Category: Sports

Sun & Sand Sports, the largest sporting goods retailer in the Middle East will be opening their first store in Kuwait next month. The store is located in Salmiya behind Zahra Complex and I passed by yesterday and managed to get a sneak peek at the place. Sun & Sand Sports will be composed of two floors, the lower floor for men and the top floor for women, kids and sports equipment. One thing I was curious to see was if their Nike collection would be different from the main Nike store since Sun & Sand are actually the exclusive distributors for Nike in the Middle East. But since everything was covered in plastic sheets I couldn’t get a good look. They’re hoping to open the store October 1st if everything goes according to plan, here is the location on [Google Maps]

Ali Husain has been organizing trips to Oman for awhile now but I only recently found out about them through a friend of mine. Ali is a Kuwaiti who used to travel to Oman on a monthly basis to hike and discover new places but he ended up completely moving there back in 2012 because he loved the place so much.

According to Ali, the mountains in Oman are rugged yet majestic and unfortunately, not many people know about the real beauty of Oman. It always upsets him every time he asks a person about Oman and the only thing they know is the Shangri-La hotel which is not a representation of anything real in Oman. Oman has so many hidden jewels, unique mountains, caves and waterfalls to offer but no one is willing to put the effort to leave the comfort of a hotel room. So, Ali decided to start a new outdoor community in the Gulf.

Every few months Ali organizes trips to Oman from Kuwait. The trips are available usually on weekends and they are all about team work and creating a mini community in a magical setup. Everyone on these trips works together to set up camps, cut wood, cook meals, etc. It is a full on schedule usually for two days with hardly any sleep. There are no hotels or proper bathroom and everyone will have to go back to basics in everything.

Right now Ali has two upcoming trips this October. The first trip is from October 9th to 11th and its to the the largest caving system in the region. It is an amazing experience like no other places on this planet. The second trip takes place from October 16th to October 18th and is to the summit of the highest point in the Gulf, Jebal Shams at 10,000 ft. The cost is KD150 per person and that includes food, beverages, camping gear and transportation but does not include airfare to Oman or any hotel stays before or after the trip. Most of the trips require a high level of endurance and acceptance is usually based on that.

So if you’re interested in exploring Oman you can contact Ali on [email protected] or whatsapp +96599635414. You can also follow him on instagram where you can see many more amazing pictures @husaak

Ray Elbe, the Kuwait based MMA fighter just finished filming season 2 of Al Batal, the first Arab MMA Reality TV show thats similar to the Ultimate Fighter but based out of the UAE. This is the second season and is going to feature 12 fighters of Arab ethnicity flown in from around the world to compete for the opportunity to be champion in either the 70 kilo or 84 kilo weight division. Ray is leading one of the teams on the show so if you’re interested, the show premiers September 27th on FOX Movies, check out the trailer above. [YouTube]

Lillywhites, UK’s oldest and the world’s largest sports store is going to be opening soon in Kuwait. They will be replacing all the current Go Sport locations in Kuwait including the huge Avenues location which is currently undergoing a major facelift in preparation for the opening sometime next month. If the brand sounds familiar it could be because you’ve seen their store in London which has been at Piccadilly Circus since 1863.

Full disclosure: I’m currently involved in this project but was only able to post about it now

The Bowling Club, said Al-Huwaidi, will be the largest of its kind in the Middle East with the main bowling hall providing 58 lanes for this sport’s enthusiasts. He indicated that a hotel, a gym, and a 1,000 capacity parking lot will be built alongside the club, hoping that such high tech facility will help boost the status of bowling in Kuwait. [Source]

Seems like overkill for an outdated activity like bowling. It actually sounds like a project from the 80s that was just given the go ahead now, kinda like if tomorrow they decided to build the largest roller skate arena in the Middle East, no one would care.

Host country Kuwait trailed 50-0 at halftime before eventually losing 91-0. In what looks to be a pretty accurate ranking, Canada is ranked No. 1 in the power rankings while Kuwait is ranked eighth. [Source]

I’m not surprised that Kuwait lost to #1 ranked Canada, what I’m surprised about is the fact this is taking place in Kuwait and no one knows about it. Also if they’re playing American Football in this weather all geared up then I don’t think the World Cup in Qatar is going to be an issue.

Thanks Ali

I’ve gone through a whole bunch of sports mixers over the last few years and really wasn’t happy with any of them. The majority would either start falling apart after awhile, not mix my drink properly or worst of all, start leaking. Sports mixers are used to mix protein shakes, energy drinks or nutrition supplements and are pretty common with gym goers. Recently I noticed one of the protein stores I frequent (Health Planet) started carrying the Blender Bottle brand. I purchased a small bottle and I’m in love with it, by far the best sports mixer I’ve ever used. It’s really well made, looks great, does a great job of mixing because of the wire ball wisk inside and most importantly, it hasn’t leaked on me yet. There are two sizes of the sports mixer, 20oz and 28oz. The one I got which is pictured above is 20oz which is the perfect size for me. The price for both sizes are similar coming in at KD6.750 and KD6.950. So if you want to pick one they’re available at Health Planet.

I spotted the flying boat yesterday down in Bnaider but had no idea they were planning on skydiving with it. Jumping out of a flying boat at 3,500 feet sounds absurd but they did it. Watch the video below.

[YouTube]

via Frankom

The Skydiving event which was set to take place next week has now been pushed back till June. The new dates are June 16 to the 23rd so if you haven’t signed up there is still time. Also if you have no clue what I’m talking about then check this [Link]

Although it was a lot more popular in the 80s and 90s, ice skating can still be fun if you go with a group of friends and when you want to escape the summer heat. The place is usually empty and theres a McDonalds there plus Fat Burger and Maki across the street if you want to combine it with lunch or dinner. Below are the timings and prices:

Skating Sessions:
8:30AM to 10:00AM
10:30AM to 12:00PM
12:30PM to 2:00PM
2:30PM to 4:00PM
4:30PM to 6:00PM
6:30PM to 8:00PM
8:30PM to 10:00PM

Fees:
Entrance + Ice Skates – KD1.500
None Skating Escort – KD0.500
Monthly Membership – KD40.000
Lessons – KD10 for 4×30 minute lessons
Skate sharpening – KD1.000
Lockers small/large – KD0.250/KD0.500

Telephone: 22411151/2/3

Extreme Sports have a bike rental station outside their skateboard park in Marina Waves (the area next to Marina Crescent). They’re renting bikes at KD3 an hour which depending on how fast you ride is enough time to go to Kuwait Towers and back. The bikes they’re renting are pretty decent Trek bikes and since they’re the Trek dealers the bikes are most likely being well taken care of. They’re open daily from 3PM to 11PM except on Fridays when they open from 6AM to 11AM and then again from 3PM to 11PM.

Update: Had a horrible experience with them. Rented a bicycle for a friend, put it on my bike rack and headed to Corniche. Once we got to Corniche turns out the bike gears were not working so headed back to the rental place and told them. They were like it’s fine. I was like no its not the gears won’t change. He was like you should have checked before you took the bike. Long story short they refused to give us a new bike and refused to refund us the money.

I’ve seen this trail while driving by on the Gulf Road but had no idea there was a multicolored track. [YouTube]

Thanks Fahad

The Kuwait National American Football team is currently in Korea to play against the Korean American Football team in a Asian qualifier game for the IFAF Seniors World Championship Sweden 2015.

The Kuwait Gridiron Football Federation was founded in 2010, has no official league and has minimal international experience. On the other hand, the Korean American Football Association was founded in 1946, has a 21 college team league, and was ranked 5th in the IFAF World Championships Japan 2007.

The match is taking place on April 12th and to keep up to date with the Kuwait team news follow them on Facebook [Here]

First I’m going to start this post by saying this is NOT an April Fools joke. Phoenix Global, the same guys who’ve been bringing you extreme activities like bungee jumping and the upcoming paragliding festival are going to be bringing skydiving to Kuwait.

The skydiving will be handled by a Finnish team and will take place from May 22nd to May 27th. The plane will take off from Sheikh Saad Terminal and you’ll land at the Green Island. It’s obviously a tandem jump and the cost is KD180 including photos and videos. There are limited spots available so if you want to book yours you can whatsapp them on 94004335 or call them on 22621766.

Photo by Hugo

I just found out about this and will be adding it to the list of things to do this weekend. Following the opening round held in Qatar, the FIA Middle East Rally Championship continues this weekend in the Kuwaiti desert. 33 competitors will be fighting for victory in the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. If you’re interested in checking them out they’ll be starting off today from the SIRBB Circuit. Entry is free but there are limited seats.

Leg 1, Super Special Stage:
Date: Thursday, 20 March 2014
Time: 6PM
Location: SIRBB Circuit [Map]

For the rest of the schedule click [Here]