More
than 1,500 athletes from 18 universities participated in the second edition of
the sports tournament
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, March 23rd 2013 [ME NewsWire]
The winners of the DIAC Sports Cup 2013 were announced by Dubai
International Academic City (DIAC) at an award ceremony in the Dubai Knowledge
Village Auditorium.
Dubbed the ‘mini-Olympics’ DIAC Sports Cup was held from March 3rd to 14th
at Dubai Men’s College, one of the Higher Colleges of Technology.
Organised by DIAC in partnership with Dubai Sports Council and DUET Sports, the
tournament, now in its second year, is the first-of-its-kind in the UAE and
open to all universities in the region.
The 2013 winner of the DIAC Sports Cup was BITS Pilani, who finished first
in athletics, women’s table tennis, men’s and women’s badminton and squash.
The number of participants and sports activities increased significantly
compared to last year. More than 1,500 athletes from 18 academic institutions
and universities competed in 10 sports; including basketball, volleyball, table
tennis, football, cricket, tennis, squash, badminton, athletics and swimming.
The University of Wollongong in Dubai won top honours in both men’s and
women’s basketball as well as women’s volleyball. The men’s volleyball title
belonged to the University of Jazira whose students also walked away with the
men’s table tennis and swimming medal.
Canadian University were at the top of their game as they won the men’s
football trophy, while Manipal University proved their mettle with top cricket
honours. Al Ghurair University were the best in the court as their students won
the men’s tennis titles.
Dr. Ayoub Kazim, Managing Director, TECOM Investments’ Education Cluster
said: "The concept of inter-university sports competitions is still relatively
new to the UAE, even though sport is an integral part of tertiary education in
other countries. Our goal at DIAC is to offer a holistic approach to education
– where sports and social activities are considered an important part of the
overall university experience.”
"The increase in the number of students taking part in this year’s event
indicates a positive response from students focussed on achieving their academic
and extra-curricular goals, as well as developing skills beyond the classroom
such as the value of teamwork, leadership, discipline and decision making.”
The 18 competing universities included Al Ghurair University, Al Jazeera
University, Amity University, American University in Emirates, Bits Pilani
University, Bit Ranchi Ras-Al-Khaimah, Canadian University, Heriot Watt
University, Hult International Business School, Information in Management
Technology, Manipal University, Middlesex University, Murdoch University,
National Institute of Vocational Education, Rochester Institute of Technology,
S.P.Jain, American University in Ras-Al-Khaimah and University of Wollongong in
Dubai.
This year, DIAC has set up a dedicated Sport Committee made up of sports
coordinators from 6 universities to define and oversee the structure and rules
for the planned sports activities. Representatives from DIAC and DUET Sports
supervised the tournament’s technical regulations and logistics function,
including scoring and nomination of referees.
This year’s event was sponsored by DUET Sports, One Pention, Koster Clinic
and PSS Tennis Academy.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
About Dubai International Academic City
Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) is the world’s only Free Zone
dedicated to Higher Education. Established in 2007 as part of TECOM
Investments, DIAC aims to develop the region’s talent pool and establish the
UAE as a knowledge-based economy.
DIAC is the premier destination for Higher Education in the region, located
on a fully-appointed 18 million sq ft. campus with state-of-the-art modern
facilities. DIAC currently has 21 of the UAE’s 37 International Branch
Campuses from 11 countries.
The DIAC campus is host to nearly 20,000 students from 137
nationalities. DIAC students also have access to over 400 Higher
Education programmes.
DIAC Phase III achieved a "Green” status and was awarded Silver LEED
certification. DIAC provides an established educational environment for
academic institutions and caters to students from around the world.
DIAC is also ranked top 10 in the Middle East under "Best Transportation”
category and top 25 in the Middle East under "Best Overall” category according
to 2011 Financial Times Rankings.
Contacts
MEDIA
Layla Haroon,
Bell Pottinger Middle East: +971 55 636 0425
LHaroon@Bell-Pottinger.co.uk
DIAC
Brendan Vyner
Brand Manager
TECOM Investments Education Cluster: +971 4 360 2960
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