DUBAI // Before heading to cricket practice, Muafah Amran spent the morning learning whether she needed an anaerobic or aerobic energy training routine to enhance her performance in the game.
The 16-year-old is a high school student enrolled in a sports programme at Cambridge International School in Dubai.
"I love sports, so I took it up as a subject," she said. "In our theory class, we learnt about the cardiovascular system, its functions and how to measure blood pressure."
Health programmes were also recently introduced at public schools and instruction time in physical education was increased to three classes a week this year.
But, in a sense, Cambridge International is running into the wind - its focus on sport comes at the same time as Dr Abdulsalam Alzabi, who heads the department of physical education at UAE University, has said the idea of physical education has been diluted in public schools over the years.
The lack of higher education options and minimal career guidance at schools may also deter many students from pursuing it at a professional level, he said.
"For a long time, sports and physical education were termed as student activities," he said.
UAE University was the only tertiary institution in the country that offered a physical education degree but stopped the programme 10 years ago - today, Dr Alzabi's department mainly heads up extracurricular activities.
Cambridge International offers its sports qualification through Edexcel, a UK-based examination board, to high school students. Sandra Carter, the assistant principal and head of strategic curriculum development, said many parents do not see physical education as a prospective career for their children.
"There are many opportunities that a sports qualification can lead to - like jobs in physiotherapy, psychology of sports, sports development and special needs sports," Ms Carter said.
Sports and physical education courses work on two levels: introducing the students to different sports and the sports industry, and creating an awareness about nutrition, safety and a healthy lifestyle.
Team building and leadership qualities are honed through planning and leading sports events and undertaking outdoor and adventure activities.
Sport Science is a choice offered to high schools in the UK, but has been slow to catch on in the UAE. Not many international curriculum schools offer it as a subject.
Physical education is also restricted to a few lessons in a week or comes in the form of after-school activities.
At Jumeirah English Speaking School, which follows the UK curriculum, physical education is a compulsory component of the daily schedule. R D Stokoe, the school director, said the school wants to go one step further and use its elaborate sports facilities to teach Sport Science courses.
His plans include restructuring the indoor sports stadium to accommodate classes, so students can analyse matches as they are being played.
"Sports Science has grown from 'you do that if you cannot do anything else' into a physically demanding academic area of study," he said.
Mr Stokoe believes there is also demand for nutritionists and fitness experts as people become more health conscious.
"Introducing this at school will lay the foundation for higher degree programmes in personal training and physical education."
Khalid Al Qubaisi, who today works at the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, initially enrolled in an engineering programme after leaving high school, even though his ambition was to become a professional athlete.
"The only university that was offering degrees in physical education stopped, and unfortunately there are no such programmes in the UAE," he said.
"We need more professional coaches, trainers and nutritionist here," said the UAE national who has now enrolled in a masters programme in personal training, biomechanics and anatomy in the US.
Dr Alzabi said UAE University plans to reestablish Sports Science and attract students to careers in the field.
"We are trying to develop two majors: physical education and physical fitness," he said.
He said the university hopes to attract more women into the profession, too. "This will open doors for them to work as teachers, in health and sports clubs and also the armed forces."
aahmed@thenational.ae
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
