The 5th Ras Lafan Falcon Championship, organised by Al Gannas Qatari Society, started Saturday at Sbkhat Al Thakhira with stiff competitions between various groups of falconers.
The opening category of Al Tala'a (release of falcons to hunt a Houbara bustard bird) saw the qualification of five falconers for the next round in a closely contested competition among falcons.
Mohamed Mubarak al-Ali, head of Al Tala'a Committee at the Championship, said that some competitions were rescheduled, as the championship was originally set to start on Friday but due to the weather conditions and the heavy rains, the championship started on Saturday. He also stressed that the competitions was full of excitement and suspense from the very start, which shows clearly that all the participating falcons are very powerfull and have been trained and prepared well by their owners.
Meanwhile, the participating falconers, who were keen to be present at the site of the contests before sunset, have highly appreciated the efforts by the organising committee of championship and Al Gannas Qatari Society in supporting them and encouraging them to continue such deep-rooted heritage sports. In particular, they thanked Ras Laffan Community Outreach programme for sponsoring this big event. The championship is set to go on until November 25.
