00:06Golden desert dunes, brutal summers, and an up-and-coming winter sports scene?
00:13At first glance, it seems unlikely.
00:16But sports typically linked to sub-zero temperatures are breaking new ground in Qatar.
00:23Communities have always adapted sports to their local climates,
00:27while Europeans are used to snowboarding and skiing in the Alps.
00:31Here in the Gulf, people go sandboarding in the dunes.
00:34But Qatar wants to flip that script by stepping on ice.
00:39How does a desert nation build a culture around winter sports?
00:43I'm Laila Humaira and this is Qatar In Motion.
00:54Did you know that Qatar's ambition to carve its own path on the ice began in 2010?
01:01That's when the Winter Sports Committee was established,
01:04laying the groundwork for sports that are not quite synonymous with the Gulf.
01:09A decade later, the country debuted at the Winter Youth Olympics in Switzerland,
01:15even placing fifth in three-on-three ice hockey.
01:19Since then, Qatar's appearance on the international winter sports stage has become more frequent,
01:25participating in the Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea in 2024
01:30and the Asian Winter Games in China last year.
01:36That momentum is being built from the ground up.
01:39At the grassroots level, interest is already growing.
01:43A few years ago, Qatar hosted the first-ever curling training camp in the region.
01:48Today, the sport is played in schools,
01:50lighting a spark in youth that may have grown up in the heat
01:54but are embracing the challenge of the cold.
02:00These young curlers are among the faces of Qatar's growing winter sports sphere.
02:06Three times a week, they escape the summer heat,
02:09pick up their gear and glide on the ice.
02:13Coach Amna Alkayat, who started playing the sport out of curiosity,
02:17began coaching the girls' team a few years ago
02:20after assisting the head coach in a tournament.
02:25I really enjoyed it and that's what's put more passion for me
02:29to teach the people about curling
02:31and to learn them how to curl, how to balance themselves,
02:35how to enter, how to feel confidence inside the ice.
02:40Known as chess on ice, curling may look quirky at first glance,
02:45but it's steep in tradition.
02:48The 16th century sport has captivated people all over the world
02:52since becoming an official Olympic sport in 1998.
02:57But what's a game that was first played in medieval Scotland
03:01doing in the Gulf in the 21st century?
03:06For the last years, the expansion of curling is great
03:10and I'm so glad that so many countries right now play sports
03:13in like more than 70 countries all over the world play
03:16and it's grown and it's developed
03:18and we hope Qatar will be one of them.
03:21I hope we'll see a lot of fans who will enjoy Team Qatar play
03:24and win international events.
03:27Most of the girls on the team have between one and three years
03:31of experience playing the sport.
03:33But how and where do newbies begin?
03:38So coach, thank you so much for having us here today,
03:40having me here today.
03:41Can you tell me how do I learn to start curling
03:45for a newbie like me?
03:46What should I know?
03:47The basic rules.
03:48First of all, you're very welcome.
03:50And curling is a really nice team basic sport.
03:53It's a winter sport.
03:54You play it in the ice
03:56and it has some basic steps and some basic rules.
04:00So there is two teams.
04:01We have two colors as you see for the stones.
04:04So the two teams play the stones
04:06and when they finish for each team,
04:08they have eight stones
04:08and each team has four players.
04:10So we have the first player,
04:12the second player,
04:13the third player,
04:14the fourth,
04:15and we have a player who is the skip
04:16and the team who throws the stone
04:19and two persons to sweep.
04:21The point for the playing is to score the,
04:24and you see the circle,
04:25we call it the home.
04:26So you have to score more near to the middle.
04:31Okay.
04:31So the more it's close to the middle,
04:32the more you take the point.
04:34And when they finish this eight yellow stones,
04:36this eight red stones,
04:38they see the score.
04:40Can you teach me the movements of curling then?
04:43The most important thing to do in the ice
04:45is you have to control your balance.
04:47Yeah,
04:48because you wear and your foot.
04:51So if you're right with your right hand
04:53or you use your right hand,
04:54you put the slider thing and your left foot.
04:56The one stone,
04:57it's around 20 kg.
04:59Yeah.
04:59You see?
05:00Yeah.
05:00So we don't lift it.
05:01We just push it in the ground.
05:03Yeah.
05:03So it slides.
05:04The steps,
05:05I will let my player hand
05:09to teach you how to do the six steps.
05:12First step,
05:12you put your foot in the hack.
05:14We have a hack foot.
05:15We have a sliding foot.
05:16Okay.
05:16So the hack foot is the one
05:18without the slider.
05:19Without the slider, sorry.
05:21So you put your hack foot.
05:22Second step,
05:23you go one step forward
05:25just a little bit
05:26with the sliding foot.
05:27Then you crouch down.
05:28Okay.
05:29This is the third step.
05:30And the fourth step,
05:32you have to elevate your back
05:33from the back.
05:34And the fifth step,
05:35you have to go back
05:37with the stone
05:38and your body with the stone.
05:39Okay.
05:39And then you can go.
05:42Okay.
05:44Wow.
05:47But don't let those
05:48seemingly easy movements fool you.
05:50Having tried it myself,
05:52it's a lot harder
05:53than the athletes make it look.
05:57This is a sport
05:58about the physicality.
05:59It maybe doesn't look like that,
06:01but it is really,
06:02really tough sport.
06:03This is all about the strategy,
06:05about the tactics,
06:06thinking,
06:07thinking about your team
06:08or other team,
06:09what they do,
06:09what you do.
06:10And it's exciting.
06:12And every game
06:13is a different game.
06:15Other than strategy
06:16and the technicalities
06:17of the sport,
06:19curling also teaches values
06:20that can be practiced
06:21off the ice.
06:24The most important thing
06:25in sport and life
06:27and your everyday,
06:28daily life
06:29is respect.
06:30You have to work
06:31with respect,
06:32talk with people
06:32with respect,
06:34enjoy your life
06:35with respect.
06:35The second thing
06:36is the teamwork.
06:38I really enjoy it.
06:39You can actually see
06:40even in the practice,
06:41we enjoy the teamwork
06:42and we see ourselves
06:44like as a family
06:45from the teamwork.
06:48For the athletes,
06:50being part of
06:50a historic chapter
06:51in their country's
06:52sporting legacy
06:53makes the experience
06:55even more special.
06:57I am so happy
06:58that I am one
07:00of the first generations
07:01in curling.
07:02There is now
07:03many young people
07:04are coming,
07:05juniors.
07:06Now we have
07:06our own arena
07:07and I am so happy
07:09that people will
07:10come and try.
07:11That people
07:12around the world
07:13need to know
07:14that we have curling
07:15in Qatar
07:15and we have
07:16a huge team.
07:17This ice skating rink
07:18used to be
07:19a multi-purpose hall
07:20for all kinds of sports.
07:22Well now,
07:23instead of volleyball,
07:24handball
07:24or other typically
07:25summer sport,
07:26it's been transformed
07:27into a training ground
07:29for Qatar's
07:29winter sports athletes.
07:31So whether it's
07:32curling,
07:33speed skating
07:33or ice hockey,
07:35many are practicing
07:36their skills
07:37and competing here.
07:49And while you can
07:50barely feel
07:51the desert heat
07:52in here,
07:53it's always
07:54a warm
07:54and welcoming place
07:55for another
07:56group of people.
07:59The expats
08:00who have come
08:01to help develop
08:02the team
08:02who embrace
08:03their national sport
08:05in their second home.
08:08I come to Qatar
08:10for prepare
08:11Qatar national team
08:12and especially
08:13for goalies.
08:14I come here
08:15to build
08:16one of the strongest
08:17teams in GCC countries.
08:19Represent Qatar
08:20in international
08:21ice hockey federation
08:22in world championship.
08:24We have to
08:24have women's team,
08:26men's team national,
08:28kids program,
08:29our Qatar
08:30international league
08:32and referee program.
08:34Now everything done
08:35and we can go
08:36to world championship.
08:37When we win
08:38world championship
08:40division four,
08:41I say we'll do
08:41a good job.
08:42But now we have
08:43to work more.
08:47Goalies
08:48or goaltenders
08:49are one of the most
08:50important players
08:51on the ice
08:52and his protégé
08:53is hoping to become
08:54a solid backbone
08:56of Qatar's
08:57ice hockey team.
09:03To be a goalie,
09:04you need to be
09:04a little bit crazy.
09:05It's hard for
09:06anyone to imagine
09:07that there's someone
09:08can put himself
09:09in front of a puck
09:10weights 170 grams,
09:1280 kilometer per hour
09:13speed.
09:14It needs reaction time.
09:16You need speed.
09:17You need mobility.
09:19You need to be
09:20flexible
09:21because some
09:23change direction
09:24in less than a second.
09:26The puck
09:27changes the direction
09:28from right to left.
09:29So you need to have
09:30a lot of energy
09:32and power
09:32and stamina
09:33in your body
09:33so you need to
09:34work on it
09:35to maintain
09:36your stamina.
09:37Hockey goalie
09:38is more than
09:39the half of the team
09:41because
09:42playing as a goalie,
09:44your mistake
09:45is a goal.
09:46Goalie has
09:46one job also
09:48extra on him
09:49which is
09:49to direct
09:50his defenders
09:51as forwards
09:52to maintain
09:53the shape
09:53to save
09:55the box
09:55from players.
09:57I also
09:58redirect the players
10:00as the situation
10:01is happening
10:02in front of me
10:02so that's why
10:03we also need
10:03to read the game.
10:04It gives you
10:05feeling like
10:06you have to be
10:07responsible
10:07on the ice.
10:09You are
10:09the responsible
10:10one for the
10:11entire 15 players,
10:1320 players
10:14on the ice.
10:14Since we start
10:15practicing
10:16and having
10:17coaches
10:18that leads us
10:19and try to
10:20develop our skills
10:21skating and shooting
10:22we reach that level.
10:24As everybody knows
10:25it's European sport
10:26so the one challenge
10:28that we had here
10:28as a team
10:29is to make
10:30this sport
10:31famous
10:32in the desert.
10:33At the very beginning
10:34we were like
10:3520 players
10:3725 players
10:38but
10:39after a few years
10:41of competing
10:42trying hard
10:43we end up
10:44to have
10:44around
10:4570 to 80 kids.
10:47We have
10:48a women's team
10:49we have a men's team
10:50and we have
10:50a kids team
10:51so this makes us
10:52feel very good
10:53feel proud
10:54especially to add
10:55in the golf
10:56a women's team
10:57it's not that easy
10:58but with working
11:00together
11:00team and
11:02Olympic committee
11:03we get it.
11:04I hope
11:04our team
11:05competes
11:06in a very high level
11:07and especially
11:08Olympic games
11:09we want to
11:10participate
11:11in World Cup
11:12we want to
11:13participate
11:14in a lot of
11:15championships
11:16and tournaments
11:17especially for
11:19the IIHF
11:20federation
11:20so this is our hope
11:23to be the full
11:24member of the
11:26IIHF
11:26federation
11:29From the sweeping
11:30strategies of curling
11:32to shooting a puck
11:33in ice hockey
11:34it's been fun
11:35showing you
11:35how Qatar
11:36is embracing
11:37and investing
11:38in a sport
11:39that may not
11:39be in its nature
11:40but one the country
11:42is certainly
11:42nurturing
11:43for the next
11:44generation.
11:45That's all the time
11:46we have for now
11:46thanks for watching
11:47Qatar in Motion
11:48and see you next time.
11:55that's all the time
11:56we're facing
11:58and see you next time
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