The 2011 Arab Games also known as the 12th Arab Games took place in Doha, Qatar from 6 to 23 December 2011.[1] This was the first time that the country had hosted the multi-sport event. Khalifa International Stadium was the main venue for the competition.

XII Arab Games
Host cityDoha, Qatar
Nations21
Athletes8,000 (est.)
Events318 in 27 sports
OpeningDecember 9
ClosingDecember 23
Opened byHamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Main venueKhalifa International Stadium
A map of Qatar with Doha marked in the east of the country.
A map of Qatar with Doha marked in the east of the country.
Doha
Location of the host city of the games in Qatar.

Preparation

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Host selection

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Qatar was awarded rights to organise the games beating Lebanon in the bidding process.[2][3][4] Arab Federation for Sports secretary-general Othman Al-Saad said that Qatar's hosting of the Pan-Arab Games would give the event "more momentum and significance in light of the huge capabilities and world-class sports facilities which Qatar owns."[5]

Khalifa International Stadium was chosen to be the focal point of the games, hosting the opening ceremonies, while the closing ceremonies were held on Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

Transport

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Public Transport for the event was provided by Mowasalat in the form of Buses, Taxis and Limousines. The opening and closing ceremonies were allocated 100 buses for the respective days. There were on average approximately 230 buses dedicated to the games to transport Athletes, Games Staff, Coaching Staff, Media, and Sports Officials to and from The Airport, Hotels, Athlete's Village, Sports Venues, Practice Venues, and the Media Centre. The services were planned & scheduled by Mowasalat’s Mass Transit Planning Manager Mr Sheldon Cowie (Now - The Roster Shed) who also managed the event transport operationally with TMS (Transport Management Services)

Mascot and medals

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Wathnan, a graceful yet fun-spirited white Arabian horse was designed as the mascot for the Games. An important animal in Arabian culture, the horse is a symbol of great strength and agility.[6] Pearl and emerald studded Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals were awarded to winning athletes, accompanied by mascot stuffed toy. The medals were measured 70 mm in diameter and 6 mm in thickness with base made out of pewter.[7]

Venues

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[8][9]

Venue Events Capacity Ref.
ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence Athletics, opening and closing ceremonies (Khalifa International Stadium) 50, 000
Swimming (Hamad Aquatic Centre) 2,000
Chess (Ladies zone)
Handball (Women's Indoor hall)
Gymnastics (Dome C2)
Fencing, Table tennis (Dome C3)
Wrestling (Dome C4)
Boxing (Dome C5)
Lusail Cycling course Cycling (Road)
Lusail Shooting Complex Archery, Shooting
Al-Gharafa Sports Club Football (Stadium) 25,000
Beach volleyball (BV Arena)
Basketball (Indoor hall)
Al-Dana Club Bodybuilding, Weightlifting
Qatar Equestrian Federation Equestrian (Dressage, Jumping)
Al-Sadd Sports Club Football (Stadium) 15,000
Goalball (demonstration) (Indoor hall)
Al-Rayyan Sports Club Football (Stadium) 21,282
Volleyball (Indoor hall)
Mesaieed Endurance Course Equestrian (Endurance)
Doha Golf Club Golf
Doha Sailing Club Sailing
Qatar Bowling Centre Bowling
Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation Cue Sports
Qatar Sports Club Judo, Karate, Taekwondo (Indoor hall)
Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex Squash, Tennis

Sports

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Demonstration sports

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Participating National Olympic Committees

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Initially, all twenty-two nations of the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees were scheduled to compete at the games.[10] However, Syria withdrew its team in November 2011 in protest of the Arab League's suspension of the country's membership.[11]

Medal table

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  *   Host nation (Qatar)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Egypt (EGY)907667233
2  Tunisia (TUN)544539138
3  Morocco (MAR)372254113
4  Qatar (QAT)*303840108
5  Algeria (ALG)16314188
6  Saudi Arabia (KSA)15121946
7  Kuwait (KUW)14183163
8  Bahrain (BHR)12121438
9  Jordan (JOR)11142348
10  Iraq (IRQ)11133458
11  United Arab Emirates (UAE)1091635
12  Lebanon (LIB)851629
13  Oman (OMA)471021
14  Yemen (YEM)2237
15  Palestine (PLE)1258
16  Libya (LBY)1179
17  Djibouti (DJI)1113
18  Sudan (SUD)07714
19  Brunei (BRN)0000
  Chad (CHA)0000
  Comoros (COM)0000
  Eritrea (ERI)0000
  Mauritania (MTN)0000
  Somalia (SOM)0000
  South Sudan (SSD)0000
Totals (25 entries)3173154271,059

Paralympic Medal Standings

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Medals in 30 Para Athletics and 1 Goalball events were awarded to athletes from respective participating nations. However, as demonstration events, they were not counted into the official medal table.

  *   Host nation (Qatar)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Tunisia (TUN)98320
2  Iraq (IRQ)53614
3  Algeria (ALG)46212
4  Egypt (EGY)4408
5  Morocco (MAR)3317
6  United Arab Emirates (UAE)2068
7  Libya (LBY)1326
8  Saudi Arabia (KSA)1315
9  Palestine (PLE)1146
10  Jordan (JOR)1034
11  Qatar (QAT)*0022
Totals (11 entries)31313092

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "General Schedule". 2011 Arab Games Doha. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  2. ^ National Committee for co-ordinating Conferences and Events. Retrieved on 2010-07-13.
  3. ^ Qatar awarded rights to host 12th Arab Games in 2011 Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine published by the Qatar Olympic Committee on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  4. ^ Qatar to host Arab Games in 2011 published by Sports City on 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2011-03-10. [dead link]
  5. ^ Doha first in the Persian Gulf region to host Pan-Arab Games Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Gulf Times (2008-10-07). Retrieved on 2010-07-13.
  6. ^ Qtel
  7. ^ 2011 Pan-Arab Games in Doha
  8. ^ Venues
  9. ^ Sports
  10. ^ (in Arabic) Participating countries. Doha 2011. Retrieved on 2010-07-13. [dead link]
  11. ^ Syria boycotts the Arab games in Qatar Archived 2012-03-11 at the Wayback Machine. Xinhua (2011-11-14). Retrieved on 2011-12-11.
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