QOC celebrates successful first year of Kun Riyadi with end of season festival

DOHA, May 01, 2018 – Doha, Qatar- Qatar's innovative Kun Riyadi (Be an Athlete) programme has concluded a successful first year of implementation with a celebratory festival hosted by the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOE). The first phase has seen more than a thousand students aged 0-7 years old from schools and nurseries across Qatar participate in sport in a joyful and supportive environment.

Kun Riyadi is Qatar's unique Athlete Development Pathway (ADP) that aims to produce Qatar's future sporting champions by focusing on sports development at every stage from early childhood to post-retirement. The first phase, 'Quality' has been rolled out over the past school year and is directed at children up to the age of seven in nurseries and schools across Qatar. It aims to instil enjoyment and interest in sport from the earliest possible age through exploratory sessions.

Commenting from the end of year festival, Secretary General of the QOC, H.E. Jassim Al Buenain said:

“We are extremely pleased by the success of the first year of our Kun Riyadi programme and by the number of young children that have been introduced to the raw fun and enjoyment of sport. This is key to ensuring that children will continue to participate in sport with confidence long into the future. Our ambition is to continue introducing more children to more sports so that every school child in Qatar has the opportunity to participate and develop through sport. We thank all of our stakeholders and partners for their support in ensuring a successful start to the programme and we look forward to watching it continue to grow and prosper over the years ahead."

Held in the Recreation Centre of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the end of year festival saw schoolchildren demonstrate what they have learned over the school year with Team Qatar gymnasts Ahmed Nabeel and Jana Al Kiki and Team Qatar Swimmer Abdelaziz Al Obaidly, on hand to inspire the schoolchildren with their skills

Commenting on the end of year festival, Director of Sports Affairs at the Qatar Olympic Committee, Mr. Khaleel Al Jabir said:

“Today was an opportunity to celebrate the end of a successful first year of our unique framework that aims to produce Qatari sporting champions. The first phase aims to develop motor skills that are useful for running, jumping and throwing later on in young athletes' lives and we have been able to see the positive impact that the programme has had on our young children. We are very proud of what it has achieved."

Since its launch in October 2017, the 'Quality' phase of Kun Riyadi has been rolled out across three sports – gymnastics, athletics and swimming, supported by coaches from Qatar's national federations who supported schoolteachers in running fun and engaging lessons. Additionally, inspirational field trips to Qatar's state-of-the-art equestrian centre, Al Shaqab and the Lusail Shooting complex enabled schoolchildren to be educated in new sports in an engaging and practical way. The programme also helped break barriers by using sport as a tool to engage everyone in the society, including children with autism.

It is expected that further national federations will be involved in the programme in the next academic year, including the Qatar Tennis Federation. The vision of Kun Riyadi is to expand and grow until eventually all schools and sports in Qatar are involved by 2022.

Commenting on Kun Riyadi, participating Team Qatar gymnast Ahmed Nabeel said:

“It is great to see that there are many great young talents who love gymnastics and love to explore the sport. The Kun Riyadi programme introduces children to sport from a very early age which in return leaves a positive impact on their lives. Through sport, children can try out new things, they learn the importance of hard work, commitment and fair play and it builds on their passion."

Qatar Foundation's (QF) Pre-University Education (PUE) has been an active and effective partner in the roll out of the programme, with two of its schools participating in the first phase and by providing its facilities to host the end of year festival. As an act of gratitude and appreciation for their support, the QOC presented the equipment and tools used for the athletics activities to QF's PUE to use in their own educational programmes.

Mrs. Abeer Al-Khalifa, Executive Director of Academic Affairs, PUE, QF, commented saying:

“We're proud that our students are taking part in such a great initiative. 'Kun Riyadi' aims to inspire interest in physical education at a young age amongst students, as well as teaching them to adopt the constructive values that come along with it like teamwork, cooperation and social unity; those are the values we are keen to encourage and instill in our students' education as well as in their upbringing. At PUE, we're always happy to support such initiatives as they are the embodiment of QF's vision of Unlocking Human Potential, and we will continue providing each and every student with the opportunities they need to reach their full potential."

The Qatar ADP is a five-stage model that provides a comprehensive framework for developing skills at critical periods in an athlete's development from early childhood to post-retirement. The next phases after Quality see participants aged 8-12 develop a foundation of different skills to serve them in a range of sports, before a tailored programme is provided specific to children's individual needs from 13-18 years of age.

At 19, tailored practice, training, competition, and recovery regimes and provided ensuring that athletes maximise their potential. The final stage of development ensures that athletes remain active after their careers and impart their knowledge and experience to future generations participating in the pathway. Athletes can enter this stage at any age depending on whether they decide to revert to playing sport at a recreational level or remain in the professional sphere as a coach or official.

The ADP was launched in November 2016 by the QOC and Aspire Academy, and was a result of a three-year project involving the input of multiple stakeholders, sporting entities and world-class sport development experts from the Aspire Academy to create a framework unique for Qatar. Led by the QOC, it enables Qatar to have a fully unified approach producing future Qatari sporting champions, with the involvement of Qatar's National Federations, Aspire Academy, Ministry of Education and all stakeholders and sporting entities.

Share this News

Facebook Whatsapp Twitter Email