ABU DHABI // Ice hockey in the Emirates has been on an upwards trend since the UAE team's triumph in the Challenge Cup of Asia, which they hosted in 2009.
Following that success, the Abu Dhabi Ice Sports Club (ADISC) was established to oversee the overall development of the sport in the country.
And working on the recommendations of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), it founded the Emirates Hockey League (EHL), which is in its third year, and introduced an Under 20 league that gets underway from Saturday. It also started various age-group competitions in Under nines, 12s, 16s and 18s.
Last week, they broke new ice with the first official women's game between the Dubai Cameluscious and the Abu Dhabi Storms, a team in which the majority of the players are Emiratis, at the Abu Dhabi Ice Rink.
There are more than 50 players in the Storms squad, and the number is growing with several young prospects waiting for their turn to be enrolled, according to Alia Al Alawi, the Storms's goalkeeper. "The game was introduced to us last year, and it took off like a storm, literally," said the 16 year old.
"Almost all of the Emirati players in the team were skating for recreation, and when we were told if we would be interested in playing hockey, most of us liked the idea, and now we really enjoy and look forward for the training we do twice a week."
It was not the Storms' first competitive game, though. They took part in the Asian Cup in Hong Kong last year.
"We were thrown into the deep end straightaway," said Al Alawi. "We didn't win any games and naturally we were not expected to, having never played any competitive matches.
"Yet it was a good experience and, more importantly, it has opened the doors for us to pursue in the sport."
Mariam Al Mazrouie, 15, said she was enjoying the switch from skating for fun to playing hockey, and hopes for opportunities to play more games.
"It's a very exciting time for the Emirati girls with the prospect of playing for the national team," she said.
Kelly Jones, the Cameluscious coach, said the women's game is now on the right track.
"We have around 25 players in training and this number could grow with the prospects of more competitive games. The players are young, keen and looking forward for more competitive matches, and this is the best way forward for any game."
According to Khaled Al Qubaisi, the Storms's manager, a women's league is in the pipeline with the Al Ain Theebs, who play in the EHL, set to form a women's team.
"We are working closely with the IIHF, and to start the women's league is one of their recommendations," said Al Qubaisi.
"We have enough players to have at least four teams. It is a matter of time before we start the women's league."
[ apassela@thenational.ae ]
if you go
WITHIN SAND
Director: Moe Alatawi
Starring: Ra’ed Alshammari, Adwa Fahd, Muhand Alsaleh
Rating: 3/5
BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE
Director: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano
Rating: 3.5/5
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
KEY DATES IN AMAZON'S HISTORY
July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington
July 16, 1995: Amazon formally opens as an online bookseller. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought becomes the first item sold on Amazon
1997: Amazon goes public at $18 a share, which has grown about 1,000 per cent at present. Its highest closing price was $197.85 on June 27, 2024
1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs
2000: Amazon Marketplace opens, allowing people to sell items on the website
2002: Amazon forms what would become Amazon Web Services, opening the Amazon.com platform to all developers. The cloud unit would follow in 2006
2003: Amazon turns in an annual profit of $75 million, the first time it ended a year in the black
2005: Amazon Prime is introduced, its first-ever subscription service that offered US customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year
2006: Amazon Unbox is unveiled, the company's video service that would later morph into Amazon Instant Video and, ultimately, Amazon Video
2007: Amazon's first hardware product, the Kindle e-reader, is introduced; the Fire TV and Fire Phone would come in 2014. Grocery service Amazon Fresh is also started
2009: Amazon introduces Amazon Basics, its in-house label for a variety of products
2010: The foundations for Amazon Studios were laid. Its first original streaming content debuted in 2013
2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS
2014: The Amazon Echo is launched, a speaker that acts as a personal digital assistant powered by Alexa
2017: Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, its biggest acquisition
2018: Amazon's market cap briefly crosses the $1 trillion mark, making it, at the time, only the third company to achieve that milestone
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
