The 10th Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Camel Race Festival started this morning in Disah in Wadi Rum, Jordan, with the participation of around 550 Jordanian camels, after the first elimination round.

The festival was organised by the Emirates Camel Racing Federation, in co-operation with the Jordanian Camel Races Committee and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority. The festival includes 12 rounds of races over the course of two days, with six finals held today for various categories of camels, according to age and gender.

The activities of the festival will continue tomorrow; starting with four races in the morning and will conclude with two races. The awards will then be presented to the winners of the 12 races, with the attendance of Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President and President of the Emirates Camel Racing Federation, and Prince Asem bin Nayef, Vice President of the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation, along with senior Jordanian officials and those involved in the sport in Jordan, as well as Faisal Ahmed Al Malik, Chargé d'Affaires of the UAE Embassy in Amman.

Referee Mohammed Al Zuwaideh said that only a few mistakes were made on the first day by the camels and their racers.

One camel was eliminated for diverging from the original race course, Al Zuwaideh remarked, stressing that the sport was developing constantly with several races being held, especially during the annual festival that is held at this time of the year.

The activities and races of the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Camel Race Festival are organised annually. The festival holds races in various categories amid attendance from the public interested in various sports, tourism, and popular and local community events, in addition to a large group of tourists who had come to the camel racetrack in the Disah area in Wadi Rum to watch and follow the events.

Source: Wam