DUBAI // Shane Thornton, the Arabian Gulf sevens coach, is planning a relatively sedate build-up to his outing with Dubai Dragons this afternoon, after pushing the idea of a pre-game warm-up to extremes in recent times.
The New Zealander earned himself a reputation as a hard taskmaster with the fitness drills he put his players through in the lead up to last month's Dubai Rugby Sevens.
So severe was he the squad even kept a sick tally, with the player who vomited the most times winning some new sports gear.
Yet Thornton is evidently only too happy to practise what he preaches.
Last Friday he was at the start line at 6.45am for the Dubai 10km on marathon morning, before playing 80 minutes in the Dragons' Gulf Cup defeat in Abu Dhabi in the afternoon.
Just to make sure he was getting his fitness fill, he joined in a game of touch rugby at training with the Toa Dubai women's side, for whom his wife, Jessica, plays, in between finishing the race and travelling to Al Ghazal.
"That is the first time in my life I've done that," he said. "I ran 10km before we played in Abu Dhabi.
"It was a pretty big warm-up in the morning, but I was more tired the following day, not actually on the day of the game."
Thornton's Dragons side will seek to revive their stalled campaign against city rivals Dubai Hurricanes at The Sevens this afternoon.
A string of defeats has severely hindered their aspirations of adding to their Dubai Sevens crown, but Thornton suggested there were signs of a return to their best during the cup loss in Abu Dhabi.
"We played really well then fell off the pace in the last 10 minutes and let a couple of tries in," he added.
"That let Abu Dhabi through for the win and that is something we have to work on this week against the Hurricanes. We try to open it up and have fun out there."
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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