Riffa Views continues environmental drive as Eden Challenge Tree Planting initiative kicks off

An enthusiastic gathering of schoolchildren from Al Naseem International School attended the first tree planting of the Eden Challenge Tree Planting Initiative. The tree was placed in the ground by principal, Mrs. Sameera Al Kooheji, and Riffa Views CEO, Richard Browning.

The first tree planting follows two weeks of intensive preparatory groundwork for the planting of over 80 trees in the gardens of each participating school in the Riffa Views Eden Challenge. Also present at the event were members of the Riffa Views horticultural team who did the groundwork, Hugh O’Shea, Sales and Marketing Director of Riffa Views, a selection of pupils and teachers, together with the school’s team of young talented pupils who were recently recognized as joint winners of the competition’s category D – for Secondary pupils from 16 – 18 years.

Talking at the event Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views said: “Today’s tree planting is part of our ongoing environmental commitment to the local community. Through the Eden Challenge we harnessed the creativity of Bahrain’s schoolchildren whilst teaching them about their environment. We hope that today’s tree planting, which is the first in over 50 local schools, will become a reminder of the importance of nature, the competition’s success and the dedication and hard work of schoolchildren of all ages who were involved in the Challenge.”

Mrs. Al Kooheji, principal from Al Naseem International School commented: “The children took over weeks to conceptualize, research and design their project. Its centre piece features a unique water sculpture symbolizing life, similar to today’s tree planting initiative. It is also a great way to remind us of the wonderful environment that we live in. We all had a great time coming up with the ideas, and we learnt many valuable lessons about how to care for our environment that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”

Al Naseem International School project will be created and displayed along with the other winning entries at the Riffa Views Schools stand during the Riffa Views Bahrain International Garden Show to be held at the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre from the 22nd to 24th February.

Power Players Selected for Bahrain “A” Netball Squad

The Bahrain Netball League announced their final selection of players for the Bahrain A Squad that will compete at the upcoming Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships. Ten players were selected from a pool of 50 hopefuls. The team offers Bahrain a great opportunity of bringing home some silverware at the competition. The remaining 40 players have been divided into the B, C, D and Vets teams.

The selection committee, comprising Dionne Williams, Jo Reed, Kate Knapton and Charmaine Wijeyeratne, has over 30 years combined experience with coaching and developing netball in Bahrain. Squad Coordinator Mel Goosen said: “We had an incredible depth of players to choose from, which is fantastic news for the development of netball in Bahrain. Over 50 players competed for positions on our five squads. They all worked really hard to impress the selection committee which made choosing the final teams a very difficult task.”

Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views commented: “We are pleased with the selection of players for the Bahrain A Squad. Our sponsorship aims at encouraging local Bahraini and other players to step up their development with new coaching and hard work. We believe that through this pathway we can support the development of talented rising stars to reach their maximum potential and make us all proud of their achievements during the tournament. We wish all the best to the Bahrain A Squad.”

The Bahrain A squad is made up of young and talented players such as 17 year old Sara Al Otaibi who so impressed selectors that she was promoted from last year’s B squad. Other players bring depth of experience to the team. Captain Beth Nunn and Vice Captain Mel Goosen will be appearing in their 9th and 10th Inter-Gulf tournaments, respectively. Nunn said: “Our experience will certainly be an asset to us. We know to stick to our game strategy when playing against top teams like Dubai A. Our team is extremely versatile and we have strength throughout the court. We are training hard to achieve results and hope to go one-better than our 5th place result last year by making it to the semi-finals. Winning the tournament would be the icing on the cake.”

The Bahrain A Squad will undergo intensive training for the next five weeks culminating with 10 days of coaching by All England netball coaches, Gilly Salter and Liz Banyard who will fly out to Bahrain courtesy of supporting sponsor, Gulf Air.

The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships will take place at the Bahrain Rugby Club on March 7th & 8th.

For more information, please contact Bahrain Netball League Event Manager, Michaela Milne on 3660 0308 or email kylamilne@mac.com.

Riffa Views brings another international sports event to Bahrain

Riffa Views announced its title sponsorship of yet another International event for Bahrain, The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships, which will take place at the Bahrain Rugby Club on March 7th-8th. The Bahrain Netball League will host the 22nd annual tournament for the first time since the team “Bahrain A” last won the competition in 1999.

The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships is the only international platform for netball in the Middle East and attracts over 300 of the best players from around the Gulf region for two days of highly competitive play. Seventeen teams from Dubai, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait will attend this year’s event in addition to 5 teams representing Bahrain.

For the first time in the 22-year history of the tournament, The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships 2008 will host a ‘Talent and Performance’ team of up-and-coming players from the UK who will compete in a special part of the tournament called the “Invitational Cup” in which they will play against the 8 top-seeded teams from last year’s competition.

Kate Knapton, Chairwoman of the Bahrain Netball League said: “Our partnership with Riffa Views has been critical for us to be able to stage this event and achieve the plans that we have put into place for a great weekend of netball. The inclusion of the ‘Talent and Performance’ team from the UK and the attendance of two ‘All England Netball’ umpires will certainly set a new standard for the tournament.

“By hosting this event we can enter more Bahrain teams. We have many talented junior players including Bahraini nationals coming through the ranks and who would not be able to travel abroad. This tournament will be a fantastic experience for them. The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships will allow us to develop netball in Bahrain at a grass-roots level and will allow youngsters to mature as netball players,” Knapton added”.

Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views added: “Our title sponsorship of the Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships comes as part of our commitment to establish a platform that enables further development of sports in Bahrain. We are setting the foundations for local talent to grow and excel in different sports. We are excited since this is the first women’s event we have supported and we want to make it a huge success.”

Over 150 matches will be played at the Bahrain Rugby Club’s netball courts over the two-day competition. Teams will be divided into four pools for the first stage of the competition to establish rankings. They will then be divided into three pools and play knockout matches as they compete for the Championship Cup, Plate and Bowl.

The Riffa Views Championship Cup Final and the Invitational Cup final will conclude the tournament on Saturday, 8th March and present an opportunity for the Bahrain community to witness first-rate netball.

Bahrain Netball League Event Manager Michaela Milne said: “The Invitational Cup final will be a dream match to watch. We can’t wait to see the best team in the Gulf region take on the “Talent and Performance’ team from the UK. We’ll finally get a chance to see how our best Gulf players cope on a truly international level. ”

The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships takes place from 9:30am to 5:00pm on Friday, 7th March and 9:30am to 2:00pm on Saturday, 8th March.
Accept the challenge and be part of the most exciting women’s sporting event in Bahrain.

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