Dubai, UAE: Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), in partnership with Dubai Sports Council and Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, and supported by Dubai Municipality, Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, and Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, announced the third annual Dubai Sports World (DSW), the indoor summer sports event in the Middle East. Building on the success of the previous editions, Dubai Sports World will be bigger than ever, with a wide range of sports and family entertainment set to dominate from June 21 to August 21, 7 days a week, from 8am to midnight, and until 3am in Ramadan.

In addition, exciting professional football action will take place at the Dubai Indoor Football Championship in Sheikh Rashid Hall from July 2 to 6, featuring top international and regional football masters.

Dubai Sports World is designed to encourage residents and visitors to stay active during the summer season. Among the sports and activities that will take place during the event include summer camps for children, football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, tennis, Aussie Rules, table tennis, skateboarding, fitness training and running. Additionally, Dubai Sports World has also introduced for the first time, squash, badminton, and cycling.

“We are pleased to offer new and exciting sports and entertainment at Dubai Sports World for a third consecutive year,” said Ahmed Alkhaja, Senior Vice President – Venues, Dubai World Trade Centre. “We are especially dedicated to the event for the sporting needs that it fulfils for residents and visitors of Dubai, promoting health, fitness and entertainment for the entire family. Year on year, we continue to invest in state-of-the-art sports facilities and partnerships to offer a world-class sports arena for people of all ages to engage in sports and other activities with their families. We are proud to work with our partners in bringing Dubai Sports World back for what we expect to be another successful year.”

Spanning across 28,000 sqm of indoor space, Dubai Sports World will occupy the Sheikh Saeed Halls 1 and 2 and the multi-purpose Trade Centre Arena, and the Dubai Indoor Football Championship will occupy Sheikh Rashid Hall. The venue features eight pro-standard, playing fields for 5 or 7-a-side football, rugby, and Aussie Rules, three badminton courts, one volleyball court, one squash court, two basketball courts, two tennis courts, one multipurpose court, virtual cycling simulators, a bike pump track, a skate and BMX park, a state-of-the-art gym, a 660 meter running track, and tiered seating for over 1,400 spectators. In addition, the Entertainment zone will feature 12 table tennis tables, six pool tables and six football tables.

Keeping in-line with Dubai Sports Council’s objective of creating a comprehensive sports environment that meets the requirements of the society, Dubai Sports World will provide a destination for residents and visitors to engage in physical activities and develop their skills and fitness levels throughout summer. Working towards setting the stage for a healthier youth, Dubai Sports World has partnered with leading professional sporting academies and clubs, as well as prominent sporting establishments and renowned athletic trainers to provide an outstanding experience for all, from first-time players to experienced athletes and spectators. Participants will be mentored by well experienced coaches, who will identify and nurture talent.

Dr. Ahmad Al Sharif, Secretary General, Dubai Sports Council said, “We are eager to collaborate with DWTC to bring Dubai Sports World to Dubai once again. Dubai Sports World has repeatedly provided the people of Dubai a world-class facility with the latest in sports equipment and trainers to help further cement a sporting culture in Dubai. The vast variety of sports, coupled with DWTC’s indoor capabilities, ensures that there is something for people of all ages and skill levels, thereby meeting the sporting needs of our society. Dubai Sports World helps youth unlock their true potential, allowing them to develop their skills in nearly any sport they wish to participate in. We look forward to our continual work with DWTC to deliver the most exciting Dubai Sports World yet.”

H.E. Laila Mohd Suhail, CEO of Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment said, “Dubai Sports World has become a hallmark of the exciting summers in Dubai. It offers a one-of-a-kind solution for visitors and residents who wish stay active while avoiding the heat. With our own Modhesh World happening just across Dubai Sports World, we feel that our strategic partnership with DWTC has allowed us to provide a healthy and fun alternative during summer, thereby promoting Dubai as an ideal destination for leisure, events, and family tourism throughout the year. Based on the success of the previous two installments of Dubai Sports World, we anticipate that both Modhesh World and Dubai Sports World will receive the largest inflow of visitors this year and we look forward to a fun and active summer!”

Dubai Sports World will be open daily from 8am to 12am, and until 3am during Ramadan. The event is sponsored by Al Mazen, Masafi Water, Police Watches and Accessories, Quanta, Urban Gear, Warrior and Zoom.

Dubai, UAE: FIFA World Cup Under-17 UAE 2013’s mascot, Shaquran (a popular type of falcons in the Emirates), was officially launched in Dubai. This event is held once in two years and this is the 15th edition is set to take place between October 17 and November 8 across six of the Emirates of the UAE. A total of 52 matched will be played over a three week period in six of the UAE’s top locations – Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Stadium in Bas AL Khaimah, Fujairah Stadium in Fujairah, Sharjah Stadium in Sharjah, Rashid Stadium in Dubai and Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.

After the FIFA World Cup, the Olympic Football Tournament and the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA U-17 World Cup is the fourth oldest FIFA competition.

The final 24 qualified nations will begin the tournament in six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group automatically qualifying for the Round of 16. The four best third-placed teams from the Group stages will also progress to the knock-out stages, all aiming to reach the final match on Friday November 8.

The magnificent falcon mascot provides the tournament with an exciting brand asset that will be used to engage with football fans, especially children, across the Emirates during the build-up to the biggest celebration of football in the country’s history.

“We continually aim to select FIFA U-17 World Cup mascots that fans from the host country can relate to and are familiar with. Shaqran was the best pick for this tournament as he not only represents the Emirates’ heritage of falconry but he is also a symbol that many UAE nationals identify with in the same way that they identify with the nation’s oldest sport – football,” said Iñaki Alvarez, FIFA Deputy Director of Competitions.

From the tournament’s first edition in 1985 until 1993, matches were played over two 40-minute halves (extra time was ten minutes each way). In Ecuador in 1995, the standard duration of matches was increased to the traditional format of 45 minutes per half (with 15 minutes per half in extra time). In 2011, the Executive Committee abolished extra time for the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after a proposal put forward by the Medical Committee and the FIFA Task Force Football 2014.

As of 2007, the number of contenders was increased from 16 to 24. The slots for the FIFA U17 World Cup UAE 2013 are allocated to the Confederations as follows: AFC 4 (plus 1 additional slot for the hosts UAE), CAF 4, CONCACAF 4, CONMEBOL 4, UEFA 6, OFC 1.

Dubai, UAE: Latest study has found that activities that causes a relaxation response – a state of deep rest induced by practices such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing and prayer – produces immediate changes in the expression of genes involved in immune function, energy metabolism and insulin secretion.
The study from investigators at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) combined advanced expression profiling and systems biology analysis to both identify genes affected by relaxation response practice and determine the potential biological relevance of those changes.
Herbert Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute say, “Many studies have shown that mind/body interventions like the relaxation response can reduce stress and enhance wellness in healthy individuals and counteract the adverse clinical effects of stress in conditions like hypertension, anxiety, diabetes and aging.”
“Now for the first time we’ve identified the key physiological hubs through which these benefits might be induced,” he added.
The current study examined changes produced during a single session of relaxation response practice, as well as those taking place over longer period. The study enrolled a group of 26 healthy adults with no experience in relaxation response practice, who then completed an 8-week relaxation response training course. The results revealed significant changes in the expression of several important groups of genes between the novice samples and those from both the short- and long-term sets, with even more pronounced changes in the long-term practitioners.
Manoj K Bhasin, PhD, co-lead author of the study and co-director of the BIDMC Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Center, stated that these insights should provide a framework for determining, on a genomic basis, whether the relaxation response will help alleviate symptoms of diseases triggered by stress and developing biomarkers that may suggest how individual patients will respond to interventions. Benson stresses that the long-term practitioners in this study elicited the relaxation response through many different techniques – various forms of meditation, yoga or prayer – but those differences were not reflected in the gene expression patterns.
The finding was published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Dubai, UAE: The third edition of annual Health and Wellness Festival, which will until May 7, will provide the public with free access to many health screenings and information that will help steer them towards a healthy lifestyle.

The festival is held at the Dubai Outlet Mall in association with UAE Ministry of Health (MOH).

Every day from 2-10pm, common public are provided benefits of the quality services and free health checkups, interactive group activities, demonstrations and informative sessions provided by certified medical professionals and experts in the fields.

Mohammad Al Rahmani from Dubai Medical District, Ministry Of Health, said that, “The objective is to create maximum awareness amongst people at large regarding preventive measures to be taken for a healthy lifestyle. MOH has partnered with Dubai Outlet Mall to support this initiative to provide all services and awareness regarding all health related issues.”

The tests and activities include hypertension screening, blood sugar checkup, body composition analysis and personalized weight loss consultation, breast cancer awareness, diabetes screening, hepatitis checkup, pediatric screening, bone checkup, spinal and posture checkup, physiotherapy, eye checkup, dental checkup and fitness tips wellness.

Al Rahmani added, that having regular checkups helps strengthen the awareness of medical issue and encourages the public to act on signs and symptoms promptly to avoid health problem.

Dubai, UAE: Eight winners battled through the Clark Francis Tennis Swiss Junior Masters Finals on Friday and earned a trip to this month’s Grand Slam at Roland Garros in Paris.

Adidas is providing the winners with the opportunity to view quarterfinals at the French Open for the eight winners while Swiss Air is donating the plane tickets.

The CF Tennis Swiss Junior Masters Series commenced at the end of September last year and culminated with the top 16 of each age group competing in the finals on Friday.

Around 1,000 players took part in the series across 10 categories, however, the finals did not include the red and orange series (8s & 9s and Under) which were completed the previous week and are too young to earn a trip to Paris. This tournament is taking place for almost two decades now.

Few of the of the winners, will be experience Roland Garros for the first time while others like 14s & Under winner Adham Gabr and 12s & Under champion Miguel Nau, who has won this tournament before and are looking forward to another trip to the French capital, where they will also be treated to a day at Euro Disney.

First-time winner Lara Schmid, who beat Bea Acena in the 14s & Under final 6-3, 6-0, has come doen to Dubai from Oman with her parents all season to compete in the Series.

RESULTS – FINALS

Green Series (10s & Under) Boys
Anurag Reddy def. Hercules Geroussi 6-2
Green Series (10s & Under) Girls
Deepshika Sriram def. Renee Acena 6-0
12s & Under Boys
Miguel Nau def. Miro-Manuel Matagne 7-6, 6-2
12s & Under Girls
Angel Macleod def. Anaya Singh 6-3, 6-3
14s & Under Boys
Adham Gabr def. Zen Manwani
14s & Under Girls
Lara Schmid def. Bea Acena 6-3, 6-0
Open Junior Boys
Ashkan Shekarriz def. Faazil Hussain 6-2, 6-1
Open Junior Girls
Karishma Bhawani def. A. Macleod 1-0 (retired)

Dubai, UAE: A football tournament, 6-A-Side Football Kings, will be held on Friday April 26 between 3 pm and 9 pm at Al Safa Private School.
This is the first 6-a-side football tournament being held in Dubai with the specific goal of encouraging both youth and adults to involve themselves in more physical activities, especially over the weekends. The winners of the tournament will be awarded AED 1000 and a free registration for the next edition of the event.

Dubai, UAE: The Dubai Golden Cup of International Figure Skating Championship 2013 began today in The Dubai Mall at 9.30 am & will go on until 6.30 am. General public can witness the athletes competing at a figure skating championship during the same time on following two days too.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, The Dubai Golden Cup International Figure Skating Championship is held in the Dubai Mall ice rink.

The International Skating Federation was invented in Switzerland in 1892 and figure skating has been in the Olympics since 1908. Regulated by the International Skating Union, the skaters will perform two programmes, short and long. These include spins, jumps, moves in the field, throw jumps and death spirals. Skaters will perform solo, with a partner or in a group against others in similar categories.

Athletes from over 20 countries with a total of 220 skaters will be participating in this event. The guests of honor at the event will be Irina Slutskaya who is a two-time Olympic silver medalist and Ararat Zakarian who is an American figure skater and skating choreographer.

Dubai, UAE: Dubai Sports Council will hold a conference for unity among nations and to bring in peace through sports event. The two-day Peace and Sports, Dubai Forum aims to discuss how nations can use sports to create an atmosphere of peace and co-operation.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council and His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Peace and Sport, Dubai Forum will be held at the JW Marquis Hotel this year. On Tuesday April 23 & Wednesday April 24 will include and target E-government executives, education professionals, professionals, UAE nationals. Admission is free of cost.

Dubai, UAE: Right kind of water exercises increase strength and decrease falls. Women who did a high-intensity aquatic workout for six months increased their strength and suffered fewer falls, a new study revealed and showed that bone- and muscle-building resistance can be achieved.

Women who did a high-intensity aquatic workout for six months increased their strength and suffered fewer falls, in a new study that suggests bone- and muscle-building resistance can be achieved with the right kinds of water exercises.

“What we did was to test the model for muscle training in the gyms and put it inside the pools,” said lead author Linda Moreira, a researcher at the Universidade Federal de So Paulo. The study should encourage postmenopausal women at risk for osteoporotic bone-thinning that pool-based exercise can increase muscle and bone strength, according to Moreira’s team.

Aquatic aerobics became popular in the 1990s as a way for older people to exercise without straining their joints or being injured in falls. However, aquatic exercise fell out of favour, experts said, because of concerns that the bone and muscle-building benefits of resisting gravity in standard exercises were diminished when someone is buoyant in water.

Dubai, UAE: According to a new study, the aches and pains suffered after working out more than usual can be relieved just as well by exercise as by massage. “It’s a common belief that massage is better, but it isn’t better.

“Massage and exercise had the same benefits,” said Lars Andersen, the lead author of the study and a professor at the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Copenhagen. Earlier research has shown that massage can offer some relief from work out soreness.

To see how well light exercise compares, Andersen and his colleagues asked 20 women to do a shoulder exercise while hooked up to a resistance machine. The women shrugged their shoulders while the machine applied resistance, which engaged the trapezius muscle between the neck and shoulders.

One person came back with aching trapezius muscles. Two days later, the women came back to the lab with aching trapezius muscles. On average they rated their achiness as a five on a 10 point scale, up from 0.8 before they had done the shoulder work out.

Then the women received a 10-minute massage on one shoulder and did a 10-minute exercise on the other shoulder. Some women got the massage first, while others did the exercise first. The exercise again involved shoulder shrugs; this time the women gripped an elastic tube held down by their foot to give some resistance. (Hygenic Corporation, which makes the tubing used in the study, supported the study.)

Andersen’s group found that, compared to the shoulder that wasn’t getting any attention, massage and exercise each helped diminish muscle soreness. The effect peaked 10 minutes after each treatment, with women reporting a reduction in their pain of 0.8 points after the warm up exercise and 0.7 points after the massage. “It’s a moderate change,” said Andersen, whose study appeared in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.