Today, Tuesday, the activities of the Sport Day in the State of Qatar, in its 12th edition, kicked off in an annual tradition and an unprecedented initiative unique to Qatar, to raise awareness of the importance of sport and its role in the life of societies.
This year's edition of the National Sports Day is held under the slogan "The Choice is Yours", and it is unique as it is the first to follow the historic hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha.
Qatar's approval of the Sports Day in 2011 coincided with a few months after it won hosting the World Cup on December 3, 2010, as the first Arab country, as well as the first country in the Middle East to win this honor.
The State of Qatar organized an exceptional edition of the 2022 World Cup with the testimony of the world and FIFA (Reuters)
The state celebrates the Sports Day every year, in response to Emiri Resolution No. 80 of 2011, which stipulates that Tuesday of the second week of February every year be a sports day, and consider it an official holiday. The first sports day was held in Qatar in 2012.
The activities of this Sports Day were held outdoors in many sports facilities and public places such as the Doha Corniche, Aspire, Katara, Lusail Trail, and various parks, including the Museum, Sheraton, Al Rayyan, and Al Bidda, along with all walking and running paths and sports stadiums, which aim to urge all members of society to adopt healthy lifestyles. And make sports an integral part of their daily lifestyle with the aim of enhancing their mental health.
Public parks in Qatar turned into playgrounds for playing sports (Al-Jazeera)
The hashtag “#Qatar_Sports_Day” topped the communication platforms in Qatar, and Qatari activists, Qatari institutions and platforms shared videos and pictures of the various activities on the Sports Day, amid widespread praise for devoting a day to sports in the country.
The Father Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, participated in the activities of the country's Sports Day this morning, along with the participation of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Misned, who called for contributions to "relief the afflicted families and those affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria," through her Instagram account.
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A post shared by Moza bint Nasser (@mozabintnasser)
Qatar Foundation, in cooperation with Qatar Charity, has called for a fundraising march for the relief of those affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, under the title "We Walk for Humanity".
All official institutions organized special programs for the Sports Day through sports venues and facilities designated for sports in the country, and in coordination between sports institutions and bodies.
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A post shared by Qatar Foundation (@qatarfoundation)
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Qatari embassies and consulates abroad organized various activities on the Sports Day.
The Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, participated in the events, and tweeted on his Twitter account, saying, "The State's Sports Day is receiving increasing turnout year after year."
It was a special and pleasant morning as I joined the children of the Shafallah Center, Al-Noor Center for the Blind, and the Orphan Care Center (Dreama) in the activities of #Sports_Day, which is increasingly popular year after year..Wishing everyone for a day full of activity, fun, and positivity #Qatar_SportsDay #The_choice_yours #State_SportsDay_2023
pic.twitter.com /beELwM5idn
- Khaled bin Khalifa Al Thani (@KBKAlThani) February 14, 2023
"Sports Day is an event we look forward to every year"
Qatari citizen Saleh Al-Saadi believes in the ability of sport to self-esteem, self-confidence, community participation and the achievement of collective goals, which made him keen to accompany his young child, who did not exceed 5 years, during his practice of sport in the celebrations of the National Sports Day this year.
Holding the hand of his child, Al-Saadi wandered around the Doha Corniche and in the nearby parks to practice walking, and he also participated in many recreational games and light sports with his little one.
Al-Saadi told Al-Jazeera Net that the benefits of exercise are reflected in the physical and psychological health of a person, and prevent exposure to diseases and contribute to his formation and growth in a good way, "so I am keen to practice it and raise my child on it."
Al-Saadi believes that sport is important for the physical and healthy development of children (Al-Jazeera)
He adds that the country's sports day has become an event that we look forward to every year, especially since Qatar is interested in sports and has provided all the ingredients for practicing it in a large way, so there must be a role for the citizen or resident to practice sports not only on one day in the year, but on a daily basis.
As soon as you leave your home, or 10 minutes away, you find a garden, park, or green space in which you can practice sports. The state has provided the appropriate environment for practicing sports throughout the country, and has also provided specialized facilities for professional practice, according to Al-Saadi.
The citizen explains that Qatar has become a first-class sports country, in light of hosting a group of the largest sporting events in recent times, most notably the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which met with great organizational and technical success.
Qatar Sports Day, about 100 public and private entities participated in its activities (communication sites)
The importance of exercising
In turn, George Nimr, the interim doctor of the College of Health Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, stresses the importance of working hand in hand in order to raise the importance of sport and its importance in our daily lives, so that it becomes a way of life from the child to the adult, as the goal of the National Sports Day.
Nimr told Al-Jazeera Net that exercising has many different benefits. Small movements of the body are very important in making it work and grow in the optimal way to prevent symptoms of aging and various diseases.
A tiger explains that every person needs to do specific exercises in order to be in good health (Al Jazeera)
And he adds: “Sport is an essential pillar of the sciences that we study and develop in the College of Health Sciences, as we know very well that every person needs specific exercises for his body, and from here lies the importance of knowing the sports that we practice in order to be in good health.”
And, "We work daily with our students and researchers to learn about all diseases, and to know what constitutes exercise that suits every person, whether he is sick or healthy, and therefore we must allocate a daily place for sports so that we can enjoy a life worthy of us," according to Nimr.
The Sports Day aims to raise awareness of the importance of sport and its role in the life of societies, and to make it an essential part of the daily life of the individual.
This Qatari Day included 130 various activities, including various sports, in which about 100 public and private entities participated.
Public parks witnessed a great demand for sports (Al-Jazeera)