Registration for the eighth annual Qatar International Falcon and Hunting Festival (Marmi-The Challenge 2017) will start tomorrow and continue until Tuesday, the organising committee has announced.
The competition is set to kick off on January 1 and run for until January 28 at Sabkhat Marmi in Sealine, the committee added.
The registration will take place at the Al Gannas Society headquarters in Katara Building No 33 from 4pm to 8pm. Interested participants are advised to come to the venue and register in person. They should bring with them their falcons and all required documents which will allow them to join the festival.
There will be no registration by phone or e-mail, the organisers have stressed.
The festival comprises a number of competitions including the international categories such as Al Mazain, Da’o, free falcon and Da’o Shaheen Gannas. Local categories of the competition consists of Hadad, Tala’a, free Da’o contest and Da’o Shaheen , young falconers contest for ages six to 10 years old and youth falconers contest for ages 11 to 15, in addition to the Saluki competition.
Registration for Al Mazain competition, a beauty contest for falcons, will continue until the end of the festival.
Held under the patronage of H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the festival is aimed at promoting the preservation of wildlife, protection of falcons and maintaining falconry as an important aspect of Qatari tradition passed from one generation to another.
Considered one of the largest in the region, the month-long festival also aims to promote excellence in falconry and hunting as well as share experiences among falconers in the region.
The previous edition of the festival was the biggest, having attracted more than 1,500 local and international participants and hundreds of visitors watching the exciting competitions covered by numerous local and international media.
This year’s festival is also expected to draw more people because the venue will be equipped with necessary facilities and will be located in one of the popular areas which people visit during this time of the year.
