15 Jun 2016
Doha, 15 June, 2016. On Tuesday evening, Aspire Academy celebrated its ninth graduation with thirty-six (36) student athletes capped at a ceremony to mark the end of the 2015-16 academic year. The 2016 graduation ceremony was held in the magnificent Aspire Dome in the presence of the Guest of Honor His Excellency Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali, Minister of Culture and Sports, Hilal Al-Kuwari, President of Aspire Zone; Tariq Al Nema, Vice President of Aspire Zone; Mohammad Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, Acting CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation; Ivan Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy; Badr Al-Hay, Director of Education and Student Care, Aspire Academy; Jassim Al-Jaber, School Principal, Aspire Academy; and members of the Academy’s senior management, teachers and parents of the student-athletes.
In his address, Aspire Academy Director General, Ivan Bravo highlighted how 2016 has been an extra special year for Aspire Academy with excellence achieved on both academic and sporting fronts. “We became only the seventh school in the whole of Qatar to attain the Council of International Schools (CIS) accreditation and thus give access to our graduates to acceptance at some of the world top colleges and universities. On the sporting side, three of our graduate athlete students, namely Mutaz Essa Barshim, Ashraf El-Seify and 19-year-old Abubaker Haydar Abdalla, who graduated from Aspire Academy last year, have qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio and it could still be five as two others are very close to attaining the qualification standards within the remaining time. This is fantastic achievement for the Academy in its short existence. It is at times like this that we realise the immense work, contribution and great value this institution, Aspire Academy is to this country, Qatar”, said Ivan Bravo.
Mr. Badr Jassim Al Hay, Director of Education and Student Care, said: “On graduation day we forget all the hardships that may have passed and celebrate the joy of the ceremony. We are tremendously proud to see our boys start the next chapter in their lives, and congratulate them on the dedication, hard work and self-discipline that got them to this point. These are the qualities of true champions”.
The student athletes graduated in several sports, including football, squash, athletics, swimming, table tennis, and shooting, will form the next generation of Qatar’s sports teams and clubs. They will join some of Qatar’s top and fast rising sportsmen and former scholars who graduated from Aspire Academy such as the likes of Mutaz Essa Barshim, Ashraf El-Seify, Abdulla Al-Tamimi, Ibrahim Majid, Abdelkarim Hassan, Akram Afif and Abubaker Haydar Abdalla who have excelled and are competing at the very top of their respective sports.
In a speech representing the graduates, student athlete Yousef Al-Badr said, “Today we recall the memories of studying and practicing sports with our teachers and coaches. We realise that nations are built by the sincere efforts of its youth. Today, we are proud to graduate from Aspire Academy to carry the banner of knowledge and sports. We extend our sincerest gratitude to the Academy that provided us with everything to achieve both academic and sports excellence.”
The graduation marks yet another milestone for Aspire Academy an institution well on its way in full filling its mission to be recognized as one of the world’s leading sports academies in the development of young athletes, which it achieves through a comprehensive curriculum focused on both academic and athletic achievement. Several of the young Academy leavers are now set to pursue their sporting careers and further studies at prestigious universities around the world over the next few years.