Category: Sports

Formula 1 and UFC are the only two sports I watch on TV and with both I’m always surprised by how small the following in Kuwait is. With F1 I kind of understand why nobody in Kuwait cares for it but I can’t seem to understand why UFC isn’t more popular. It’s one of the fastest growing sports, it’s full of action as well as drama and its extremely entertaining. The past 24 hours have been pretty much insane in the UFC world with four fights being taken off the big UFC 223 fight card that’s taking place Saturday night, Conor got arrested and spent a night in prison for causing mayhem after a press conference, and the main headline fight has yet to be determined after two fighters had to pull out!

So much drama taking place and I only know of four other people in Kuwait who watch the UFC and I can discuss this with! So if any of you are UFC fans, let me know in the comments, I’m kinda curious to see if any UFC fans follow the blog.

If you’re looking for a new fun activity, then you should consider rowing with the Kuwait Pilot Gig Club. Back in April of last year, I posted about them, but it was towards the end of their season and I wasn’t able to try them out. Then a friend reminded me about them a couple of weeks ago so we both signed up for a trial session which turned out to be a lot of fun.

The meeting point for the trial session was the Nino’s parking lot on the Gulf Road at 4PM, I had gym nearby till 3:40PM and then headed to Nino’s once I was done. I had leg day at the gym which turned out to be the worst thing to do before rowing since I later found out that 90% of rowing involves using legs. My legs were sore for days after!

The trial session is for people who have an interest to row, but have never rowed before and are curious to try it. Each rowboat can take up to 6 people, we were 5, just me, my friend, the coxswain (captain) and two experienced rowers. We started the session off on land with information on the boat and the oars. Once in the water, we were then taught the basics of rowing and how to row as a team. I loved being out at sea and I hadn’t done that in forever because I get seasick so easily. But, I had taken some amazing motion sickness pills (Betaserc) and really didn’t feel sick at all. Rowing wasn’t very difficult, but it obviously will take a number of outings before getting comfortable with the techniques and motions. You do have to be fit and have some strength but other than that, they’ll teach you everything you need to know.

If you’re interested in rowing this is what you need to do. Firstly you have to contact them on 99031123 or [email protected] and arrange for a trial session. If like me you enjoyed the experience and want to take part in this activity, then here are the prices:

Intro Course
Involves 6 rowing sessions + 1 social row. The cost is KD75 and the course needs to be completed within two months.

Monthly Membership Packages
You need to have completed the intro course and then it’s:

– 4 Rows KD 30/- monthly
– 8 Rows KD 55/- monthly
– Unlimited Rows KD 75/- monthly

Make sure you also check out their instagram account for more pictures and videos @kwt_pilot_gig

If like me you missed the opening of the 23rd GulfCup, here’s a pretty cool video of the fireworks that took place. [Vimeo]

Over the weekend the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) announced that they signed Nasser Alruwayeh, the first Kuwaiti ever to join the WWE. I haven’t watched WWE since back when it used to be called WWF, but I still think this is a pretty cool signing.

Nasser is a crossfiter who took part in the invitation-only tryout in Dubai last April. He managed to impress the WWE coaches and training personnel which is why they decided to sign him along with Shadia Bseiso, the first Arab woman to sign with the WWE.

For more information on the signing you can check out the WWE website [Here]

Refit is a local app that allows you to connect with various freelance fitness trainers in Kuwait. Say you want to learn how to box or how to play basketball, or maybe you just want to get fit, then you’d use this app to find a suitable trainer.

To find a trainer all you need to do is open the app, find the sport you’re interested in and then go through the list of the available trainers and book an appointment. You could also use the app to purchase supplements of healthy snacks.

Right now the app doesn’t have that many trainers to choose from but the more popular it gets the more trainers would sign up to it. The app is available on iOS and if you’re interested, you can download it from [Here]

Kuwait Skydive is the first skydiving center to open up in Kuwait. They’ve only just opened and they’re offering tandem jumps out of a plane with an instructor, as well skydiving lessons.

The cost of a tandem jump with Kuwait Skydive is KD160. That’s KD5 cheaper than the cost to skydive in Dubai which was where everyone was going previously.

Kuwait Skydive also offers an AFF course for KD1,000. The course includes 8 jumps and takes around 7-10 days to complete. Once you’ve completed the course you’ll receive your own jump log book and you’ll be able to start jumping out of the plane by yourself.

Their jump location is in Khiran and they’re open daily except for Sundays. Currently, they’re only accepting booking via phone since their website is under construction. So if you’re interested you can call them up on 65566226. For more information you can also visit them on instagram @kuwaitskydive or kuwaitskydiveco.com

A friend of mine who has been racing bikes for just two years finished 2nd in UAE’s Superbike Race over the weekend. He races in the 600cc category race and is a pretty big guy compared to the other racers (which means more weight on the bike) and yet still came in an impressive second place. I just wanted to give him a shoutout on the blog and you can read the news article related to this on the KUNA website [Here]

MMA fans will be excited to know that an official UFC Gym will be opening up in Kuwait. According to a tweet by @UFCGYMME, the UFC Gym in Kuwait will be 4,000sqm and is expected to open in the new under construction Assima Mall by 2019.

UFC Gym’s are located all around the world and in addition to offering MMA classes, they’re also a regular fitness gym. For more information on them, you can visit their website [Here]

Thanks lovelykuwait

In their red, white and blue uniforms, Kuwait’s first female ice hockey team is training hard in the desert ahead of their debut world tournament later this month.

Affectionately dubbed the “ice ladies” by local media, athletes in hijab or with their hair hastily tied in topknots pull on their helmets before taking to the rink in the Kuwaiti capital — where temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on a sunny October afternoon. [Source]

The team will play their first international game on October 30 at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Bangkok.

Does anyone know if there is any place in Kuwait that broadcasts the F1 races live? I don’t think the F1 community in Kuwait is that big but just maybe there’s a place that broadcast the races just because they’re on. Just a few days ago a friend was also asking me for places that played NFL games. Makes me think we really need a sports cafe in Kuwait that isn’t a shisha place.

One of the biggest boxing fights of our time is taking place this Saturday, August 26th. Its sort of a crossover fight since Conor McGregor, one of the biggest MMA stars who fights in the UFC is crossing over into boxing to fight the eleven-time five-division professional boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. If you’re in Kuwait, here are three ways to watch the fight:

OSN: If you’re an OSN subscriber you can watch the fight on OSN Sports Box Office HD. The cost is $20 and here is a link with more information [Link]

Cinescape: Cinescape has partnered up with OSN to broadcast the fight at one of their theaters. Not much information on this yet other than this one post on the Cinescape instagram account [Here]. So you’ll have to check their instagram account before the event for more info.

Online: You can purchase the pay per view on the UFC website. Cost is 30 euros but includes one month access to UFC Fight Pass. For more details click [Here]

The main card will take place around 5 or 6AM Kuwait time so be prepared to either stay up late or wake up super early to watch the fight.

Update: Just to be clear, the fights take place Saturday in the US so its 5 or 6AM Sunday morning here in Kuwait.
Update2: Looks like Cinescape will no longer be broadcasting the fight

The Kuwait Baseball Softball Challenger League (KBSC) is a local non-profit organization that provides their players with 6 months of physical activity and competition twice a week for a minimal fee.

Registration for 2017-2018 season is now open for boys and girls ages 4 to 17. They have their regular baseball divisions, a girls’ softball division and a challenger division for players with physical and/or developmental disabilities.

Their baseball fields (pictured above) are located off the 6th Ring Road at the Hunting and Equestrian Club. They are super legit fields with green grass, bleachers and even lemonade and corndogs. If you’re interested to find out more or to register for their 2017-2018 season, click [Here]

One of the oldest sports clubs in Kuwait is looking to recruit men and women for their rugby team. If you’re interested keep reading below for a small brief on who they are along with information on how to contact them:

Fancy playing rugby? Kuwait Scorpions is always looking to recruit new players for the upcoming 2017/2018 season. We have both male and female teams. Any level of experience is welcome. Pre-season training has started already and will continue every Monday and Wednesday from 7PM.

A brief overview of Kuwait Scorpions Rugby Football Club (KSRFC)

• The Kuwait Scorpions are the oldest rugby club in the Middle East. Established in 1946 when Kuwait Oil Company and the British Army played the first ever recorded fixture in the region.

• The Kuwait Scorpions are a registered member of Gulf Rugby (formerly Arabian Gulf RFC) which is in turn affiliated with the IRB (International Rugby Board).

• The club consists of players from all around the world; we currently have players from the United Kingdom, Republic of Fiji, USA, Canada, Lebanon, Egypt, South Africa, as well as an increasing number of Kuwaiti players.

• The Kuwait Scorpions is not gender biased and has two main branches, the Men’s Senior Team and the Ladies Senior Team. In addition to the two main branches we have a Men’s Veteran Team that forms for special events.

• The Kuwait Scorpions Men are the defending Dubai 7’s Gulf Men’s Open Champions (2014).

Interested in becoming a Scorpion?
The Kuwait Scorpions would love to hear from you, regardless of your age, gender, or past rugby experience, Kuwait Scorpions Rugby Club provides a great way to keep fit, improve your rugby skills, socialise, and visit other countries around the Gulf region.
If interested, please don’t hesitate to contact Hussain Al-Helal at [email protected].

Instagram: @q8scorpions
Facebook: facebook.com/q8scorpions
Website: q8scorpions.teamapp.com/

To check out photos of the Kuwait Scorpions from the early 50s, click [Here]

The upcoming Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex is expected to be completed sometime next year and I just saw interior renderings of the complex for the first time so figured I’d share them here.

The International Tennis Complex is part of the 360 Mall expansion project and is expected to become one of the world’s best tennis facilities. It will house two main arenas with a combined stadium seating for over 7,600 spectators, eight indoor courts with over 500 seats and eight outdoor courts with 1,500 seats. For more pictures and information on the project, click [Here]

Thanks lovelykuwait

The video above is an interview that Generation Iron Fitness Network held with Arnold Classic winner, Brandon Curry on why he thinks Kuwait produces so many great body builders (specifically Oxygen Gym).

Brandon lived and trained in Kuwait before and he thinks Kuwait produces a lot of amazing body builders because of two things; The first is that Oxygen is one the best equipped and body building focused gyms in the world. The second is that when body builders move to Kuwait from their home countries, they are a lot more focused. There aren’t as many distractions like family and the whole social life they had back home. In Kuwait its basically eat, sleep, train and repeat. That actually makes a lot of sense.