Category: Sports

This is the most random thing ever, I can’t tell if they’re trolling or not. YouTube

Kuwait is currently holding the 2023 IBF World Bowling Championship and I don’t think anybody knows. The international sporting event which started on October 4th and is ongoing until October 15th is taking place at the Kuwait Bowling Sporting Club in Salmiya. The bowling alley is one of the largest in the region with 48 bowling lanes and when I passed by yesterday, they were all being used for the event.

The men’s competition includes teams from Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, UAE, Oman, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Czechoslovak, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Colombia, Canada, Egypt in addition to Kuwait.

The women’s teams include Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, China, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Denmark, Germany, Colombia, Canada in addition to host Kuwait.

There is plenty of seating if you want to go and watch the event live. When I passed by there were multiple matches taking place simultaneously and I just moved from one area to another to watch the games. Entry to watch the event is free and the matches start at 9AM and continue throughout the day till around 5PM. You can check out the schedule below.

The event is also being streamed live online. They have 4 cameras streaming simultaneously and you can watch those on YouTube. Link

I only watch two sports, Formula 1 and UFC which is why I find this news so exciting. Former 7-time UFC champion and future hall of famer José Aldo is coming to Kuwait! He is going to be the guest of honor for the FERA Championship which is taking place this coming weekend.

In addition to Aldo coming to Kuwait, Renan Barao, the former UFC bantamweight champion is making his return to the fighting scene after leaving the UFC 4 years ago. Barao at one point had one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history and was regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists in the world.

The FERA Championship looks like it’s going to be a pretty huge event. It’s being held over two days at The Arena and they’ll be hosting 11 fights, 7 of which will be MMA while the remaining 4 will be Muay Thai fights. The first day of the event will be the weigh-ins, meet & greet with the fighters and the music show. The second day will be the meet & greet with Aldo followed byall the fights.

Tickets start at 20KD and you can book them through The Arena’s website. José Aldo meet & greet tickets will be sold on the spot and will cost a 10KD.

This is a completely random tidbit that popped up on my feed this morning. Renan Barao, the former UFC bantamweight champion is making his return to the fighting scene after leaving the UFC 4 years ago with a fight next month here in Kuwait. Source

Barao will face Peter Ligier in the main event of Fera Championship’s debut card on October 7. I checked the @ferachampionship Instagram account and it’s still empty as of this post with just a mention in the profile that says the event is on October 6 & 7.

If you’re a UFC fan this looks like it might be a pretty interesting event to go to.

Formula One picked up in popularity over the past few years because of the Netflix documentary “Drive to Survive” so a lot of new (and some old) F1 fans in Kuwait will find this tidbit interesting.

Back in 2014, Red Bull brought their junior driver Carlos Sainz along with their F1 car to Kuwait and then had him race up and down the Gulf Road. I managed to get some photos as well as a video from that day which you can check out here.

If you’re an F1 fan then you know that Carlos Sainz is now Ferraris main driver and so you might be kicking yourself for not meeting him back when he came to Kuwait as just a young Red Bull junior racing team driver.

There are only two sports I watch, Formula 1 and UFC. Years ago I wanted to take mixed martial arts classes so I could have a better understanding of the sport but was very limited in options. Since then things have gotten better with more MMA gyms popping up but they’ve mostly focused on either jujitsu or kickboxing. UFC Gym will hopefully be encompassing all forms of MMA under one roof.

Located on the 5th and 6th floor of Assima Mall, the new UFC Gym is around 5,000sqm2 in size. Since there is a hotel connected to the mall the gym is going to be mixed but they do have a separate ladies-only floor for those who prefer not to train in a mixed environment. There is also a separate children’s area on the opposite end of the gym where children can train in mixed martial arts without disturbing or interacting with the adults.

The UFC Gym is targeting to have classes in multiple combat sports including:
– Boxing
– Kickboxing
– Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
– Judo
– Wrestling

UFC Gyms are meant to introduce combat sports to regular people as a means of exercise, so they’re meant to be similar to regular gyms but also provide MMA classes as an added value. The MMA section includes an official-sized octagon ring, a section with boxing bags and a large open mat area for jiujitsu and combat training. The fitness sections of the gym include a cardio machines area that overlooks the city skyline, resistance machines section filled with the latest equipment from Technogym, a free weights section, an area for HIIT classes, and a room for spinning and other activities like yoga and zumba.

The gym is targeting to soft open by the mid of this month with an official opening by the end of summer. They currently have special pre-opening rates which are 900KD a year for men, and 700KD a year for women. This includes full access to the gym and the classes.

For more information, you can contact them on 65107779 or visit @ufcgymkuwait

Kuwait’s obsession with padel reached meme-worthy levels, with courts popping up everywhere – even replacing car lots in the city despite there being a scarcity of parking. But, I noticed most of the courts are usually empty when I drive by them and just yesterday I saw one being taken down.

As someone who doesn’t care about padel, I get the impression the padel craze has died down and so a lot more courts will be closing down. I know one court closing doesn’t represent the padel scene as a whole, but I can’t imagine all these courts being profitable, there are just too many of them. Is padel finally dead?

The last camel races of the season are going to be held this coming Friday and Saturday. The races usually only take place on Saturday but this weekend there will also be races on Friday which should be good news to anyone that couldn’t watch them on Saturdays.

Friday, March 17
There will be 16 races taking place and they will start at 7:30AM

Saturday, March 18
There will only be 5 races taking place and they will start at 2:00PM

There is no entrance fee and you can either watch the races from the sidelines, drive up to the starting lines and watch the start of the race or just drive around the track in your car following the races.

If you want to visit the Kuwait Camel Racing Club, here is the link to Google Maps.

If you’re bored of padel and are looking for a new sport, fencing might be an interesting and unique one to try out. Kuwaiti gold medalist Reem Alshatti coaches under the academy Haus of Fencing three times a week and at a relatively reasonable price of 15KD for a class or 100KD for 12 classes.

All the equipment and uniforms are provided.

If this sounds like something you want to do, then you need to sign up for their two-day beginner’s workshop. The workshops happen a couple of times every month and cost 30KD. They’re fully booked for February, but their waiting list for next month is now open.

Sign up on their website, hausoffencing.com or visit them on Instagram @hausoffencing

The Red Bull Half Court is a 3×3 basketball tournament that takes place in 29 different countries including Kuwait. This year the tournament will be taking place in Kuwait from February 3rd to the 11th and there are still spots for teams available to sign up.

If you and your friends want to compete, it’s free to register. The tournament winners will get an all-expense paid trip to Serbia later this year to compete in the world finals.

To register your team simply go to redbullhalfcourt.com and sign up.

I always imagined it would be crazy expensive to play golf at the Sahara Kuwait Golf Club but turns out that’s not the case. Earlier this week I got in touch with the golf coach there and after a bit of back and forth I managed to figure out the cheapest way to have fun at the golf club.

If like me you just want to go alone or with friends and hit balls at the driving range, then you can do that for just 13KD. The cost to use the driving range for a non-member is 10KD for 2 hours and that includes 150 balls. If you don’t have a golf club which I’m assuming you don’t then you can rent a 7-iron for 3KD. If you want more balls, its 3KD for an additional 150.

Another great option is booking a 30-minute lesson with a professional PGA coach. The lesson costs 35KD and once you’re done with it you then get 2 hours of practice at the driving range with 150 balls to hit. The golf club is included at this price.

I went yesterday to the driving range to try it out and it’s definitely a very fun thing to do. I went just before sunset and the place was very chill. The range can hold 11 people but there was just one person when I was there. 150 balls lasted me nearly an hour of basically non-stop swinging.

If you want to play at the driving range you can either go as a walk-in or book ahead by calling them up on 22203411 or 22203410. There is a basic dress code, for guys, it’s like no jeans or shorts, no flip flops, and wear a top with a collar. When you call them they’ll fill you in. When you get to the Sahara Club, head downstairs to the golf shop, that’s where you pay and go in from.

At 13KD, this could be one of the most affordable and fun outdoor activities in Kuwait.

Photo on top from @itsgee98

beIN Sports has announced that they will be streaming the final World Cup match tonight between Argentina and France for free. The game will be available to stream on their free-to-air channels beIN SPORTS MAX as well as their beIN SPORTS’ YouTube channel.

The game is obviously going to be streaming in various cafes and restaurants around Kuwait for free, but if you prefer watching it from the comfort of your couch, you can now do that as well.

This looks like it could be a fun experience. Chevrolet Alghanim are hosting a World Cup viewing experience tonight in the desert. They’re going to broadcast the Germany vs Spain game and there will also be different activities and a food zone.

If you’re interested, it’s going to take place from 6:30 PM to 12 AM at @palama.kw. To register, head to @chevroletalghanim and click on the profile link.

If you’re looking for a cool and free spot to watch the World Cup matches then you should probably head over to the Sheikh Jaber Causeway. Castra who were in the news last week because their desert lounge setup got shutdown for not having a license are back now (with a license) and have set up a World Cup viewing area on the Southern Island of the causeway (called Al Saji Island).

The Castra setup is right on the edge of the island with a beautiful view of Kuwait City and is surrounded by food trucks and plenty of seating. Although they were still working on setting up a kiosk area for pop-ups when I visited, they’ve been open and broadcasting the games daily.

There is no entrance fee which is great and because it’s located on the Southern Island of the causeway I think makes this location really fun and interesting to visit. Weirdly, there isn’t anything posted about this anywhere, not even on the Castra Instagram account which is @castra.kw

If you want to head to the location, here it is on Google Maps

Last week I posted a couple of ways you could watch the World Cup tournament including subscribing with TOD for $80. But, a reader left a pretty negative review of his experience with the service after trying to watch the first game yesterday:

Tod is the Worst app on the planet , missed most of the game , it keeps crashing . Its a waste of money, its a scam not worth 80 dollars subscription, you cant even contact them. I watched 10 min of the game then it stops , after resting the app it tells you you need to register the device. I registered my tv maybe 10 times. Dont recommend it at all. And even on your phone it takes a long time to work if it works.

Did you stream with TOD? How was your experience?

In other surprising news, the container park KWT FAN BOX did in fact open in time yesterday to broadcast the opening of the World Cup.