ShareThe Special Forces Championship, an idea that combines recycling and teaching children unconventional military sports skills, started between two friends: One a sports teacher and the other a passionate sports enthusiast working at the ministry of interior. Their shared vision and dedication culminated in the creation of this one-of-a-kind championship in Kuwait, aimed at boosting physical fitness, teamwork and a spirit of competition among young students.
Kuwait Times spoke with Ahmad Dashti and Khaled Murad to learn more about how they created this pioneering initiative. The idea occurred when Dashti, a physical education teacher, observed untapped potential within his school. He noticed empty spaces and unused equipment, recognized a pattern of repetitive sports activities and observed a lack of enthusiasm among some students toward school sports.
“I worked on developing a model plan to implement our idea of recycling unused tools and equipment and holding a competition for students aged 6-9 years,” he said. “Collaborating closely with my athlete friend and the head of the referee committee, Murad, we aimed to enhance the competition by integrating specialized equipment from the ministry of interior.
Our shared goal was not only to provide a platform for physical activity but also to impart essential skills such as safe shooting and climbing techniques to the children. Through our concerted efforts, we aspired to create an enriching and engaging experience that would promote both enjoyment and skill development,” Dashti said.
“I have been working in the field of education for 15 years, and there is nothing new in the field of sports. Some students are not interested in traditional sports such as handball, basketball and football. So the idea was created to teach children and discover sports skills that they are interested in. We saw an area that had been neglected for more than 20 years. We put our ideas and presented them to the school administration. It took us six months from the birth of the idea to its implementation, with the participation of 20 government schools and 40 students,” he said.
Dashti said the Special Forces Championship was held at Nasser Saud Al-Sabah School with cooperation from the interior ministry’s special forces sector, led by Maj Gen Abdullah Al-Mulla, Brig Gen Dakhil Al-Dakhil and Brig Gen Abdul Nasser Al-Kandari. “The most important stage in students’ life is growing up, and we must teach them the strength of endurance, bravery, acceptance of challenges and self-assurance. So in terms of health — psychologically, morally and logistically — we served them all in this competition, and we hope for governmental and private support,” he pointed out.
For Murad, implementing the idea came from his sporting experience. “I used to undertake this task in previous sporting events, and based on my experience in such competitions, I prepared rules for the game, consisting of 14 stages. I transferred the game into a military/civilian game, preparing the child for the military and accustoming him to the idea that officers are not scary, contrary to what our parents used to scare us with,” he explained.
“The game was safe, and we rehearsed to teach the children before the actual date and instructed them on how to play safely, and luckily there were no injuries. We were given promises to hold the championship annually in all educational regions, and the ministry of interior even offered in the future to contribute to the field and support us.
We aspire for this game to be a school sports game, and for it to be at the Gulf level and also include girls’ schools and not just boys,” Murad added. He highlighted that this innovative initiative not only underscores the importance of physical activity in youth development, but also demonstrates the power of partnership and collaboration in bringing innovative ideas to fruition.
