A new sporting academy in Dubai is bringing together athletes and Olympians in a bid to inspire the next generation of track and field stars.
ESM and Athletes in Schools have partnered to create ESM Athletics, which will deliver elite-level coaching to track and field students aged between five and 18. The partnership allows UAE students in participating schools to have the unique opportunity to train alongside British Olympic, Paralympic and Team GB athletes.
To kick-start the new athletics offering, Team GB Sprinter and former European 200m Champion Tommy Ramadan and UK Athleticsaccredited track and field coach Ben Davies touched down in Dubai earlier this this year and more professional athletes arrived in February.
Specially designed training programmes based around a run, jump, and throw concept give students the chance to discover and develop their skills, as well as building on their speed, strength and stamina. The curriculum includes workshops focusing on events including long jump, high jump, block start practise, javelin throwing, hurdles and endurance challenges. Fast-paced sessions run by the experts last for up to an hour and are designed to be fun and inspiring.
Project Director for ESM Athletics, Umar Hameed, said the partnership resulted in an academy that is the first of its kind in the UAE. “ESM Athletics is dedicated to creating a performance pathway for aspiring world-class athletes. Together we are using our worldwide network of coaches, athletes and support staff to bring the very best practitioners to Dubai. The first step on this pathway is our commitment to building strong school athletics programmes,” Umar said.
In addition to the school athletics programme, ESM Athletics employs British Athletics coaches specialising in youth development and assisting students in transitioning from junior to senior levels. They work closely with UAE schools and create education resources to up-skill PE teachers.
ESM was established in 2004 with the aim of bringing high quality sports coaching to the youth of the Middle East at premium sports facilities. Today, it’s the UAE’s leading sports services provider for youth, delivering coaching to over 10,000 children every week in more than 200 facilities. Athletes in Schools is the UK’s leading provider of Olympic, Paralympic, and Team GB athlete school visits, teaming with more than 150 British athletes to inspire students at over 400 schools a year. In 2018, Athletes in Schools successfully launched in the UAE and quickly became one of the nation’s leading providers of elitelevel athletics coaching for schools.
ESM Athletics hold their sessions at the state-of-the-art facilities at GEMS International School — Al Khail, GEMS World Academy and GEMS Wellington Academy — Silicon Oasis. To find out more about academy sessions, timings, and workshops, contact ESM Athletics at academies@esm.ae or call 04 369 7817.