Doha: The first ever 'VIRTU-REAL' and 34th episode of the weekly virtual #bigbmeetup on its 7th edition was hosted at the International School of London (ISL) Qatar on Saturday, 6 February 2021. It carried the theme of ‘Championing Arab Sportswomen’ to mark the Qatar National Sports Day celebrations. #BigBMeetUp founder, Bosco Menezes, said in his opening remarks, 'I am virtually over the moon with the success of our first ever 'VIRTU-REAL' meetup and came at a perfect time marking its 3rd anniversary of Qatar's popular community outreach initiative (#bigbmeetup). The International School of London Qatar was a great host.
To hold this programme at their spanking new pool made perfect sense since we were bringing in Qatar National Sports Day and we have a two-time Olympic swimmer from the Qatari National Team in our panel.' He was followed by ISL Qatar’s Head of School, Dr. Sergio Pawel and Youth Advocate of Education Above All Noor Al Qaedi who delivered short speeches on how sports and education work side-by-side to develop the youth of today.
Ahmed Al Shaharani, an endurance athlete and the moderator of the show, was surrounded by four women who are the very definition of female empowerment in the region. Reem Al Muftah, a fitness instructor and wellness advocate, started the show by sharing how she fell in love with sports and the idea of taking care of her body. She also described how her devotion to advocating for well-being further ignited when she entered motherhood. Nada Wafa, a two-time Olympian and a member of the Qatar National Swimming Team, then told her story about what got her into swimming. Her parents —particularly her father — triggered her passion for the highly competitive water sports.
While Mariam Farid, a huddler and a Qatar National Team Athlete, described how the intensity of the games and the exciting life of a sportswoman drove her competitive spirit to keep achieving more in her career. On the other hand, Dr. Jowhara Al Qahtani, surgeon and founder of Run the World Qatar, states that running became her escape from her very demanding job as a surgeon.
As the show continued, all four women found two common things about how they got into sports and wellness: the opportunities that their respective schools presented to them and the support of their fathers. It is amazing to see how these simple two key factors helped them kick-off their journeys towards their careers.
Dr. Sergio Pawel, ISL Qatar’s Head of School, concluded the conversation by sharing the other side of a female athlete’s story: the father’s perspective. At a noticeably young age, his two daughters were intrigued by fencing and eventually started to compete in international events. He shared how it was a privilege and a pleasure to see his children’s characters form and develop and be empowered by sports. Dr. Pawel added, ‘It is very easy to support athletes. You just have to say YES.’
