Several thousands of people including five ministers, participated yesterday in a number of activities organised by the Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) for the National Sport Day.
HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali, HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada,  HE the Minister of Development Planning and Statistics Dr Saleh Mohamed Salem al-Nabit and HE the Minister of Justice Dr Hassan Lahdan Saqr al-Mohannadi were joined by a number of senior dignitaries and officials from both
the public and private sector.
The major events were Fun Run, Family Bike Fun, Zumba, Wall Climbing, Come and Try and Judo. Most of them were exclusive to the venue. About 24 government and private organisations had arranged their sport day events at AZF.
Early morning, HE al-Kuwari visited the venue and took part in a walkathon around the park and interacted with the officials of AZF.
The minister was accompanied by a number of officials from the ministry as well as Hamad Medical Corporation and Primary Health Care Corporation.
HE Dr al-Kuwari described the National Sport Day as an important occasion to highlight the importance of physical activities, which help avoid both lifestyle and chronic diseases.
Acting CEO Mohamed Khalifa al-Suwaidi recalled that AZF has been hosting such celebrations since the National Sport Day was first launched in 2011.
“We are proud to have played our part in contributing to its success over the years and are delighted with the huge turnout, which provides real evidence of the appetite among the community and local residents for events like these.” The events also showcased the capabilities of AZF to host mega events.
The 3km Fun Run, held from 9am to 11am, was one of the major attractions and saw participation from a large number of people. Another exclusive event at the venue was judo training for boys and girls aged 8-12. The participants were able to learn judo techniques under the guidance of professional instructors.
Another unique item at the venue was the family bike activity in Aspire Zone. Aspire provided two types of bikes – a four-seater bike for families and a single-seater bike for individuals.
AZF also provided opportunities to get training in mountain climbing skills under the supervision of licensed climbing instructors on an outdoor climbing wall.