Dubai team wins a place in the F1 in Schools 2009 World Championships 

Dubai, June 4, 2009: Union Properties PJSC (UP), one of the leading property developers in the United Arab Emirates and holders of the rights for the F1 in Schools Programme for the Middle East region held the inaugural National (Invitational) Event at the F1 in Schools Centre of Excellence in MotorCity, Dubai on May 15th. With sixty students making up ten teams from schools around the UAE and Oman, the competition was fierce for the coveted National Championship awards.

“The level of competition in this very first event was extremely high, and all the schools that took part showed hard work and dedication which they can now build upon to reach the standard required for participating in the World Championships, said Don Sankey, Director of F1 in Schools. He went on to say, “unfortunately like in all competitions there has to be a winner, and Team VELUDICROUS from Dubai College, received at the end of the competition the highest points for both the Dubai Championship and was the overall winner for the UAE Championship, and therefore are deserving of their place in the upcoming F1 in Schools 2009 World Championships to be held in London, UK in September this year.”

F1 in Schools, a worldwide curriculum based school programme which encourages school children of various ages to form teams to design, manufacture and then race a scale model of an F1 car using industry-standard CAD software and a CNC router. In addition they have to give a ten minute verbal presentation in front of a panel of judges, display their team’s identity in the form of shirts, uniforms, caps etc., and finally organize and present a team display area highlighting all the relevant aspects of their project. Marks are awarded on these various aspects and then combined to produce the winning team. The approach from the children was very impressive with maximum concentration at all times, and although this is a valuable learning experience with a look into the many different aspects of the world of F1 and the vast future career opportunities that could be available, it also encourages important character building elements such as team-work. “I would really like to congratulate all the teams that took part in this first event, and especially to Team NEON from Oman, and Team VELUDICROUS from the UAE who will now represent their respective countries in the World Championships in September,” said Sankey.

For the inaugural event the state-of-the-art F1 in Schools Centre of Excellence, based in MotorCity, Dubai was packed with team supporters, family and friends alike and the atmosphere was electrifying as the competitiveness was extremely high. The final results at the end of the day were:

• UAE CHAMPION  - TEAM VELUDICROUS / Dubai College, Dubai
• OMAN CHAMPION -  TEAM NEON / Sultan’s School, Muscat
• DUBAI CHAMPION  -  TEAM VELUDICROUS / Dubai College, Dubai
• ABU DHABI CHAMPION  -   TEAM FURRAN / Our Own English School, Al Ain
• BEST VERBAL PRESENTATION -  TEAM NEON / Sultan’s School, Muscat
• BEST TEAM IDENTITY -  TEAM NEON / Sultan’s School, Muscat
• FASTEST CAR  -  TEAM A.M. ROCKETS / Al Muttanabi School, Abu Dhabi

More information on how your school can become involved in the F1 in Schools Challenge can be found by logging on to www.f1inschools.ae

Reported by : F1 in Schools
Reported on : 08-Jun-09