KUWAIT CITY, Sept 18: It’s very rare for local firms to organize sports or social events for their staff, so it comes as a real surprise when something special is planned and very well executed to not only bring out the best in everyone but also enjoy to the maximum. The occasion becomes more special when such events are successfully organized every year and all the staff eagerly awaits the start of these special “festivals”. This was evident from the faces of all the participants when the Toyota Al Sayer Management organized a sports festival – involving bowling, shooting and basketball – for their employees as a way of saying “Thank You” for their contribution and unwavering commitment to the organization.

The competitions in these sports started in the first week of the Holy Month of Ramadan and were held over the next four weeks. Two of these competitions have already been completed while action continues in the third. The success of these events can be judged from the fact that the participation was huge and the competition intense.
The events which have been completed are the 6th Al Sayer Bowling Championship and the 5th Shooting Al Sayer Tournament 2011, which saw a huge participation in two categories – 9mm Pistol and Hornet Rifle 22. The winners of these competitions were recognized for their achievements Friday evening at the Mayadeen Range in Subhan.

Meanwhile, the championship finals for the Toyota Basketball Association of Kuwait (TBAK) League have been scheduled for Sept 30 with the exact action time to be published later at the Arab Times.
Dr Khalid Al Anezi – Manager of Corporate Events, Quality Assurance and Central Customer Complaints Group – hosted the event and opened the awarding ceremony by thanking Gen. Ahmed Al Saleem – Director of the Shooting Range, and Toyota Al Sayer executives including Paul Reynolds – COO, Anthony Philip – GM Lexus, Jacques Feghali – GM HR and Tony Dina – GM Treasury. All these executives were present at the range for Friday’s ceremony. Al Anezi also thanked all his colleagues who competed in the events and helped make this year’s event another success.
Toyota Al Sayer COO Paul Reynolds presented the awards to all the winners and also to all the other people involved in the successful organization of the event.

Bowling
Michael Samson and Martin Sepulgar achieved 1st and 2nd place respectively in bowling tournament after overcoming some really tough competition.
The popularity of the event and the standard of the competition can be seen from the fact that there were 80 participants. These competitors were divided into groups of 20 with each group playing on one of the four Fridays (Aug 5, 12, 19 and 26) and the five top players from each Friday’s qualifying for the finals.
Twenty players finally competed in the championship which took place on Sept 9, 2011 at Kozmo Kefan with the top six being honored this week.
The competition over the four weeks of the elimination rounds and later the championship final was really intense and interesting before the winners could be declared.

Shooting
This was another competition which drew a lot of interest with Alaa Majid showing some real class in the Rifle Hornet 22 event as she brushed aside all the men to bag the championship crown. To collect the title, Alaa had to display a keen eye for the targets and a very steady shooting arm.
On the other hand, Arnel Esmeralda acquired the title in 9mm Precision when his bullets found the exact spots he wanted. This event requires the gunman to possess a lot of dedication to the sport with regular practice needed to master the event. Arnel showed that he had developed all the qualities of an excellent shooter on his way to the crown.
Meanwhile, Munir Khalifa Assistant Manager-Public Relations deserves special mention for his all-round abilities. After collecting third place in bowling, he showed that he was also an excellent gunman as he bagged awards in both the shooting categories – 2nd place in 9mm Pistol and 3rd place in 22 Hornet Rifle.

Eleuterio Labandero also proved that he is not only good at basketball but also a very good shooter as he stamped his authority in both the shooting events. Labandero walked home with 3rd place in 9mm Pistol and 2nd place in 22 Rifle Hornet.
The shooting competition was also very popular and saw 80 individuals taking part in the two categories. Like in the case of bowling, the shooters were divided into groups of 20 with each group seeing action in one of the four Fridays. Three top shooters from each category on each Friday qualified for the finals with a total of 24 gunmen competing in the finals on 9 September 2011.

Basketball
The 3rd Al Sayer Basketball League, organized by the Toyota Basketball Assosciation of Kuwait (TBAK), continues to see action with the Spare Parts Department and Lexus having qualified for the finals while Al Rai Garage and Ghazali have set up a clash for third place. Details were published in Sunday’s issue of the Arab Times.
The other teams which saw action in the tournament but could not make it past the elimination round were CBS-1 Mechanics, CBS-2 Body and Parts Department, Ahmadi Garage and Jahra Garage.

Award recipients:
Bowling
1st Place Michael Samson
2nd Place Martin Sepulgar
3rd Place Munir Khalifa
Shooting
Pistol 9 mm
1st Place Arnel Esmeralda
2nd Place Munir Khalifa
3rd Place Eleuterio Labandero
Rifle Hornet 22
1st Place Alaa Majid
2nd Place Eleuterio Labandero
3rd Place Munir Khalifa

The organizers also presented special gifts to the Range Officers who helped in not only ensuring the safety of all the competitors but also helping in the smooth running of the tournament.
While all the winners were honored for the dedication and determination, awards were also presented to Paul Reynolds – COO, Anthony Philip – GM Lexus, Jacques Feghali – GM HR and Tony Dina – GM Treasury for their support in ensuring the success of this yearly event. After the prize distribution ceremony, a sumptuous feast was shared by everyone who was present at the event.
These events are one of many sports and other recreation activities organized for the Al-Sayer staff every year to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the staff and break the daily work routine in order to improve their over all performance.

With the organizers putting in a lot of effort to ensure that all these events run smoothly, there was a whole-hearted response from the staff to not only avail this opportunity and prove that they are also good in various sports activities but also to ensure that these “family-affairs” meet the success that they deserve.
Although only the staff of one organization were involved in all these events, the level of competition and sportsmanship displayed by all the participants has been really high with the entrants in various events putting in their best.
Special thanks to Munir Khalifa Assistant Manager-Public Relations Toyota Al Sayer for giving updates on the events.