Interview

The interview I conducted was with my father Abdulla Balfaqeeh, a horse racing enthusiast. I asked him about what drew him to horse racing most compared to the other sports that were around in his time, like camel racing or boat racing. According to my father, he was always rapt by the speed, strength and agility of Arabian horses. As a young child he frequently attended horse racing events just to satisfy his fascination with horses and the way they sped along the tracks. When asked about the difference between horse racing in his youth and horse racing in modern times, he said that there was quite a difference. He stated that horse racing was greatly practiced in weddings and family gatherings, and many got involved. The riders were usually the owners of the horses, unlike nowadays where the riders have to fit a certain criteria. This is evident because of the many large tournaments held in the UAE, most popularly in Dubai with the Dubai World Cup. He also mentioned that horse racing equipment has improved greatly because of the technology to aid the riders and help the horses be more comfortable during the races. He mentioned that good race horses came from good breed, and are well cared for before and after races. He also stated that the rider should be as good as the horse and should also know how to handle the horse. He was asked whether he preferred the sport the way it previously was or the way it currently is, he simply stated that with time came development and improvement, which helped the sport greatly especially with all the new technology, and the worldwide recognition the sport is gaining within the UAE. In sum, this interview showed that horse racing has always been a popular sport, which has improved greatly because of new technologies, and it has also gained even more popularity in the past few years. 

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Attempt	State	Grade / 7.00	Review
1	FinishedSubmitted Monday, 18 May 2015, 8:07 AM	3.00	Review
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Reflection: Abu Dhabi Country Club

A few weeks ago, we were assigned to do a video project about a sport and leisure facility. We did it in a group of 5 members. We were originally 4, but added an additional member before we started working on the project. Doing the project in a group was beneficial in strengthening our communication and teamwork skills. After discussing it between us we decided to make the project about Abu Dhabi Country Club. We chose it due to its popularity and many facilities. However, we faced a setback when we first went to look around the place and start filming. The market manager, Mr. Ehab did not allow us to film straight away and wanted us to get an official letter from the college that lists the names of the students who want to film (our names) and that we are doing this for a university project. After we got the permission, he had to get the approval of the director of the club, which also took some time and had to postpone our work even more. When the time came for us to film, we had already had a tour of the place the last time we visited and saw the facilities, thus we had an idea on how we wanted the video to turn out, who to interview, and the places we are going to do in that video. While we were doing the tour, our other members were sitting with Mr. Ehab and getting the letter from the college. We interviewed two people, Mr. Ahmed, the gym trainer and the person responsible for the gym, and Mr. Ehab, the marketing director. 

We found out during the interview that going to the gym facility did not mean getting a diet plan, or a programming plan, if you required personal training you have to pay for it. A diet plan is not an option, but they can tell you what foods to stay away from and such. Also, that the club really values its members; if you decide to pay for the membership all of the facilities are free to use, unlike some other big clubs. In addition, you can have weddings or hold parties in the club by reserving the ballroom they have. They have around 4000 visiting members. I did not expect to find such results and find as big of a facility as the one they had, due to me not knowing anyone who is a member, but my visit to the club made me want to get a membership, all the staff were very welcoming and they made it enjoyable. It was a prime example of sports, leisure and society, due to its multicultural members, which were also very kind and were interacting with is, the number of sports and leisure facilities they had. Their cafes and swimming pool areas were very warm and relaxing. During the project we had to communicate very well and be able to work together, in addition to being honest with each other; that way we would have fewer problems and more efficiency, which was exactly what happened. All the work was divided between us and another member supported whoever needed help. 

To me, if I had to review Abu Dhabi Country Club, they would get stellar reviews, due to all its facilities provided to their members, which I really liked. It is suited for all ages and nationalities; it is really a great place. If I did the case study again, there isn’t much we could do differently besides getting the approval earlier. Also, none of us are really good at editing; we did a fairly decent job at it but would love to have it differently than how we did it. It isn’t that big of a deal but the more I see it the more it bothers me. Other than that I think we did a great job with what we have.