Organized and supervised by Dubai Club for the Disabled and Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center in collaboration with the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, Dubai Sports Council, and the UAE Paralympic Committee, the first Fazza International Para-Archery Competition kicks off on Tuesday (20 January 2015) under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
 The launch of the competition was announced during a press conference hosted by the tournament’s Organizing Committee today at the Dubai Club for the Disabled. The tournament will be held from January 20 to 26 at the Dubai Club for the Disabled with the participation of 25 athletes representing nine countries, namely the UAE, France, India, Romania, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Iraq, Iran and Malaysia.
 H.E. Thani Juma Berregad, Chairman of the Dubai Club for the Disabled and Head of the Organizing Committee for the Fazza Championships  for the Disabled, extended his thanks and appreciation on behalf of the Organizing Committee to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, for his support and guidance for the development of disabled sports in the UAE.
 He also expressed his pleasure at the launch of the new competition, which has been included in the Fazza events calendar to be one of the major international competitions within the Fazza International Championships for People with Disability.
 "The addition of this new competition to the Fazza Championships calendar comes within the context of the directives issued by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, for the continuous development of disabled sports, and to introduce a championship at the highest level that befits the global reputation of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
 The introduction of the archery tournament would further enrich the sporting life in Dubai and provide an international and highly competitive atmosphere for local players to raise the level of their game, while strengthening the presence of the sport in the country, where archery is accredited in school Olympics,” Berregad said. He added, "I'd like to welcome and thank the contestants  from different countries taking part in the first Fazza International Para-Archery Competition.
Their participation has come about not by mere chance, but because of the global recognition gained by the Fazza Championships, which cover various sports, including heritage and other sports dedicated to people with disability.
" Majid Abdullah Al Usaimi, Executive Director at the Dubai Club for the Disabled and Director of the Fazza Championships for the Disabled, said: "The first Fazza International Para-Archery Competition comes within the framework of the development and continuous expansion of the Fazza  Championships for People with Disability in order to support disabled sports and to provide the opportunity for athletes to participate at the international level in various sporting disciplines. After the archery competition was organized within the Fazza National Championships for People with Disability, we now have added it to the International Championships as well to provide multiple participation options for this important segment of society and a further platform to develop their skills and improve their performance.
We have completed all necessary preparations at the Dubai Club for the Disabled for the tournament to be staged to the highest standards.
" Al Usaimi added: "I wish success to all participants, and particularly to our national team, and I hope that the tournament will achieve its objectives and contribute to raising the level of our players while providing them the opportunity to compete on an international level.
" The tournament includes three classes for the disabled: Wheelchair - 1 Class, dedicated to people with tetraplegia or comparable disability, suffering from illness or injury in all four limbs; Wheelchair - 2 Class, dedicated to people with paraplegia or comparable disability, suffering lower limb impairments; and the ST class, in which the archer shoots standing or seated on a normal chair.
 Souad Darwish, Director of Fazza  Championships, Hamdan  Bin Mohammed Heritage Center, said: "Under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, we at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center are constantly striving to develop and improve the Fazza Championships in different sporting disciplines in line with our strategic goals to preserve our heritage, consolidate national identity, and acquaint people with the Emirati culture both within and outside the county. 
The addition of the new competition comes within the framework of our ambitious plans to ensure the Fazza Championships maintain the highest international standards.
Sport plays an important role in bridging cultural gaps and bringing people of different social and cultural backgrounds from all over the world together on one platform; hence, we continuously work on adding new competitions and games into the Fazza International  Championships calendar in order to attract more international athletes to take part in these competitions.
" Teams participating in the competition are scheduled to arrive on 20 January, and players will be classified according to the type of disability on 21 January, followed by the official inauguration of the tournament, the beginning of official training and the technical meeting of the Organizing Committee on 22 January.
 The tournament's competitions will begin on 23 January and continue until 25 January 2015.