3 year-old Ahmed Jumaa Al Falahi is youngest falconer to compete this year 

DUBAI, 7th January 2018:  The Fazza Championship for Falconry - Telwah (the lure), the first falconry competition of the new Fazza Heritage Championship season, organized and supervised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC) saw the emergence of a new generation of falconers in Dubai on Saturday.

It was a heart-warming sight to see Emirati children, the youngest just three years old, displaying their love of falcons and enthusiasm for the sport of falconry, achieving the strategic objective of the organizers HHC to encourage young people to continue the legacy handed down from their grandparents through successive generations.

The Fazza Championship for Falconry – Telwah for Juniors attracted 109 entries with the young falconers proudly displaying their skills under the guidance of their parents who were present to encourage them to practice this traditional sport by teaching them how to deal with falcons and tactics of getting the best results.

The Championship will continue until January 15th at the dedicated site for falconry in Ruwayyah area off Emirates Road (Exit 55) in Dubai with Jeer Tabaa Farkh and Jernas events for General Public on Monday January 8th.
Jeer Tabaa Wahish

The Juniors event held in two disciplines (Car and Cash) for Jeer Tabaa Wahish falcons in two categories produced a high standard of competition and amazingly also one of the fastest time of this five-day old Championship of 17.741 seconds.

Hamad Rashid Bin Mijrin won the first round of the Tabaa Wahish Juniors (Car) when his falcon named ‘Lahab’ (Flame) clocked 19.790 seconds. Mubarak Al Kindi’s entry named ‘Mubarak’ won second place clocking 20.270, just 0.480 seconds off the pace. Hamdan Khalifa Ahmed Al Kindi’s falcon named ‘Rocket’ clinched third place clocking 20.309.

Hamdan Khalifa Ahmed Al Kindi’s entry named ‘H2161’ clocked a winning time of 19.959 in the first round of Tabaa Wahish Juniors (Cash) event. Issa Saeed Rashed Al Mansouri’s ‘Gaseous’ (20.649) took second place and Mubarak Rashid Al Kindi’s ‘Helyan’ (20.785) was third.

In the second round of the Tabaa Wahish Juniors (Cash) event, Mohamed Sultan Matar Al Ketbi’s entry named ‘Wahid’ won first place clocking 17.620 seconds. Hamad Mansour Ahmed Al Kindi’s entry named ‘517’ (19.959) took second place while Mubarak Rashid Al Kindi’s entry ‘T4’ (20.785) took third position.

The fastest time of the day was produced in the second round of the Tabaa Wahish Juniors (Car) final when Ghadir Suhail Salem Al Ketbi’s falcon named ‘Rainbow’ clocked 17.741 seconds. Sultan Hamad Bin Mijrin’s entry named ‘10’ took second place clocking 17.801. Mubarak Rashid Al Kindi’s entry ‘T81’ (18.087) clinched third place.

Ambitions
Ms. Suad Ibrahim Darwish, Director of Championships at HHC, expressed her satisfaction with the enthusiastic participation in the Juniors category, which was launched with great ambitions. 

“Our goal goes beyond the framework of seeing winners in these competitions. The strategic goal is to motivate youth and encourage them to practice the sport of falconry and imbibing skills from an early age, in order to prepare the new generation with the capabilities to continue this tradition. The heritage of the United Arab Emirates and practices of our ancestors remain well established for successive generations. This type of traditional sports and falconry, in particular, teach young people the patience, ambition and responsibility to build their personality to follow in the footsteps of their forefathers. We are planting a legacy that will blossom in future after seeing a new generation competing for the podium,” she said.

Organizers thanked

F3 falconers Rashid Bin Mijren and Hamad Bin Mijrin thanked the HHC for organizing a tournament for juniors after seeing their four year-old sons competing for top honours.

Hamad Bin Mijrin’s son Hamad came fourth in one event while Rashid’s son Hamad, just three and half years old, won for a title for the second consecutive year in the Fazza Championship for Falconry – Telwah (Juniors).

“We thank the HHC for organizing competitions that allow young people to participate, to experience and to learn the skills required in these competitions every year,” said Rashid Bin Mijrin who is reaping the results of patiently guiding Hamad to become a champion falconer.

“I train Hamad almost daily after he returns from school. I train him with me for about two hours. He loves falcons since the first day he came with me. He always looks forward to learning more and he has the desire to become a top falconer. I hope he shows the same dedication in the coming years for the sport of falconry, which will certainly make me happy,” he said.

Hamad Bin Mijrin echoing similar thoughts said his son Rashid is happy to practice falconry. “This is his first hobby. He wants to go every day to train falcons after returning from school. He is waiting eagerly to meet his friends and cousins who are also training falconry,” he said.

Youngest

The tournament attracted a large number of participants aged between four and six years. This year saw the youngest falconer Ahmed Jumaa Al Falahi, who is just three years old, competing.

Amidst the joy of participation, the father of the child, Juma'a Al Falahi, commented on his son’s attachment to falconry. “I was accompanied by my son for training because I was one of the regular participants in falconry competitions. I felt his love for the falcons and started teaching him how to deal with falcons and fly them. He managed to handle the falcon and is well aware of what is going on in the other side when the falcon takes off. I wanted this tournament to be the beginning for him. Although he did not achieve top results, it is a catalyst for future tournaments,” said Juma'a Al Falahi adding that his son could not even pronounce the name of his falcon which is ‘Black’.

Schedule

Following is the remaining events for Fazza Championship for Falconry – Telwah with competition scheduled to begin at 9.00 am on each day.
Monday January 8th: Jeer Tabaa Farkh and Jeer Tabaa Jernas (General Public)
Tuesday January 9th: Pure Jeer Farkh and Pure Jeer Jernas (General Public)
Wednesday January 10th: Qarmoosha Farkh and Qarmoosha Jernas (General Public)
Thursday January 11th: RC Airplanes Qualifying (Sheikhs)
Friday January 12th: RC Airplanes Qualifying (General Public)
Saturday January 13th: Hurr Wahish Farkh and Hurr Wahish Jernas (Local and Gulf)
Sunday January 14th: Shaheen Wahish Farkh and Hurr Wahish Jernas (Local and Gulf)
Monday January 15th: RC Airplanes Final (Sheikhs and General Public)

Notes to Editors:

Last month saw the launch of the Fazza Championship for Youlah, the stage show at Meydan Fort of Global Village and the third edition of the National Day Camel Marathon, the longest camel race in the region.
The Fazza Championship for Falconry Telwah (the lure) will be followed by the Fakhr Al Ajyal Championship (‘The Pride of the Generation’) that will be held from February 1st, 2018 and will continue until February 16th. Both these championships will be held at the dedicated site for falconry in Ruwayyah area off Emirates Road.

Saluki

It will be the turn of greyhound dog breeders and owners when the Saluki Championship for the General Public will be held on February 20th, 2018, while the second Saluki Championship for Elite categories will be held on February 25th, 2018 at Al Marmoum racecourse in Dubai.

Shooting
The Saktoun Rifle Shooting training will be held from March 11th, 2018 to March 13th, in the Dubai Police Shooting Range in the Ruwayyah area, with the aim of preparing and training all age groups for the Fazza Open Championship for Shooting – Saktoun Rifle where the main tournament will take place from 14th to 17th March 2018.

The Fazza Championship for Shooting – Saktoun for locals will be held on March 18th, 2018 and will continue until March 21st.

Diving

Free divers will take to the pool in the penultimate event of the Fazza Championship season.

The Fazza Championship for Freediving will be held from March 22nd, 2018 until March 24th at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Sports Complex in Ruwayyah. The Fazza Championship for Freediving is preceded by the annual training programs organized by the Center to improve the performance of the free divers, which will take place from March 19th 2018 to March 21st at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Sports Complex.

The season finale will be when the knights wielding Youlah weapons arrive on the stage in the conclusion of the Fazza Heritage Championships for 2017-18 at the Al Meydan Fort in Global Village. The final episode of the 18th edition of the AED 1 million Fazza Championship for Youlah is scheduled for March 18th, 2018 when the winner of the Fazza Youlah Championship Cup is declared after voting by the fans.

Sponsors
The official sponsors of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center are: Al Tayer Motors Land Rover, Dubai Airports, AW Rostamani (Arabian Automobiles), Global Village and Al Oula radio station.