From the OCA
Tent Pegging added to programme
HANOI, November 2, 2009 - The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) gathered today at the 55th Executive Board Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam to review the status and progress of preparations for upcoming Asian Games on the OCA calendar.
OCA President His Excellency Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah presided over the proceedings which included a presentation by the Muscat Asian Beach Games Organising Committee.
Muscat 2010 updated the Executive Board on the status of construction at Al-Musannah Sports City, the main venue for the Games, and provided three proposals for consideration and approval.
Firstly, the Executive Board approved the addition of tent pegging to the Muscat 2010 sport programme. The sport has a long-standing tradition in Oman, and the Sultanate will use the opportunity of hosting Muscat 2010 to share the unique sport with all of Asia. Traditionally a military manoeuvre used during war-time, tent pegging quickly evolved into a competitive sport and now has a strong following of athletes internationally. There are various events within the sport of Tent Pegging including team and individual competitions.
The next item for approval on the Muscat 2010 agenda was approval of the official mascot concept. The Marketing & PR Directorate of the Muscat Asian Beach Games has created a concept for three animals to represent the Games. All three animals live in Oman and are currently threatened or endangered due to various environmental and human effects.
The Green Turtle, representing the Omani sea, is an animal that returns in the thousands to lay its eggs each year on the beautiful Omani beaches, the Houbara, representing the skies of Oman, is a magnificent bird of the desert and one of its only healthy resident breeding populations in the Arabian Gulf is found in Oman, and finally the Tahr, representing the land, lives on the steep rocky slopes in the northern part of Oman and is facing endangerment. Characters will now be designed to represent the mascots and launched in the coming months.
The final item on MABGOC’s agenda was to receive approval of the Muscat 2010 Games Slogan “Together We Shine”.
MABGOC Director General Habib Macki explained how the slogan was developed to signify how the whole of Asia will come together in Oman in 2010 bringing the shining OCA sun along with them.
“The OCA, the Omani people, local and expat workforce, volunteers, athletes, officials, the 45 Asian National Olympic Committees, and spectators will come together at Muscat 2010 and their combined efforts will ensure the Games will be an outstanding success setting a benchmark for future Beach Games,” he said.
The 2nd Asian Beach Games is a multi-sport event sanctioned by the Olympic Council of Asia and will be held 8-16 December 2010.The Games encourage Asia’s youth to participate in sport and celebrate the vast and varied cultures found across the continent. It works to uplift national pride and create a festival of cooperation and camaraderie. The Asian Beach Games are composed of a variety of modern sports as well as variations on traditional sports. Twelve sports are on the Muscat 2010 programme: beach soccer, beach handball, beach kabaddi, beach sepaktakraw, beach volleyball, body building, jet ski, marathon swimming, sailing, tent pegging, triathlon and woodball.
