ABU DHABI, 24th January, 2022 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi Sports Council announced Monday the successful completion of Abu Dhabi Schools Champions’ Season 2 first phase with 14,337 students participating from 105 schools.
The first phase of Abu Dhabi Schools Champions, which is held in partnership with Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE), Department of Community Development, kicked off in October 2021 as an intra-school competition with the participation of Cycle 1 (elementary school), Cycle 2 (middle school) and Cycle 3 (high school) students from schools across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra competing in 5 sports: football, basketball, volleyball, handball and athletics.
Top performing students and teams from each school will now qualify to compete in an inter-school competition in the second phase of the competition which takes place from January 2022 to March 2022. Winning teams were rewarded with medals during award ceremonies which took place in the schools in the presence of officials from Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE).
Phase 1 also featured the Abu Dhabi Schools Champions Swimming Festival, which took place in November 2021 with 50 of Abu Dhabi’s top young swimmers at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Olympic City Swimming Pool in the lead up to the FINA World Swimming Championships, providing students with the opportunity to compete at world-class standards.
Commenting on the success of the first phase, Aref Hamad Al Awani, Secretary-General, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said, "We were delighted to witness the overwhelming response to Abu Dhabi Schools Champions, with our partners the Ministry of Education, ESE and the Department of Community Development. This attests to the importance of a tournament of this caliber that allows all male and female students across different age groups to compete in a world-class tournament that encourages all students to play sports and get active. We look forward to a great competition in Phase 2 where teams from different schools will face off against each other."
A groundbreaking multi-sports league, Abu Dhabi Schools Champions is in line with Abu Dhabi Sports Council’s mission to elevate the level of school sports in the nation and promote health, wellness and happiness. It also aims to encourage the discovery of local talent and reinforce the nation’s shared vision to raise a healthy future generation.
Taking place across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi Schools Champions is open to all schools, at no cost, to encourage the largest number of youth to be active, gain tournament exposure and the chance to be discovered and nurtured. The tournament is executed to world-class standards with team and individual competitions.