Hundreds of women government workers battled it out on Kite Beach on Wednesday to earn the Dh2 million in prises and the coveted title of Gov Games Champions.
The 66 women's teams, each representing a different government entity, took to the beach to overcome seven obstacles over a 40,000 square-metre course.
A total of 156 men and women's teams will be competing in the games which will run until Saturday when the finals will be held. The competition was announced in March by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, who attended the first day to cheer the teams on.
The first-of-its-kind government competition aims to promote creative collaboration and reinforce team spirit among public sector employees.
The 10 obstacles, similar to the popular Spartan Races, required more than 35 tonnes of fabricated steel. Some 840,000 litres of water were also used in the making of the course.
Refe’a Al Suwaidi, project manager at Dubai Culture, said she was excited to learn about Gov Games and was particularly happy to have a day dedicated for women participants.
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“I am not here to win the challenges. I just want to enjoy working out with friends. For instance, there were some people working in my sector who turned out to be athletes and now we are good friends,” said the 33-year-old Emirati.
Ms Al Suwaidi took part in the running races and weight –lifting challenge.
Teams will have to collectively carry a total of 75,000 kilograms of weight and run more than a million metres, as well as climbing heights exceeding 75,000 metres.
