AYMSTRONG, a fitness and health center, will conduct a “snake cage” football tournament at the end of this month or in early May. Snake cage is a football match played inside a cage, between six players or three versus three. No outs, no corners. It’s a unique game conceptualized by AYMSTRONG founder Yousef Al-Qanai. The match lasts for ten minutes per half.
Speaking with Kuwait Times, Omar Al-Azem, Marketing Manager of AYMSTRONG, expressed hope that many Kuwaiti youth will participate. “Football is very popular among Kuwaitis. We want our young people to enjoy and be part of the snake cage football tournament,” he said. The tournament is a goal-oriented game, aimed to score a goal and have some fun. “Our youth needs challenge, and this is a challenging game. We believe in the power of youth. They can achieve something if they really want it, and they can score and reach a goal,” he added. No specific date of the tournament has been set. However, according to Al-Azem, it will be held by end of April or early May.
The snake cage football tournament is just one of the many activities introduced by AYMSTRONG to empower the Kuwaiti youth in terms of sports. “Our mission is really to indoctrinate positive changes through programs, events and activities revolving around healthy and productive lifestyles. Our qualified and professional team work together to ensure the empowerment of people we serve. We work in partnership with our clients to create a culture of overall well-being,” Al-Azem asserted.
“As you know, the rate of obesity in the country is really high. We want to help our country by educating our youth on the facts about obesity. We want to stir the mind of people about obesity, and maybe we could do something to move them in the positive direction; we want to tell our people that eating healthy food is the right way, and engaging in productive activities can really make a change.”
AYMSTRONG aims to fill in for the fact that Kuwait has limited places to conduct sporting activities. “We have places where youth converge for some sort of football training, swimming, volleyball and basketball, but additional alternatives to offer interesting activities are limited. We at AYMSTRONG are here to fill the missing link,” he added. AYMSTRONG instructors are all certified professional fitness trainers, Al-Azem said. “We evaluate their experience because we entrust our participants with them. We don’t conduct health checkups as we are no doctors. However, we have issued a disclaimer stressing that participants join according to their personal discretion. They must seek a doctor’s advice if they really want to be part of AYMSTRONG activities,” he added.
At the end of May, another challenge will be held , modeled on the hit reality show series ‘Biggest Loser’. ” The ‘weight loss challenge’ will be held for five consecutive months. Instead of clubbing all participants in one camp, they will meet twice. The first meeting will be to weigh in. They will then meet again on the last date of the program to be held at the end of October,” he said. The cash prize for the ‘Biggest Loser’ challenge will $10,000. “The program will not be as strict as the Biggest Loser challenge. We will be giving our participants schedules to follow, but again, it’s not compulsory, it’s up to them if they want to follow that or if they have their own regimes. Our goal here is to see who will achieve the most dramatic weight loss,” he said
Established in 2008, AYMSTRONG, was created as a substitute to a gymnasium. There are three regular but also seasonal training programs for participants, divided into three sessions per week, or a total of nine sessions per season. The fifth season will start on April 28. “Our aim is for participants to be fitter and stronger. We will be introducing several unique sessions like the TFC (The Fitness Camp) ARMY session. ARMY session is an army camp style training program where hard labor is introduced like carrying heavy sand bags to some military technique exercises. “The army camp challenge is fun, not so extensive but is tough enough to really call it a challenge,” Al-Azem said. The participants are limited to 25 only. The second fitness program is the TFC Beach session. This is conducted along the beach where participants undergo training using only body weights, starting with pushups or any sports that can be played on sand.”We hold this session at the beach side of The Palms Hotel. It’s very famous among our participants,” he said.
The third fitness program is the TFC Cardio Session where sessions are held uphill or at elevated places in Kuwait to strengthen their cardiovascular system. They include walking, running and jogging. “After completing nine sessions, they can either renew or decide to discontinue or pull out from the program, but it is all up to participants. Most participants continue to the next season. Many of our participants from the upcoming season are the products of our last training program,” he said.
These sessions are unique because there are no other groups offering the same fitness programs. “You get the social aspect of the fitness camp. We don’t just go to a place, we enjoy talking and socializing. It’s fun because we do it with people who share the same ideas/goals, plus we meet new people, interact with them and motivate each other,” Al-Azem concluded. Participants range from age 15 and above. AYMSTRONG headquarters is located at Dar Al-Awadhi Mall in Sharq, Kuwait City.
By Ben Garcia, Staff Writer
