A year on from having to pay for entry for the first time, spectators at the DP World Tour Championship faced a new cost last week: paid parking.
Public car parking for the opening day on Thursday cost Dh50, rising to Dh80 for the remaining three days of the season-ending tournament.
The organisers say development of the surrounding area made the fee necessary, and hope it will encourage spectators to car pool, take taxis, or use the metro in future.
“It is not about us trying to make money, it is us trying to reduce the number of people coming in cars,” Freddie Schmeisser, the head of championships and business development director for the Middle East at DP World Tour, said.
“We had a massive public car park in the past, which is now Jumeirah Golf Estates 2. Because of the development, we don’t have the space for public parking any more, so now we are parking on the golf course. That is not great for the golf course.”
Despite the new costs for watching the season decided at Earth Course, Schmeisser says they are committed to keeping the event as affordable as possible.
The DP World Tour Championship was first played in 2009, when the UAE weekend was still Friday-Saturday.
It meant the spectacular finale to the season, when Lee Westwood snatched the first Race to Dubai title from Rory McIlroy’s grasp, was played out on the first day of the working week. The idea of charging for entry at that time was unrealistic.
The event had all the prestige of being the culmination to the tour season, the jeopardy of deciding the order of merit, and a guaranteed all-star field. But it was still new to a UAE sporting calendar that had plenty of highly popular fixtures on it already.
It took 15 years before a charge for general admission became a thing. In 2024, they took the plunge, and the result? Record crowds for the weekend days.
Schmeisser said there were 35,000 registrations when tickets were free of charge. “If 35,000 people turned up here, I would be going to the airport, because we couldn’t handle that,” Schmeisser said.
“We know that a lot of people don’t show up if you get a free ticket. You order four, then we had to close it, and so people who wanted to come couldn’t any more.
“That is why we introduced ticket sales for Saturday and Sunday last year for the first time, and we had more people on site when we charged than we did when it was free of charge. It puts a value on the tournament.”
Entry remains free for the first two days, dependent on registration. This year, admission for Saturday and Sunday was Dh190 per day.
Three Rolex Series events – the elevated purse tournaments on the DP World Tour which carry the most prestige – are played in the UAE. Weekend days at the Dubai Desert Classic cost Dh125, and it is Dh100 for the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Those fees are less than half the equivalent competitions elsewhere. At the Genesis Scottish Open, it is Dh290 on weekend days, and Dh340 for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Even adding in the supplementary costs to watch at Earth Course, such as the parking, food, or the “first-tee experience”, the price of the day falls short of general admission for those Rolex Series events in the UK.
This month was a trial run for the new first tee idea. For Dh60 on Friday, and Dh99 on Saturday and Sunday, spectators could get a place on a raised platform next to the first tee, with an up-close experience of the acoustics of the players teeing-off under a special tented roof. There were unlimited soft drinks included in the price.
Behind the first tee box is one of the many stations on the course which dispense free sparkling, cold and ambient water.
Schmeisser estimates they would make $200,000 more in terms of revenue if they were to sell water, but says “it is the right thing to do”.
“If you pay Dh200 for entry, then drink five bottles of water, go into the village where the food is not too expensive, I would say it is a very fair deal,” he said.
“We try to be reasonable with the prices. Our job is to get even more people. We want growth every year, so we don’t want to keep people away.”
This year, spectators got to see McIlroy cap the finest season of his career by winning the Race to Dubai, even if he did end up losing out on the tournament title after a thrilling play-off against Matt Fitzpatrick.
The final day, which had started with nine of Europe’s Ryder Cup winning team within the top 12 on the leaderboard, culminated in some vintage McIlroy box office. He holed an eagle putt at the 72nd hole to force that play-off.
Moments like that provide the sort of exposure that makes Dubai a must-visit destination for golf tourists, according to Schmeisser, who says around 30 per cent of the spectators at the tournament are non-residents.
And that is the driving force behind it, rather than making a profit from paying spectators, he said.
“We are trying not to be a moneymaking machine,” Schmeisser said. “We want to keep this sustainable. We are still working on a couple of areas where we can improve.
“We are here to promote Dubai. We all work together. We are all trying to showcase how amazing the UAE is. We could potentially charge more, but this is supposed to be for anyone in the UAE.”
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.