, and the Sport Society;

In addition to the media partner, the Arab Radio Network, ARN;

In addition to the government partners, they are the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, the Events Insurance Committee, the Dubai Health Authority, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, the Dubai Police, and the Emirates Foundation for School Education.

Since the launch of its first edition in 2017, the Dubai Fitness Challenge has contributed;

significantly in encouraging Dubai residents and visitors to adopt a healthier lifestyle and lifestyle, as a report issued by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism on last year's session of the challenge, which was held from October 29 to November 27, 2021 - showed the great positive impact of the Dubai Fitness Challenge in Promoting a healthy lifestyle in the emirate over the past five years.

Since its inception, the challenge has witnessed a steady increase in interest and participation, with the number of registered participants increasing by more than 180% from 786,000 in the inaugural edition in 2017 to 2.2 million in the 2022 edition. The number of participants in the Dubai Running Challenge increased by 176% from 70,000 runners in The inaugural edition in 2019 to 193,000 in the 2022 edition. The riders participating in the Dubai Cycling Challenge increased by 75%, from 20,000 in 2020 to 34,897 riders in 2022.

And he highlighted the growing reputation of Dubai as one of the best cities in the world, the "Cities That Follow a Healthy Lifestyle Report 2022" issued by the British "Linstore" Foundation, a report that evaluates 48 cities to determine which is the best in terms of providing the requirements of a healthy life based on ten metrics, including available physical activities. outdoor activities and the cost of monthly gym memberships, which were among the top priorities on the Dubai Fitness Challenge calendar.

Dr. Ramadan Al Balushi, Acting Director of the Public Health Protection Department at the Dubai Health Authority, said.. “At the community level, the Dubai Fitness Challenge has greatly helped in raising public health awareness and better interest in working to improve physical fitness.

The event encouraged people to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle.

The awareness activities launched by the Dubai Health Authority play an important role in improving the lifestyles of individuals.

This not only improves the lifestyle of the community, but also directly helps in disease prevention.

The Public Health Protection Department at the Dubai Health Authority cooperates regularly with various stakeholders with the aim of encouraging community members to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and to focus on the importance of regular exercise.”

He added, “Along with launching school health campaigns in Dubai on the importance of diet and exercise, the Health Authority collaborated with many companies such as the Landmark Group to launch public health campaigns such as the ‘Beat Diabetes Campaign’ as the city-wide initiative continued to achieve its goal of Positively impacting the health of community members through a wide range of health, sports and fitness activities.

According to a Dubai Fitness Challenge survey conducted after the 2021 edition, participants reported massive psychological benefits including positive self-esteem (28 percent) and improved mental health (25 percent).

The survey showed that 52 percent of the total participants logged between 30-60 minutes of activity per day, while 24 percent achieved more than that and logged more than 60 minutes per day.

Overall, 88 percent of all participants in the 2021 event reported achieving their goals of setting aside 30 minutes per day of their time to exercise for 30 days.

Over the past five years, the Dubai Fitness Challenge has been a catalyst for the development of Dubai's sports infrastructure and fitness facilities across the city.

The Roads and Transport Authority announced earlier this month that it will increase its network of cycle paths from 542 km achieved in the first quarter of 2022 to 819 km in 2026, as part of the Dubai Urban Plan 2040 which aims to make Dubai a better city. In the world to live, work and visit.

The running paths developed by Dubai Municipality in the various parks extend to 37.7 km, while the cycling paths in the parks extend to a length of 15.7 km.

Dubai Municipality has also developed a total of 12 kilometers of walking paths on public beaches.

Cycling and running tracks have been very popular, with about 1.86 million people using them so far in 2022.

The growing awareness of physical fitness in the Dubai community is reflected in the increase in the volume of trade in sports products in the emirate.

The value of Dubai's foreign trade of sports equipment in the year 2021 amounted to about 1.2 billion dirhams, as imports amounted to 882.37 million dirhams, exports amounted to 118.56 million dirhams, and re-exports amounted to 219.244 million dirhams, and in the first ten months from January to October 2022, the value of Dubai's foreign trade of sports equipment amounted to about 1.1 billion dirhams, as imports amounted to 759.492 million dirhams, exports amounted to 132.982 million dirhams, and re-exports amounted to 204.761 million dirhams.

The seventh edition of the Dubai Fitness Challenge will be held from October 28 to November 26, 2023.

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