Sailing: Inter-school Regatta finale on Saturday

Muscat: An incredible effort from local schools in the Sultanate has seen twenty-four educational establishments represented in the 2016 Renaissance Inter-school Regatta.
Oman Sail’s four sailing schools hosted the competition’s heats, which took place on November 5 and 15 at Marina Bandar Al Rowdha, Millennium Resort Mussanah, Sur Marina and Al Mouj, Muscat.
The annual regatta was hosted in partnership with Renaissance Services, who have worked with Oman Sail since 2009 to support the development of the Sultanate’s youth.
This year’s competition welcomed a strong field — 109 children aged between 8 and 12 years participated in the racing, with teams of 3-4 representing each government education school.
The top three teams from each qualifier will now showcase their skills on the water in the grand finale, which will see twelve schools battle it out in a bid to be crowned 2016’s best sailing team in the Sultanate.
The racing is set to take place from 12-2.30pm at Kalbooh Beach, Muttrah on November 26. At 3.30pm the prize giving ceremony will be presided over by Ali Bin Salim bin Ali Al Jabri, Shura Council Member for Muscat, David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail and Stephan Thomas, Renaissance Services CEO.
The inter-school competition’s final is just one of the attractions at Kalbooh beach this weekend as Oman Sail will also be hosting Fun Day celebrations for all families from 10am to 5pm on November 25 and 26.
The opportunity for the public to try out water sports for free is offered as part of Oman Sail’s Sports Awareness Campaign, a national initiative that has been designed to increase participation in sports. The campaign has educated hundreds of students in Oman about the benefits of maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle.
It is hoped that the range of activities on offer this weekend will inspire many more Omanis to engage in sport. For those students who have been competing in this year’s Inter-school regatta, the benefits of their participation are already apparent. Shareefa Yousef Al Wahaibi, the Principal of Qantab Public School said: “The efforts of Oman Sail coaches are evident in the results of our kids. Our students in Qantab Public School were very determined in their training due to a lot of backing from their parents, and they actually managed to get the 1st place in the heats of Bandar Al Rawdha. I think these results are not just good for the winners alone; they will be a great example for their peers.”
Jasim Al Mujaini, Principal of Al Khalil bin Ahmed Al Farahidi School, who will also be competing in the final this weekend, agreed, saying “I thank Oman Sail for giving our children the opportunity to practice sailing in a professional environment. Our children competed strongly and fairly during the competition and we saw the results of their hard training come to life. I would also like to thank the coaches who care for our students and have looked after their training for all this time.”