A limit on 'No-Limits' freediving

Dubai: Freedivers, keen to continue the sport in the UAE with hopes of holding international competitions in the Arabian Gulf, are planning to stop deep dives after the first professional Emirati diver was feared dead earlier this month during a 70-metre deep-dive attempt in Greece.

Breath-hold dives or apnea, known as freediving, involves reaching depths or travelling distances under water on just a lungful of air, without artificial breathing equipment.

"The 100-strong apnea community wants stricter measures applied to deep No-Limits freedives, which tarnishes the relaxing aspect of freediving and taints it as an extreme sport," said Sara-Lise Haith, 42, a freediving British instructor in the UAE.

During a No-Limits attempt, divers are dragged to a pre-defined target depth by means of a sled at a speed of around 2.5 metres per second. They come back up to the surface using a self-inflating balloon. Alternatively, in a Variable Weight dive, divers can choose to return to the surface using their own strength, with fins or by pulling themselves up a rope.

Pushing divers

"No-Limits is banned in competitions by the world federation for breath-hold diving, known as Aida [Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l'Apnee], but still open to record attempts, pushing divers to go deeper and deeper," said Haith.

"We teach people to freedive safely. But No-Limits is not freediving, it's a stunt," she said. "You should only dive to a depth you can swim up from."

Adel Abu Haliqa, 40, an Emirati from Abu Dhabi, did not resurface from a 70-metre No-Limits attempt in Greece on June 7, and is feared dead after search and rescue operations failed to recover his body.

Ratification

According to Haith, the continued ratification and recognition of No-Limits is severely hindering the development of more important sporting disciplines.

"Adel was a hero. He was much respected. I believe his death was unnecessary and could have been avoided," she said.

Marco Rettig, 36, a Dubai-based freediver from Germany, said he was very sceptical of sled-diving. "It puts you in utter dependency on a technology that, in the past, has more than once failed due to technical or human error or simply bad luck. Second, it allows you to overcome limits that your body and mind would otherwise not allow you to break," he said.

The idea to build a sled here was shelved based on the underwater conditions in the UAE such as currents and bad visibility.

Things can go wrong

"I can mention half a dozen things that can go wrong due the conditions here," Rettig added.

Secondly only a few people in the UAE would be capable of accompanying students on a sled on their way down.

"Going down on your own or being led by an instructor is a totally different thing — both mentally and with regard to safety," he said.

Investigation is still on — Aida president

Kimmo Lahtinen, president of Aida (Association Internationale pour le Developpement de l'Apnee), answers some questions on the recent freediving accident which involved a UAE national.

Adel Abu Haliqa, 40, from Abu Dhabi is feared dead during No-Limits training in Greece. Abu Haliqa, founder of Freediving UAE, worked hard to include the UAE as a member of Aida and hoped to conduct freediving competitions here in the future. The UAE was recently approved as an observer member.

Do you have a clear idea of what happened to Adel Abu Haliqa underwater?

Greece's coast guard has done their investigation on the accident already and Aida will do its own when the search is over. After this we may be able to estimate this accident better.

Was Adel prone to disconnecting from his safety lanyard? Is this an usual No-Limits behaviour?

Nowadays in deep No-Limits dives the lanyard is used. It will be attached above the sledge, connecting the diver to the dive rope where the sledge moves, and it should be kept there during the dive. This time it was not connected to the dive rope when the sledge came back to the surface. And we do not know the reason for that at the moment.

Who was his diving buddy?

Sled diving is often done alone.

What is the general procedure during such accidents?

Deep water searches are done normally with the help of the side-scan sonars and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

What training does Aida offer for No-Limits diving?

AidaA has sled diving safety guidelines and some divers use sledges regularly for deep training. Aida's sled diving safety guidelines can be found on the Aida website.

Should No-Limits be stopped?

There are no competitions in sled-assisted freediving in Aida. Some top freedivers have been setting records which have been validated by Aida.

View the original article here

Launch date of Liwa Date Festival brought forward

Abu Dhabi: The ten-day Liwa Date Festival, organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), will begin on July 12 instead of July 16.

The decision came during a meeting held by the event's higher organising committee.

The decision to bring the launch date forward is due to technical and operational procedures, as well as the fact that Ramadan is expected to begin on August 1.

The decision also allows the Ajman Culture and Media Department to host the festival for three days starting from July 27.

View the original article here

Emirates ID cards mandatory for members to vote in FNC elections

Abu Dhabi: Voters must have an Emirates Identity card to take part in the upcoming Federal National Council (FNC) elections. The card, which is equipped with a chip will be used for the first time to ensure the identity of the holder.

E-voting is considered to be one of the most efficient in ensuring a safe, effective and convenient election process, said Dr Ali Al Khouri, director-general of the Emirates Identity Authority and member of the National Election Committee (NEC). The election is scheduled to be held on September 24, officials said Tuesday.

The electronic voting system, he said, has been adopted in many countries across the world and the UAE was the first Arab country in the region to implement such an advanced system in 2006.

The UAE adopts best international practices in using e-voting systems. Leading e-voting solutions provider Logica Business and Technology has been chosen for the FNC elections this year.

Electoral base

The electoral base for this year's elections has been expanded to ensure larger public participation, but the electoral rolls for the seven emirates will be announced on July 11, said Tariq Hilal Lootah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs and a member of the NEC.

Indications are that more than 80,000 people named by Rulers' courts in the seven emirates will elect 20 representatives to the council.

"Preparations for the elections are proceeding to plan and in keeping with the vision of the UAE leadership," Lootah told a news conference. Since the FNC's inception in 1972, its members were appointed by the Rulers' courts in different emirates.

Members appointed

Elections were introduced in the FNC's 13th legislative session of 2006 to implement the directives of the Supreme Council of the Federation and the President's decision to elect 50 per cent of FNC members directly from 6,595 people who formed the electoral colleges in the emirates. The rest of the members were to be appointed by the Rulers.

"The Election Management Committee has an integrated action plan which takes into account the larger representation expected in the Electoral College. Polling centres will be opened in various locations based on the number of Electoral College members and accessibility, and there will be more than one polling station in some emirates, to make it convenient for voters," Lootah said.

The National Election Committee has also launched a call centre and website on the FNC Elections 2011 as part of increasing public awareness and facilitating procedures associated with the elections. The initiative is in line with the educational plan designed to educate Electoral College members on all aspects of the election process.

"The call centre aims to provide Electoral College members and the public with all the necessary information concerning voting and nomination as well as to answer all election related questions. The website will also facilitate members' access to important information."

Women candidates

"We have tried to build a comprehensive website that includes information related to the election process, schedule of elections and information on the NEC, FNC as well as the various committees, subcommittees and executive instructions," Lootah added.

Women entered the FNC for the first time in the 2006 council, but they were appointed by the Rulers, except for one member, who was elected.

Enfranchised Emiratis have increased more than 12 times compared to the 6,595 people who voted in 2006.

Schedule

July 11: Announcement of electoral rollsAugust 14 to 17: Registration of candidatesAugust 20: Announcement of the preliminary list of candidatesAugust 28: Announcement of final list of candidatesSeptember 4 to 21: Campaigning periodSeptember 24: Election day and announcement of results after initial screeningSeptember 28: Adoption of the final list of winners (in the absence of by-elections)October 6: Adoption of the final list of winners if by-elections are held. This occurs if more than one candidate receives equal votes or if an election is cancelled at any centre.

Information

For enquiries on the electoral process and procedures dial 600566661 or visit the website www.uaenec.ae

View the original article here

Traffic snags expected as Khalidiya Bridge partly closed for repairs

Sharjah: The partial closure of Khalidiya Bridge for repairs is expected to cause major traffic diversions on Al Arouba Street. The bridge is a vital link for people commuting between Rolla, Ajman and Dubai.

The Sharjah Public Works Department announced yesterday that it would partially close the Khalidiya and Sharjah bridges to carry out renovation work beginning in the first week of July.

Dh8 million plans

The work on the two bridges, located close to Al Jazeera Park, will cost around Dh8 million.

Eng Amal Al Khamis, Acting Director of the road maintenance department for the General Directorate of Infrastructure in the Public Works Department, said that the work is part of a comprehensive plan to complete correctional and preventive renovation work on roads and squares in Sharjah.

Eng Sulaiman Al Hajiri, Director-General of Road Projects, said the two bridges were built in the late 1970s. The Public Works Department called on motorists to exercise caution.

View the original article here

Schools with good leadership produce excellent students

Dubai: The success or failure of a school depends, to a large extent, on the leadership of the school, a school leadership expert said Wednesday.

"Teachers make the biggest difference in the improvement of any school and the leadership of the school is the second biggest factor for improvement," Geoff Southworth, a UK-based school leadership expert told a workshop organised for public school teachers by the Regional Centre for Education Planning (RCEP).

"In the United Kingdom, 20 years of school inspection have shown that [for] every 100 schools with good leadership, about 93 will have a good standard of education. On the contrary, for every 100 schools with poor leadership, only one will have good standard of education," he said.

The workshop, which was held at the University City of Sharjah yesterday, was organised by RCEP in association with Unesco and the UAE Ministry of Education.

Hotly-debated topic

While school leadership is a hotly-debated topic among the teaching fraternity worldwide, there is growing consensus on the nature and practice of effective school leadership, Southworth said.

According to a document published in 2008 by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, effective school leadership policies include the clear definition of the role of leaders, the need to encourage and support more leaders, and measures to development of capabilities. It also includes measures highlighting school leadership as an attractive profession and the recruitment of effective leaders.

"If teachers and [the] leadership of a school are improved, then there will be huge improvement, which can further be bettered by engaging parents in the process," Southworth said.

Extensive research

The UK-based expert bases his comments on extensive research and teaching experience, apart from various studies conducted worldwide.

Southworth's findings are synchronous with the findings of school inspections in Dubai by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

Earlier this month, while announcing the inspection results of public schools, Jameela Al Muhairi, head of the Dubai School Inspection Bureau at the KHDA, said that the leadership of the school and a desire to improve were the only reasons why many schools overcame hurdles and showed improvement.

View the original article here