Abu Dhabi Schools Champions, organized by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Department of Knowledge and Education, and Inspiratus returned in its third week of action, where young athletes showcased their best performances in front of onlooking sports clubs scouts
Abu Dhabi Schools Champions enables public and private school children to compete in popular sanctioned sports including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, and athletics, with gymnastics and swimming to follow after the end of the festive winter holiday period.
1000 athletes from 205 registered schools across the capital will showcase their teams’ skills in the opening round of the different competitions amid high levels of intensity and emotion for the opportunity to advance to the next round.
The third week kicked off across multiple venues across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain amid impressive levels of high sportsmanship and intense competition between participating teams and athletes, with young boys and girls from Cycles two and three vying to rack up maximum points prior to the play-off phase. In Abu Dhabi, football games took place at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Stadium, while Al Jazira Club hosted the basketball, volleyball, and handball championships, in addition to the Officers Club welcoming athletics participants. In Al Ain football games were played at Al Ain Club whereas the Brighton College opened its doors for the basketball championship.
Some of the weekend’s key highlights in basketball included a nerve-racking encounter between GEMS Winchester and Merryland International School, where the former triumphed in one of the third week’s best matches and subsequently cemented their place at the top of the table in cycle 2 for boys, while Horizon Private School outscored Yas Academy in cycle 3 for girls to rack up crucial points ahead of the coming weeks of the tournament.
Commenting on the kickoff, Mr. Talal Al Hashemi, Abu Dhabi Sports Council’s Director of Abu Dhabi Schools Champions, said: “We are proud of the high level exhibited by the young athletes across all sports, and aim that this year’s tournament serves as a threshold for discovering young talents across the capital. Abu Dhabi Schools Champions highlights the importance of sports to school children and the community and builds a culture that embraces sports as part of their lifestyle.”
Al Hashemi added: “Abu Dhabi Schools Champions encourages Abu Dhabi’s young athletes to participate in sports and maintain healthy lifestyles, in addition to providing these young athletes a platform to express their best performances and exhibit their talents.”
Partnering with Abu Dhabi Clubs, Abu Dhabi Schools Champions will create a pipeline of athletes for UAE clubs, through its talent identification platform. Scouts attended various games to identify and select talents for their teams and scouted talents will undergo a selection process with rounds of trials and annual announcements for selected players.
ADSC is open to all public and private schools, free of charge, encouraging the youth of Abu Dhabi to be active, gain tournament exposure at world-class standards and to be discovered by Abu Dhabi clubs, which has attracted a great wave of schools to register in the biggest sporting competition in Abu Dhabi.
The Finals will be held in Abu Dhabi and will include a community festival with an awards ceremony announcing the winners and recognizing outstanding athletes. Prizes include professional training camps with Abu Dhabi Sports Council’s global partners, trips to see live professional league matches and visit some of the world’s best sports clubs as well as tickets to global sports events organized by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, where they will meet the world’s best athletes.
A break from action will take place ahead of the festive winter holiday period, with action resuming thereafter.
For more information visit champions.adsc.ae
For more information on the standings visit https://champions.adsc.ae/standings
