The final weeks of the School Olympic competitions kept us all on a rollercoaster ride. There was a lot of confusion as the main event in Aspire Dome was cancelled at very short notice. This meant that schedules and venues changed, causing great difficulty with attendance and in some cases, caused us to miss fixtures.
This was very sad for some of the students who were real contenders in their category; we can only hope that the organisation will be better next year. Despite these issues, GES enjoyed great success this year. There were intense and fiercely fought games, disappointing losses and some very exciting wins. For the first time ever, GES took team medals in the Schools Olympic Program (SOP)… but we didn’t just stop at one!
Preparatory Girls Basketball – Bronze
The Preparatory Girls attended the basketball finals and collected bronze medals. There was some quality basketball in this stage of the competition and our girls were legitimately amongst the best. Notable performances came from Hissa Al Kubaisi, Aisha Al Kuwari, Ayah Gehani and AlJoury Al Thani; their development over the season has been excellent and pivotal to us moving forward as a team. Next year we’re shooting for gold and need to get right back to work after the break. Congratulations to the Prep’ Basketball Girls; their progress over the last year has been huge.
Primary Girls Football – Gold
The Primary Girls Football team have played consistently well this year, winning every game convincingly. As they reached the final stages of the competition, they weren’t sure if they could hold their nerves and became quite anxious as the last competition approached. Miss Angela was able to calm them and keep them focused so that in the finals they did what they’ve done all year - they played with accuracy and control and managed to deliver a 5-0 win.
Boys Taekwondo – Bronze and Gold
The boys’ taekwondo had been played earlier in the season and all that remained was for our boys to take their medals. We are keen to develop a taekwondo programme at the School and so it was pleasing to see our boys take medals in two categories this year. At Level 1, Tameem Al Thani took bronze and showed lots of potential to make great progress. His success will inspire our younger students to take part in individual sports and to try new activities. Well done Tameem and many thanks to father Sheikh Saoud Al Thani and family for attending the fixtures and medal ceremony to offer support. The support of parents in this way is so important to pupils and a great way to build relationships between the School and families.
For the second year running, Mohammed Amine took gold in the Secondary Boys’ Open Weight category. Mohammed has established himself as the leading player in Qatar in this category and has represented Qatar in international competition. His opponent could offer virtually nothing in defence during the finals of the SOP competition. He became injured almost immediately and, unable to compete with Amine, bowed out of the fight after only a few seconds. Congratulations to Mohammed Amine and we wish him well as he gets set to go on to university next year.
Athletics – Silver
This year we had teams at all levels for SOP athletics. For many of the athletes it was their first time to take part in a real athletics competition. Notable performances were given by Nasser Al Hemeidi who placed 12th out of over 80 runners in the 200m and Rawda Al Kubaisi who was 5th in the girls 200m.
We had been very excited about the potential to medal in three categories for Shot Putt and in one for high jump. However, for some reason, these competitions were cancelled on the day, leaving all the girls very disappointed. Despite this, we were able to leave the competition feeling positive again as Tochi Omah (pictured right) took a well-deserved silver medal in the long jump.
Preparatory Girls Football – Gold
The Preparatory Girls were the first GES team to make it through to a finals, having won through much earlier in the season. It was a long wait for this last game and by the time it arrived, the girls could hardly contain their excitement. I was 100% confident that the girls had the skills and strategies to win, but managing their energy and attention was my main challenge, especially when the start of the game was delayed by over an hour due to problems at the facility. Finally, the game got underway and we were all able to relax and concentrate on the plan. The girls’ performance was outstanding; they listened, responded and maintained quality in the execution of their technical skills. All girls played well but the contribution of Haya Al Thani was noteworthy again, scoring all 5 of the goals. Her performance this season has been both exceptional and consistent. The girls took gold with a very satisfying 5-1 win… a second team gold for GES!
