Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has approved the results of the 2016-17 Sports Events Ranking System.
In the results, four events – DP World Tour Championship, Dubai World Cup, Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon and Dubai Tour – have received 5 Star ratings.
Launched by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) in 2014, the Ranking System is a pioneering initiative that seeks to incentivise and recognise excellence in the organisation of sports competitions and events in the emirate, with each event being ranked on the quality of organisation and its impact in six categories: environmental, organisational, promotional, social, sporting and economic.
Praising the efforts of the DSC team, which has resulted in the creation and implementation of this Ranking System, His Highness the Crown Prince of Dubai said: “The success of this system confirms our ability to deliver unique achievements in various fields.
“It is a pure home-grown idea, launched by Dubai Sports Council to develop the sports sector in line with all the major developments we have witnessed in the UAE.
“Since its inception, the Council has worked to improve the sports sector in Dubai and reach higher international standards through the adoption of successful practices, creation of innovative programmes and launch of pioneering initiatives.
“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.
“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.”
Impressive growth
The Ranking System has seen an impressive growth in the three years since its inception. In the inaugural edition (2014-15), there were 172 organisers registered with the System and that figure has jumped to 418 for 2016-17.
The number of local and community events has increased from 178 in the first edition to 297 in the third, while the number of conferences, exhibitions and awards has almost doubled from 23 in the second edition to 43 in the third.
Expressing his confidence in the positive impact of the Ranking System on the promotion of sports events in Dubai, both in terms of quantity and quality, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan added: “The significant increase in the number of organisers registered in the third edition of the Ranking System confirms the success of the system in achieving its objectives, foremost among which is to motivate organisers of sporting events to improve the quality of their organisation, and provide all the requirements of success in accordance with carefully established standards.”
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, thanked His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his unceasing patronage and unlimited support of the sports sector, and his guidance, which forms the basis of Dubai Sports Council’s management and development of the sports sector, and has led to the emergence of Dubai as one of the leading destinations in the world of sports and in the organisation of sporting events.
“Since the first board meeting of the Dubai Sports Council, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Board, has set some lofty goals and we are working on achieving them.
“With innovation and creativity at work as our benchmark, implementing the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed is the platform through which we achieve those great goals, and achieve excellence and innovation in the very important and vital sector of sport, with particular focus on the development of the sector to reach the highest levels of global management and organisation.
“Today, Dubai enjoys a prestigious position among the world’s leading cities in hosting and organising various local, regional and international sporting events. 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.”
Meeting targets
The Ranking System has led to an improvement in the organisational quality of events. 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 the third edition, events in the 4 Star category have risen to 133, while the events in the 3 Star ranking have fallen to 21.
The improvements at the organisational level 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 improved, from 370,000 in in the first year to 465,000 in 2016-17.
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).
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