Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, December 13, 2024: A desert safari was the perfect locale for participants to let their hair down at the midway mark of the Olympic Council of Asia-Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union jiu-jitsu development programme for coaches and referees on Thursday, December 12
The setting was picture postcard perfect with the sun sinking behind sandy dunes as most of the 123 participants from 36 National Olympic Committees arrived in three buses at the Serena, a premium desert camp more than 90 minutes out of the capital Abu Dhabi.
“This is super. We try to introduce, wherever possible, a cultural element to each of our development programmes, and this desert safari perfectly captures the heart of Arab culture,” pointed out Wissam Trkmani, OCA Director of Development and NOC Relations.
“While our focus is on imparting knowledge and new techniques to coaches and referees, both theoretical and practical, I firmly believe there is a huge dividend in having an evening out like this as it helps participants from all over Asia bond together,” Trkmani added.
All terrain quad bikes were lined up for the more adventurous, among them Jamyang Namgyal, OCA’s Athletes Department Manager, who is conducting workshops on the prevention of manipulation of competition (PMC) at this development camp.
PMC is one of the four pillars of the ‘Guarding the Asian Games’ initiative of the OCA being delivered to coaches and referees: the others being Safeguarding presented by OCA Gender Equity and Safeguarding Manager Sabine Fakhoury; Anti-Doping by Seema Hatugay, Secretary General West Asian Regional Anti-Doping Organisation; and Olympic Values by Laven Perera.
“This is probably my 12th time I’m doing a presentation at a workshop like this over the past couple of years, but the OCA has been doing this for much longer,” reveals Jamyang, who has been outlining measures inside the classrooms to tackle the threat of match-fixing and PMC.
“It is nice to get a chance to come out with everyone, in the open air like this,” Jamyang added.
For Sabine, it is the first time she is making a presentation on Safeguarding at a Development Programme. “I try to get as much interaction as I can from all participants. An evening like this helps in bonding with everyone.”
A peregrine falcon, a gyrating belly dancer and a fire-eating dancer all added colour to a delightful evening of camaraderie, leaving all participants with wonderful memories to take back home.
