The Launch of the 8th Edition of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sport Award

The General Secretary of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sport Award announced the opening of the nominations for the 8th Edition of the Award from the beginning of 1st April 2016 until on the 20th September 2016 deadline receiving of nominations, opening thus the door to local, Arab and international athletes, whether for individuals, teams, or organizations, to submit their creative nominations. 

It also announced the addition of new awards in the scientific and intellectual production fields.

During a press conference held at Dubai Press Club on Monday, 28th March 2016, H.E. Khalid Ali Bin Zayed, the Secretary General of the Award, declared, "Our development plans and ideas are inspired by the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, shaped by the directions of H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai & President of Dubai Sports Council and Patron of the Award, and supervised by the efforts of H.H Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee and President of the Award. With a view to implement their visions and aspirations, we had to develop it, adding new categories, in order to help the innovators submit their innovations. Moreover, the awards are raised to AED 7.5 million to cope with the development and outstanding participation.”

He added: "With the Award joining the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, the largest humanitarian and developmental initiative in the world, it is proving its role as the largest incentive for brilliance and creativity in the sports field, in addition to the role played by sports in developing communities, especially that the Award is the brainchild of H.H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai (God bless him) who believes in creativity as a skill that enables its owner to challenge obstacles, solve problems, and develop ideas in unprecedented ways."

 "Thanks to the support and guidance of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai & President of Dubai Sports Council and Patron of the Award, and under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee and President of the Award, the Award has achieved great success during its 1st and 7th Editions. The Board of Trustees, under direction of H.E. Mattar Al-Tayer, developed these guidelines as a working approach to develop the sports sector in on the local, regional and international levels," H.H concluded.

The Secretary General of the Award disclosed the new decisions concerning the 8th Edition such as raising the value of the award presented to the winners to 7.5 million AED, noting that it was 7 million AED in the previous Editions, as well as the integration with “Year of the Reading” initiative with an appreciation award which will be granted to the best scientific and intellectual production.

On behalf of Board of Trustees, H.E. Khalid Ali Bin Zayed extended thanks and appreciation to the sports sector in Dubai, the Arab countries, and the International organizations for presenting the electronic nomination files to win in 8th Edition categories in accordance with defined regulations and criteria. Moreover, he confirmed that the Award would organize a number of visits and meetings with the Award team to explain all updates related to the Award, competition themes, and nomination criteria and, thus, help those who wish to prepare their nomination files.

Competition Theme

Dr. Khalifa Al Shaali, member of the Board of Trustees and Head of the Technical Committee of the Award, announced that “the competition categories for the 8th Edition are as follows: Individual Creative Sports, Group Creative Sports and Corporate Creative Sport. These are the same categories of the 1st and 7th Editions of the Award as they include all the elements of sporting achievement, and they were carefully selected. International level of participation in the Award is restricted to the Corporate Creative Sports category only for the fourth consecutive editions now with the Summer Olympic International Federations under the umbrella of Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), as well as National Paralympic Committees under the umbrella of International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to reinforce the important role of disabled people in sports sector and support this important category of athletes.”

"The competition themes for the Award are as follows: sports achievements, applied intellectual creations in the sports field, and creative initiatives to promote integrity and transparency. By determining the competition themes, the Board of Trustees aims to urge participants to present initiatives that contribute to the development of sports on a International level", Al Shaali added.

The head of the Technical Committee of the Award noted the growing interest in participation by the international sporting federations. The International Judo Federation was the winner of the last 7th Edition 2015. The federation won for its efforts in promoting the game, facilitating its practice for all refugees, and providing the children with the required equipment for free. He declared that the qualification period to compete for the Award at the local, Arab, and international level started on 1/9/2015 and ends on 20/9/2016. The nomination period will be extended three weeks to give participants and professionals in the 2016 Paralympic games the chance to participate in the Award.

Electronic Nomination and Paralympic Committees 

Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Director of the Award, confirmed that the applicants' files will be electronically submitted instead of asking the applicant to submit the documents proving their achievements. All applications are electronically submitted, removing thus any need for paperwork. He also tackled the support provided to the persons with disabilities by integrating the National Paralympic Committees in the International Corporate competition category during this edition held in parallel with Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. This was the main reason for delaying the deadline to allow for receiving nomination applications to 1/9/2016 when the edition ends, so that more distinguished participants would have the chance to submit their requests.  

The Award categories: 

‌A. Individual Creative Sports: This award is given to individuals such as players, coaches, referees, and administrators who have accomplished creative sports achievements on the local, Arab, or international level.

‌B.  Group Sports Creativity: This award is given to sports groups that have achieved creative sports works on the local, Arab, or international level.

‌C.  Corporate Sports Creativity: This award is given to sports institutes that have achieved creative sports works on the local, Arab, and international level. 

The Award Levels :

I‌.  Local Level:  for the athletes in the United Arab Emirates.

II‌.  Arab Level:  for the athletes from all the Arab countries.

III‌. International Level: for the Summer Olympic International Federations (under ASOIF) and the National Paralympic Committees (under IPC).

Achievements qualifying for participation

• The sports achievements for the Individual Creative Sports, Group Creative Sports and Corporate Creative Sports that were achieved between 1st September 2015 and 20th September 2016.
• Nomination requests presented by the concerned categories or by the categories that are nominated by other entities will be accepted.
• Nomination through the award web site: www.mbrawards.ae  

8th Edition Schedule

• Starting date for receiving applications  1st April 2016 
• Deadline for receiving applications  20th September 2016
• Arbitration and selection of winners  October 2016
• Announcing the winners  First week of December 2016
• Award ceremony  11th January 2017