Under the Patronage of
DR. ABDULLA AL KARAM
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the
Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and Board Member Dubai Sports Council
"We are happy to celebrate the excellent standards of youth sports and fitness in the UAE"
Judges
Judges
Judging Panel
A panel of highly recognized and expert judges, representing the UAE's sports, fitness and performing arts community will determine the winners of the UAE Youth Sports & Fitness Awards. The judges will bring their extensive expertise, enthusiasm and knowledge to the judging debate ensuring that the winners are truly outstanding and worthy of receiving an award. The panel has been carefully selected to ensure the judging process is fair and objective. The judges are bound by a strict confidentiality agreement and are required to declare any conflict of interest in entries over which they deliberate, and to stand aside from judging these entries.
HONORARY JUDGE
CHAIRPERSON OF THE JUDGING PANEL
Catherine Hanson Farid
Director of REPs UAE
A key figure in the UAE fitness industry since 1995.
UK certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, health and fitness writer, past bodybuilding competitor, winner and judge.
Introduced Les Mills group fitness programmes to the region in 1999 and co-founded the FIT Awards in 2014.
DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE JUDGING PANEL
Servatius Palmans
Chief Executive Officer of UAE National Olympic Committee
Servatius Palmans, a Dutch National, is a COO and managing partner professional with over 25 years of experience across international and regional organizations within the management services domains of education, hospitality, and sports. His spare time is dedicated to charitable fund raising through sports, club secretary of the Desert Road Runners and president of ClubNL.
Catherine Williams
Catherine Williams is a health & wellness coach specializing in female-focused lifestyle, with a range of strength, conditioning and post-trauma rehabilitation qualifications as well as being a Fascial Movement coach, a Stott Pilates instructor and a nutrition coach. To complete her holistic, overall perspective on improving women’s quality of health and wellness, Catherine is also an MBSR Mindfulness coach certified by Holistic Therapies Institute UK and is currently studying for her Psychology BSc. Hons.
Stefano Iorini
Managing Director of MonViso Italian Mineral Water
Stefano Lorini is an Italian entrepreneur with over 25 years’ experience in establishing and managing distribution companies across the Middle East and India. As a truly global-minded business owner, he strives to bring unique value to the companies he leads, and the wider community.
Stefano is a great supporter of sports and fitness projects and athletes of all ages in the UAE. His two brands MonViso and My Quality & Convenience are at the forefront of sports events sponsorship.
Barry King
Regional Content Director, Action Global Communications
A sports fanatic, Barry has more than 15 years’ experience as a sports journalist and communications professional in the UK and the UAE. An advocate of grassroots and school sports development, Barry was on the judging panel in the UAE Teen Sports Awards 2016. A keen runner, he is currently trying to rediscover his youth by chasing personal best times in half-marathons and marathons.
Snezhina Petrova
Former elite athlete from Bulgaria and has won numerous national awards during her competing career. Snezhina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elite Sport and a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology from the National Sports Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria. She is a sports specialist, elite coach, teacher and an expert in healthy lifestyle, wellness and fitness for more than 20 years.
Snezhina arrived in Dubai December 2000 as an Assistant Manager in one of the biggest fitness centers in Dubai and since then has been organizing after school activities and holiday camps in schools and prime locations. She is a well -known youth swimming coach with proven results.
Majed Abu Al-Faraj
General Manager at Clinova UK
Clinova, a UK-based consumer health-tech company where he is responsible for managing the Middle East & North Africa region and growing the company’s flagship product, ORS tablets, which help athletes with sports performance and endurance. It is the official hydration partner of Tottenham Hotspurs FC; and with its unique hydration formula. ORS is a major supporter of athletes and a leading sponsor of sports globally. Prior to this, Majed was a Corporate Finance Banker at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and HSBC, where he worked across various locations in Europe and the Middle East. He is an independent advisor to several companies in the UK and UAE. Majed is an avid snow border and football enthusiast.
Nadja Issa
Dancer, and world renowned choreographer
Nadja studied musical theatre and dance education as well as choreography in New York and Germany.
Nadja has worked in various fields as choreographer, director, performer and dancer as well as teacher and coach for dance and 'on-camera presence'.
Many of her engagements are for TV stations, including MTV, Pro 7 and Sat 1 as well as MBC and RTL.
Russell Yeomans
Managing Director & Co-Founder, Yeomans Executive & Sport2Business Business Development Director, AARO Systems
Russell is a business leader and entrepreneur who has always combined Sport and Business. A Chartered Accountant by background, he built a highly successful human resource consultancy in Asia, ran the Reed Recruitment Business Internationally and was a founder of Sport2Business coached many successful professional athletes through their transition from competing sport into their next career. He is currently a partner with AARO, a successful Swedish consolidation software business in the UAE and also runs Sport2Business, a high profile golf networking events business, managing events such as the Dubai Sports Council CEO Masters.
Chelcie Osideko
Strength and Conditioning Coach, Personal Trainer and Ministry of Education, Physical Health and Education Teacher
Born and raised in London, Chelcie has always been passionate about athletic performance. A graduate in Sport and Exercise Science, she has since spent her years working within youth athletic development at various elite level institutes such as Plymouth Leander, Plymouth College Modern Pentathlon and Saracens Rugby FC. Now relocated in the UAE, Chelcie is working towards establishing a culture of sport and recreation in schools.