A new sporting academy in Dubai is bringing together athletes and Olympians in a bid to inspire the next generation of track and field stars.
East Sports Management (ESM) and Athletes in Schools have partnered to create ESM Athletics, which will deliver elite-level coaching to track and field students aged between 5-18. The partnership allows UAE students in participating schools have the unique opportunity to train alongside British Olympic, Paralympic and Team GB athletes.
To kick-start the new athletics offering, Team GB Sprinter and former European 200m Champion, Tommy Ramadan, and UK Athletics accredited track and field coach, Ben Davies, touched down in Dubai earlier this month with more professional athletes scheduled to arrive in February.
Specially designed training programs based around a run, jump and throw concept give students the chance to discover and develop their skills, as well as building on their speed, strength and stamina. The curriculum includes workshops focusing on events including long jump, high jump, block start practice, javelin throwing, hurdles and endurance challenges. Fast paced sessions run by the experts last for up to an hour, and are designed to be fun and inspiring.
Project Director for ESM Athletics, Umar Hameed, said the partnership resulted in an academy that is the first of its kind in the UAE: “ESM Athletics is dedicated to creating a performance pathway for aspiring world class athletes. Together we are using our worldwide network of coaches, athletes and support staff to bring the very best practitioners to Dubai. The first step on this pathway is our commitment to building strong school athletics programmes,” Mr. Hameed said.
In addition to the schools athletics programme, ESM Athletics employs British Athletics coaches specialising in youth development and assisting students in transitioning from junior to senior levels. They work closely with UAE schools and create education resources to up-skill PE teachers.
ESM was established in 2004 with the aim of bringing high quality sports coaching to the youth of the Middle East at premium sports facilities. Today, it’s the UAE’s leading sports services provider for youth, delivering coaching to over 10,000 children every week in more than 200 facilities. Athletes In Schools is the UK’s leading provider of Olympic, Paralympic, and Team GB athlete school visits, teaming with more than 150 British athletes to inspire students at 400+ schools a year. In 2018, Athletes In Schools successfully launched in the UAE and quickly became the nation’s leading provider of elite-level athletics coaching for schools.
ESM Athletics will hold their sessions at state-of-the-art facilities at GEMS International School, GEMS World Academy and GEMS Wellington Academy, Silicon Oasis. To know more about academy sessions, timings and workshops, contact ESM Athletics at [email protected] or call 04-3697817.
