(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The fourth Senyar traditional fishing and pearl diving competition concludes today with the traditional Al Qafal ceremony to be held at 4pm on Katara Beach.
Al Qafal, which is a traditional ceremony to welcome fishermen and pearl divers on their safe return from the sea, will also see the announcement of final results and the awarding of winners in various categories of the annual competition.
The participants will be coming from Al Safliyah Island, where they will have spent the last night.
This year, Senyar saw the participation of 73 teams with a total of 800 members, according to Ahmad Al Hitmi, chairman of the organising committee.
Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti visited the participants yesterday to check their living conditions and the proceedings of the competition. He expressed his happiness and admiration of the determination of the participants during the three-day championship.
The families of the participants will join the public in receiving the competitors this evening in the traditional way, as in the past three editions of Senyar.
The organising committee said some of the fish caught by the participants will be distributed to the public while the rest will go to charity organisations to be distributed to needy families.
The competitions ended ahead of schedule yesterday because of bad weather forecast by the Qatar Meteorological Department.
The Senyar competition for traditional fishing began on Wednesday while pearl diving started on Thursday. At 4pm every day the participants came to Al Safliyah Island for the weigh-in of the day's catch and the final results will be announced this evening.
Prizes will be given to winners for the largest quantity as well as the biggest fish caught in the traditional fishing competition, and for the pearl diving competition.
It has been a good experience for the participants, many of whom competing for the first time. Some see Senyar as an opportunity to remind the new generation of their maritime heritage.
"Our aim in joining the competition is not only winning but knowing the tradition of our ancestors. I expect our team to win because we have prepared ahead of the contest," said Jassim Abu Al Ainein, a first timer at the competition.
Yacoub Nasser, a team captain competing for the second time, said: "I have observed the participants are very enthusiastic and they are competing with high morale. Although we did very well catching a large quantity of fish, the storm hindered our performance."
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.