Ashraf Abo arafe
26 September 2021, CAIRO – British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley awarded the winners of the ‘Sports for Climate’ competition yesterday at the Embassy’s garden alongside Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr Sonya Donia.
Participants included students from several British and other universities in Egypt, including the British University in Egypt (BUE), Hertfordshire and Coventry Universities.
Winning first prize was the Modern Sciences and Art University (MSA) team, who received a COP26 trophy in reference to the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26, which the UK is hosting in Glasgow in November.
The competition aimed to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on people’s health, productivity and the wider economy. It was divided into two parts; one indoor workout held last Saturday,18 September at World Gym Dandy Mall, a key partner in the competition, and one outdoors held yesterday at the Embassy’s garden, with activities ranging from rowing, to squats to push-ups.
Participants’ performance was much poorer outdoors, due to exposure to heat and changing temperatures, with fewer repetitions (reps) counted and a faster heartrate as opposed to the indoors, air-conditioned workout.
These results show clearly how climatic conditions can affect human performance, especially when people are outdoors, working amidst a challenging environment as a consequence of global warming and climate change.
British Ambassador to Egypt, Gareth Bayley, said: “Congratulations to yesterday’s deserving winners. This competition demonstrated – in an exciting and engaging way – how much and how fast climate change can affect our daily lives. It is one of many initiatives that the embassy is engaged in leading up to COP26, working with the Egyptian government to raise awareness, and also to encourage businesses, civil society, youth and individuals to contribute and play their part. It is not enough to adapt to the effects of climate change. We need to take serious action to mitigate those effects, thereby creating a safe environment and a stronger economy for future generations. It’s not too late to save the world. Now is the time for action, wherever and whenever we can.’”
Attendees included General Manager of Lekela Engineer Faisal Eissa, CEOs of World Gym Mohammed Mohey and Mostafa Samir, General Manager of Sobek Ms Heba Sobhy, CEO of Majesty International School Dr Amir Manna, President of Hertfordshire University Professor Vincent Emrey and senior representatives from BUE, MSA and Coventry universities, senior representatives from Banque du Caire, and senior management from Puvana.
