A leading UAE sports official has urged aspiring Emirati sportswomen to attend the third annual International Conference Sports for Women (ICSW) at Emirates Palace hotel on Monday and Tuesday to learn how sport can empower them.
Sporting legends Dame Kelly Holmes, a double Olympic athletics champion, and the 2013 Wimbledon-winner Marion Bartoli will be taking part in talks on the theme of âSports without Barriers’ — and Huda Al Matroushi, Chairperson of the UAE Female Fencing Committee, is among those hoping for a bumper local turnout.
Dame Kelly, who did the 400-metre and 800-metre double at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and the retired French tennis ace Bartoli will be joined by Marianna âMuffy’ Davis, the American Paralympic cyclist, sit-skier and mountain climber, who set a Guinness World Record for winning three gold medals at the 2012 Paralympics, and UAE Paralympic athlete Thuraya Hamad Al Za’abi.
There will also be a host of other women sports personalities and officials present, including the UAE weightlifter Amna Al Haddad and the Brazilian footballer Marta.
Al Matroushi said: “I call upon Emirati girls to attend the conference and take advantage of the sessions and workshops because that is the way to strengthen the foundations of what has been learnt and possibly achieve more.”
The topics of the five panel discussions are: A blessing in disguise — Sports & Special needs; Development of Community & Culture and the role that sports play; Sports sponsorship; Road to the Olympics 2016; and Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers.
The two-day conference is being held under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairperson of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
It has been organised by the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy (FDMA) under the leadership of Fatima Bint Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairwoman of FBMA and Chairwoman of Abu Dhabi Ladies Club.
Al Matroushi added: “The FBMA has bridged the gap for everyone by continuously organising the conference, which showcases the latest breakthroughs, research and important studies in the field of sports. This conference also brings together the global expertise of specialists in the field of sports.
For more information on ICSW 2015, visit www.fbma.ae or follow the conference news on Twitter @ADICSW using the designated hashtag #ICSW2015.
