Four Dubai sporting events receive 5-star rating

'The sports sector is an integral part of our society and economy,' says Sheikh Hamdan

Runners take the start of the Dubai Marathon in the Gulf emirate. AFP Photo

The DP World Tour Championship, the Dubai World Cup, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon and the Dubai Tour have each earned a 5-star rating in the latest edition of the Dubai Sports Council’s Sports Events Ranking System.

The results for the 2016-2017 events were approved on Saturday by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council.

“The sports sector is an integral part of our society and economy, and we are always striving to achieve excellence and innovation in this sector, in accordance with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai,” said Sheikh Hamdan. “We will continue to evaluate the work in this sector, recognise outstanding people in the field, enhance cooperation between public and private sectors, and motivate them to perform their national duty towards society in general and athletes in particular, and provide them with the means to succeed in achieving growth rates commensurate with the growth and development witnessed in various other sectors.”

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The ranking system was launched in 2014 by the Dubai Sports Council to incentivise and recognise excellence in the organisation of sports competitions and events in the emirate. In the first edition of the rankings, there were four events in the 5 Star category, 29 received a 4 Star rating, and 53 were ranked as 3 Star. In this latest edition, events in the 4 Star category have risen to 133, while the events in the 3 Star ranking have fallen to 21.

The DSC said improvements at the organisational level of sporting events have resulted in a substantial growth in the number of spectators, from 1,260,000 in 2014-15 to 1,980,000 for the third edition. The number of participants also rose from 370,000 in the first year to 465,000 in 2016-17.

“Today, Dubai enjoys a prestigious position among the world’s leading cities in hosting and organising various local, regional and international sporting events,” said Mattar Al Tayer, vice chairman of Dubai Sports Council.  “The number of such events has increased to more than 400 per year, but at the Dubai Sports Council, we are not concentrating on the increase in quantity; we are striving to raise the quality as well, and we want to encourage organisers to innovate and achieve excellence. This innovative Ranking System, the first of its kind in the world, was launched with those goals in mind. We wanted to create a platform through which we could honour excellence at the organisational level and, at the same time, encourage the others to aim for the same.”

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Highlights from the 2017 DP World Tour Championship

Sergio Garcia of Spain plays a tee shot on the 18th hole during the Pro-Am prior to the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. Andrew Redington / Getty Images

Justin Rose of England shakes hands with Ashish Bhutani during the Pro-Am. Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images

Jon Rahm of Spain plays his second shot on the 18th. Andrew Redington / Getty Images

Tommy Fleetwood of England plays his second shot on the 7th fairway. Andrew Redington / Getty Images

Tommy Fleetwood of England walks off the 6th green. The DP World Tour Championship takes place on November 16-19. Andrew Redington / Getty Images

Alex Noren of Sweden chips on to the 5th green. Now in its ninth year, the tournament represents the final stop on the European Tour calendar. Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images

Lee Westwood of England walks with caddie Billy Foster. There are effectively two main prizes on offer this week: the DP World Tour Championship title and the Race to Dubai crown. Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images

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Each event is also ranked on the quality of its organisation and impact within six categories: environmental, organisational, promotional, social, sporting and economic.

The toppers in the individual categories for the 2016-17 season are – Dubai Dash (Organisational Development), Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s (Economic Development), 8th Sports Creativity Forum (Sports Development), Mk Fencing Academy International Epee Cup (Social Development), Dubai International Sports Conference (Promotional Development) and Dubai International Equestrian Conference (Environmental Development).