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Ice hockey enthusiasts in Bahrain hope to make their mark in the sport with the launch of the kingdom's first official club.
Although the fast action game has been played on and off for many years the players have mainly been North American expats.
The new setup, National Bahrain Ice Hockey Club, however, is now recognised by the General Organisation for Youth and Sports (GOYS) and aims to build on the early enthusiasm of the past, encouraging more young Bahrainis to take up the sport.
Bahraini Noah Sharif, 29, has been playing ice hockey since the age of eight. He played semi-professionally in the UAE from 2001 to 2003 and is now the team manager/captain of the Bahrain team as well as one of its founders.
Noah said: "I started playing ice hockey in Bahrain as a schoolboy and fell in love with the sport.
"The first team I joined was made up of Canadians, Americans and Bahrainis. In 1996 we lost a lot of players as some had to leave the country but the five Bahrainis on the team remained - Mohammed Salman, Thamer Fakhro, Saud and Salman Sulaibiekh and I.
"We competed with the expats in a number of international tournaments but after a while wanted something bigger - to have our own team.
"I had been trying since 2000 to gather up players but every time I approached GOYS for official recognition I would be told that I did not have enough to form a club.
"Now we are an official organisation with 35 players between the ages of 14 and 40 of which 25 are active."
The new team is aiming to build up its reputation and playing prowess and become an active part of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The players will be jetting off to Thailand shortly to take part in an open tournament.
"This will be the first time a bunch of Bahrainis will be skating on the ice representing the kingdom and competing in Thailand from October 27 to 29 in the Asian Division," explained Noah. "If we do well, that will give us the push we need and an 'in' so that we can participate in the 2010 Asian Cup in Malaysia."
The Asian Division includes India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, Macaw, Hong Kong, Kuwait and UAE.
He added: "We also want to be a part of the IIHF and I have met with some of their people to sort it out. I learned that we need to be invited and if your neighbouring country thinks you deserve to have an ice hockey team and should be a part of the IIHF then they will vote to invite you in.
"We have already received two votes from Kuwait and the UAE to be part of the IIHF but need to do well in this tournament first.
"But our main objective right now is sponsorship. Although we have a club we do not have funding and are currently spending out of our own pockets."
For further information on Bahrain's national ice hockey team, contact Mohammed Al Doy by e-mail - doy_mhd@hotmail.com or Noah Sharif at noah_sharif@hotmail.com
