Mike Ballard says he feels like an “honorary member of the UAE team” despite competing in USA colours at the ICF International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Cup in Hungary.
The American paddler, who is now based in Dubai having moved from Abu Dhabi earlier this year, has been training with the recently-formed national team in Jumeirah in the lead-up to the event.
While Ballard, whose long-established goal is to appear at the Paralympic Games in Paris next year, has experience of a number of international events, the UAE only recently started competing at the top level.
Balazs Bartfai, a student at Kent College in Dubai, became the first UAE competitor to appear at an ICF event when he appeared at the Under-23 World Cup last September.
The embryonic national team have sent another team to Szeged for this week’s event. It means Ballard will be able to meet up with some familiar faces, including coach Dani Madar, at the event.
Ballard has been thrilled to find a thriving community of paddlers in Dubai. He gave up full time employment at a school in Abu Dhabi last year, and has devoted himself to kayaking full time since last September.
Having opted to move to Dubai, he joined up with Paddlers Hub UAE in Jumeirah, which is where the national team is based.
“On Mondays, there are 15 people paddling at 6am for the performance team workout,” Ballard, the former Abu Dhabi Harlequins rugby player, said.
“Because the UAE team has a chance to go to international competition, there has been a lot of momentum. They have been able to bring across a full-time coach from Hungary.
“He is there all the time, and it has been so good working with those guys. There is somebody to paddle with all the time.
“That has been such a good situation to come into and be a part of. I am at the stage where volume [of training] is not the concern, it is about doing things correctly and efficiently.
“I am even happier with the coaching and camaraderie than the extended-stay hotels, but they are both good.”
Since moving up the coast from the capital, Ballard has been staying in Premier Inn hotels, which he says is both more cost effective and time-efficient than the alternative.
“I crunched the numbers and had to call them and go and look at the room to make sure it is on point,” Ballard said.
“I think the thing that gives me the most joy about this whole experience is the extended-stay hotel. I get awfully sandy, but get clean sheets and towels every day, and no utility bills. It has been phenomenal.”
While the UAE contingent in Szeged have had to either ask for time off work or school to compete, travelling to events such as the World Cup is now Ballard’s day job.
His heat is on Thursday morning. His next competition will be the World Championships in Duisburg in Germany, which will provide competitors with their first shot at qualifying for Paris.
He acknowledged his link up with the new UAE has given him a new-found zest for training.
“I am the only person who is excited to be there for 6am training,” Ballard said. “I get there 15 minutes early, knowing that after a 6am workout I can go home, take a shower and then sleep until lunch.
“Everybody else has to bring their work clothes and head there straight after. I couldn’t even draft up a better situation than where I am at.”
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
