Dubai, December 11, 2021: Strong competition continued during Episode 2 of 22nd Fazza Championship for Youlah and 17th edition of Al Meydan Program, organised by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC), on Friday night in Al Marmoom.

The competition and search for the Meydan Grand Knight has become more exciting with the inclusion of swimming – held at Hamdan Sports Complex – and other traditional sports, 

including horse and camel riding plus Saktoun (traditional rifle) shooting. The main event, of course, is Youlah but there is also recitation of traditional Arabic poetry.

Episode 2

Four more Yuweels (participants) out of the 16 qualifiers competed in Episode 2. They were Ahmed Al Habsi, Saif Al-Ghafli, Fayyad Al-Amri and Maktoum Al Mansouri.

The competition night began with the Yuweels performing Youlah to the beat of the song ‘Our Sheikh Muhammad’ written by HHC CEO Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmook. Youlah is a heritage sport that involves spinning and throwing a replica rifle made of wood and metal plating. Fayyad Al-Amri and Ahmed Al-Habsi excelled in this event and obtained 25 points each for Youlah.

Earlier in the day, in the 1,200-metre horse-riding endurance race, held in cooperation with the Dubai Police’s mounted unit, the same duo also excelled with 20 marks each.

Meanwhile, in the swimming competition, which was pre-recorded and earlier held at Hamdan Sports Complex,Al-Habsi and Maktoom Al-Mansoori scored 10 points each.

In the recitation of the poem “Fifty Years Before and After” by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, both Al-Amri and Al-Habsi dominated again with 10 points each.

In Saktoun rifle shooting, Al-Habsi and Al-Amri again excelled with 15 marks each while in the 1,200 metre camel ride, which was held live at Dubai Camel Racing Club’s Al Marmoom Race Track, Al-Amri and Al-Habsi again received 20 points each.

For their strong performance, Al-Amiri and Al-Habsi who collected 90 and 70 points respectively will advance to the next round; while Al-Ghafli and Al Mansouri were eliminated.

High level of competition

Nathalie Awadissian, HHC Director of Radio Stations Department, Media and Communication, noted: “This season, contestants who qualified have been empowered in various heritage competitions and have shown great merit and enthusiasm. The high level of competition among Emiratis has a strong appeal and following from the public who watch the weekly competitions at our new location at Dubai Camel Racing Club’s Al Marmoom Race Track.”

Rashid Al Khasouni, HHC Director of Championships, presented the second episode, which was broadcast live over Al Oula Radio and Sama Dubai TV and posted on HHC social media platforms.