Dividing the continent into five regions and activating the work of committees to serve the sport
An Asian Junior Championship was introduced for the first time in the history of the great continent
We support our world champion Barshim in winning the World Athlete of the Year award
We plan to achieve satisfying results in the challenge of the 2014 Asian Games
HE Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, President of the Asian and Qatar Athletics Federations and Vice-President of the International Federation, affirmed that the meetings of the Asian federation, which he chaired in the Chinese city of Wuhan, were successful because the work was organised, noting that he had put the house in order internally and organised the work in the federation to achieve the desired goals.
Committee work
His Excellency said they organised the work distinctively through the sub-committees relied upon heavily to accomplish the work in service of the board, with the federation appointing vice-presidents as chairmen of committees, and that the next meeting will be held in Doha next March to continue the work of developing athletics on the Asian continent, along with a committee meeting to present their vision for the board’s work.
5 regions
His Excellency affirmed that the first meeting set the roadmap for work in the coming period and activated the role of the board, and also opened the door for participation by the Asian athletics federations and discussion of their concerns, and finding a solution to the various problems they face, saying that in this regard they believe the problems of the various federations must be resolved before beginning the development process, as the continent has been divided into internal zones for the purposes of development, namely East Asia, West Asia, South Asia, and North and Central Asia.
Levels system
HE Dahlan Al Hamad, President of the Asian Athletics Federation, affirmed that the levels system was put up for discussion by the federation’s board, which is about raising athletes to a certain level after which they can perform at their best from that level onward, and that the federation also set a strategy to serve the federation for three years at the level of the junior age categories, which will deliver the required results, a situation that did not previously exist, and the reaction from the continent’s federations, now confident of the sport’s development in the coming period, has been outstanding.
Al Hamad said that an Asian Junior Championship was introduced for the first time in the history of the great continent, in order to give more attention to the base that represents Asia’s future.
Support for Barshim
HE Dahlan Al Hamad commented on our Olympic and world champion Mutaz Barshim’s inclusion among the ten nominees for the Athlete of the Year award from the International Athletics Federation, according to the annual tradition in which the federation chooses one of athletics’ champions based on their level of development and their achievements, saying that Mutaz Barshim is a source of pride for Qatar athletics and that his inclusion among the ten nominated names has our full support to become the International Athletics Federation’s athlete of the season next November, and that he deserves it according to the federation’s ranking of him as the most improved and progressive in the high jump.
Al Hamad called on everyone to vote for Barshim on the International Federation’s website.
A successful season
Al Hamad affirmed that the Qatar Athletics Federation’s sporting season was successful on all fronts and yielded numerous achievements both domestically and internationally, noting at the same time that Qatari clubs delivered good standards this past season across all age categories, enriching the sport and bringing forward promising talents, and confirming that Qatar athletics continues to succeed in its various programmes.
He said these wonderful achievements are the fruit of the unlimited support and great attention given to athletics by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the esteemed Amir of the country.
His Excellency said: looking at the results, we find that the season was distinguished with great effort from everyone – clubs, athletes, coaches and technical staff – and that the overall excellence in standard this season reflects the great work done by the clubs in the previous period in terms of results at all levels… it is true that everyone who strives gets their share, and the clubs strove to present themselves well and achieved, according to their efforts, results in the technical areas where the indicator is the athletes’ results for the season… but if we were asked whether this is our ambition, I would tell you no… we always strive for the best standard, which makes us more keen on development in the sport at all administrative, technical and organisational levels, for the sake of better results and achievements that enhance the standing of Qatar athletics on the international stage.
Developing athletics
His Excellency added that we always focus on developing athletics more and more, and the constant search for the best makes us reflect a great deal on ourselves and evaluate our output in the past season, and before the start of the new season we work to make the new season better than the one before it, and the next one better than the one before that, and so on… especially as we approach a new challenge, the 2014 Asian Games, where the Games are considered a great challenge for everyone with the aim of reaching distinguished results that enhance the standing of Qatari athletics at the Asian level, especially since the Asian Games carry great importance, particularly as an achievement there remains for four years, that is, until the following Games, and this is why our focus is heavily on the level of the challenge and achieving success in it, because it remains in the memory for a period, and we hope for success in it given its great importance and great technical value as a strong challenge.
Age categories
His Excellency said that in the Athletics Federation we focus on the base and the different age categories, especially since working for the future requires great effort and focus that does not stop at the seniors alone for the sake of development, but also the juniors, for the sake of continuing our progress in achieving results, which is why we raised the number of competitions in the season’s calendar in order to reach a distinguished competitive format that helps the juniors gain exposure and develop their technical standard.
On honouring the old champions of the Gulf?
His Excellency said: among the things that found appreciation from everyone was Qatar’s embrace of the champions of athletics in the GCC countries from earlier periods, who enriched the field with achievements, an event that deserved to be marked for what it means in terms of loyalty to everyone who excelled in athletics in an earlier period, and we hope that this will continue at all Gulf championships.
An intervention from the Golden Arrow
During the press conversation with HE Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, the golden arrow of athletics and former Qatari champion Talal Mansour interjected, praising the great role played by HE Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, President of the Asian and Qatar Athletics Federations, in his work employing all Qatari champions throughout history to work for the development of athletics and the achievement of successes in it. The golden arrow said that the Qatar Athletics Federation is moving with steady steps toward success and involves everyone in the work of developing athletics, and gives a special standing to everyone who excelled and achieved among the old Qatari champions. Talal Mansour affirmed that as former athletes and champions who achieved a great deal for Qatar, they find themselves fully appreciated for the work the federation is doing, given that it does not overlook the great effort of the veteran athletes, saying in this regard that the federation is proceeding on a sound path in athletics and that this will add many more achievements in the future.
