DOHA: The third annual Maersk Oil & Qatar Petroleum Challenge has raised $110,000 for Action on Diabetes (AOD).
The money will fund Al Bawasil Camp, which hosts diabetic children from Qatar and the region to educate them on managing the disease.
The Qatari corporate adventure race of the year saw more than 200 people in 30 teams from some of the largest organisations compete over two days at Fuwerit.
AOD is a public-private partnership to raise awareness about diabetes, assist those at risk to avoid it and help diabetics better manage their health.
The teams competed in five stages with an overnight stay in the desert.
For the first time, the event included mountain biking and kayaking and orienteering by GPS, completing construction projects, navigating in the desert at night, promoting problem-solving and developing team skills.
All activities were themed around diabetes, demonstrating benefits of a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and stopping smoking.
Each team started with a health check score of zero, and was challenged to raise health points in the five stages of the competition which aimed to raise awareness about risks of Type 2 diabetes throughout each stage and educate them on causes, symptoms and prevention.
Schlumberger’s ‘The Blue Expendables’ team were crowned overall winners, with the highest number of health points, beating off Maersk Oil Qatar team ‘The Navigators’, who won the ‘Best Male Team’ and Texas A&M University Qatar team, ‘The TAMUQ’ who won the ‘Best Team Spirit’ category.
The challenge is held annually to coincide with World Diabetes Day celebrated on November 14. Each team donated $5,000 to take part, raising $110,000 for AOD.
The Peninsula
