PH Consulate General in Dubai Opens 2019 ConGen’s Cup Inter-School Tournament
DUBAI 29 March 2019 – The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai conducted the opening ceremonies of the 2019 ConGen’s Cup Series 3–Inter School Basketball and Volleyball Tournament participated in by the Philippine Schools Overseas of Dubai and the Northern Emirates at the Dubai Sports Club for People of Determination on 16 March 2019.
Some 1,000 students, parents, school administrators, and other community members joined the sports festival, the first involving the Philippine schools since 2016.
The four Philippines schools who participated in the tournament were the Al Alfiah Filipino Private School, the Far Eastern Private School Al Azra Campus, the Far Eastern Private School Al Shahba Campus, and the New Filipino Private School.
Consul General to Dubai Paul Raymund Cortes thanked the Philippine Schools Overseas for allowing their students to seize the opportunity to meet and compete with each other in the field of sports. He emphasized the importance of sports in developing and furthering our physical and mental disciplines.
“In developing these faculties we mold our youth to become better individuals who are able to respect and understand each other despite differences in religion, faith, perspectives, and opinions. I hope that the ConGen’s Cup would provide our Overseas Youth an avenue to build character that could be the bedrock of a peaceful, tolerant, and respectful global community,” he added.
Several activities under the banner of the ConGen’s Cup have been conducted.
Among these include the dragon boat regatta held at the Ras al Khaimah International Marine Sports Club last May 2018; its annual mountain biking racing competition participated by thousands of biking enthusiasts held in November 2017 and 2018; and the basketball, bowling, chess, billiards, table tennis, and darts series, all of which gathered thousands of overseas Filipinos enjoying a variety of sports.
Created in June 2016, the Congen’s Cup is the Consulate General’s avenue to engage more effectively with the Filipino community and strengthen interaction among the various Filipino community organizations, fostering a deeper sense of camaraderie among the Filipino community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Its mission is to promote a healthy and active lifestyle among Filipinos residing in Dubai and the Northern Emirates while building and strengthening camaraderie and sportsmanship amongst them.
The series is in line with the Consulate General’s vision to entice a community to espouse and inculcate in themselves not only physical but also more importantly, mental discipline required of those who regularly take up sports.
The championship games were held on 22 March 2019. END
(Pinoy Expats Stories and Mr. Tom Lladoc photos)
For more information, visit www.dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinDubai/ or the Consul General's FB page @phcongendubaipaulcortes.