Qatar is being promoted as a sporting capital of the Gulf region despite the fact that few students from various colleges in the country participated in the national sporting event held in February this year. The main reason why college students from North Atlantic did not participate in the event was its rather poor organization. As such, not everybody knew about it. The objective of this research paper is to examine ways of increasing the participation of students from the North Atlantic College in the National
Sport Day Programs
Based on current statistics, only 89 out of 457 individuals recruited for a quick survey indicated that they participate in sports (QSD 2012).
This is an indication that even at the national level there is a little emphasis made on sporting activities. The survey also showed that men were more likely to participate in sports than women. With respect to college students, the level of participation during the February Qatar national sports day was low. This implies that students are not aware of the importance of sports.
To increase the number of student participants in the next QNSD, the department of sports at the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNAQ) needs to create awareness of the importance of sports and the national sports day. For example, it should be emphasized that participating in sports reduces the risk of such killer diseases as cancer and diabetes (Canadian Heritage 4).
In addition, students should be informed about the importance and the theme of the Qatar National Sports Day which is “to encourage member of local community to adopt healthy lifestyle and develop physical and mental abilities of community members in light of the 2030 national vision” (QSD 2012).
Moreover, there is a need to create awareness in order to make an emphasis on the QNSD and its importance for individuals and the nation at large. Awareness would encourage more students to participate in the next national sports day.
CNAQ sports department in collaboration with other stakeholders should come up with a program which advocates for sports. This can be borrowed from the Schools Olympic Program (SOP) which advocates for sports as a way of life (SOP 2011).
As a result, this would increase the level of sports participation by CNAQ students. Based on the problem statement, the low level of participation was a result of poor sports management since the college did not organize the event well. This could be resolved by putting in place a sports management team that focuses on Qatar national sports day.
However, emphasis without practical participation is not enough. Therefore, in line with the recommendation by the Canadian Heritage (7), the CNAQ sports management can set up sports policies and programs in the college and also increase the number of physical facilities.
Lessons in physical education should also be organized in such a way that every student may participate in sports (Canadian Heritage 7). Physical education and a supportive sporting environment as recommended by Qatar Olympic Committee (16) have the potential to encourage students to participate in sports.
This would create the desire to participate in sports during national sports days. The Qatar Olympic Committee (38) advocates for a sports culture in Qatar to increase the number of participants at national level. The College of North Atlantic of Qatar should borrow a leaf from the Qatar Olympic Committee to create a sporting culture. A sporting culture has the capacity to raise college interests towards sports.
Works Cited
Canadian Heritage. Sport Participation Strategy 2008 – 2012. Web.
Qatar Olympic Committee. Sports Sector Strategy (2011-2016). Web.
QSD. 89% of participants in QOC survey practice sports. 2012. Web.
SOP. School Olympic Program. 2011. Web.