Basketball, volleyball and tennis are popular among Saudi women.
The final of a women’s basketball championship was played in Jeddah on Sunday. Eight teams representing universities and schools participated, with a large number of spectators present. Lipton, sponsor of the championship, served green tea and distributed prizes to the women spectators.
The huge presence of mainly young women spectators, as was the case at previous matches conducted at different times of the year, reveals the deep interest the younger generation has in sports.
“The goal of organizing this match and other games is primarily to engender a spirit of cooperation among young women, especially as members of a team in which they have to struggle with a team spirit. They also learn to concede loss, which helps them keep cool when they experience setbacks in their lives and learn to convert their defeat into success,” team captain Lina Almaeena told Arab News after the match.
Almaeena said they focused on basketball and volleyball instead of playing all games, because they first wanted to develop professionalism and then expand to more areas.
She also stressed the significance of spectators in supporting sports and games. “The awareness of the importance of sports has become widespread among women. It is no more limited to the media and ministries or related departments, and as a result people attend the games and encourage the players besides really enjoying the events. Spectators also persuade their relatives and friends to develop a positive attitude toward sports. We have observed that their numbers are increasing every year,” she said.
Basketball player Hadeer Sadaqah, 18, said she had been practicing the game over the past five years. She said her older sister also played basketball and trained her. In addition, she played tennis in Jeddah. “I have noticed the change in people’s attitude toward sports compared to five years ago, when it was limited to jogging and swimming. Now they want games that create a sense of honorable competition,” she said.
