The recent move to the Saadiyat campus has added a whole new range of sporting opportunities for students and staff.

There are several indoor facilities that will allow NYU Abu Dhabi students and faculty to practice sports all year round, regardless of the hot weather. These facilities include a 50-meter swimming pool, two fitness centers, a state-of-the-art gymnasium with a 200-meter track, squash and racquetball courts.

Access to outdoor facilities will eventually be provided, such as tennis courts and football pitches.

Along with these new facilities there have been several additions to the staff involved in the Athletics Department.

Still, all of these facilities would be empty were it not for the variety of sports offered in the form of teams or solo athletic activities. Included among competitive sports are men and women’s football, men and women’s basketball, men and women’s volleyball, men’s cricket, men and women’s Badminton and Men and Women’s Table Tennis. These teams compete in the Abu Dhabi Inter-University Sports League, a local competitive league, formed in 2012. NYUAD has previously been successful in this league thanks to the commitment these teams have come to expect from their participants and have taken home the Men's Basketball and Women's Football championships, along with a number of individual awards. Information on practice hours and dates is accessible on the Student Portal.

The Athletics Department also organizes intramural leagues and championships for badminton, basketball, futsal, squash and ultimate frisbee. While these leagues are less competitive in the sense that prizes and school pride aren’t on the line, they offer to opportunity to engage with the NYUAD community or fight to be the best in the school.

Apart from that, there are also Community Sports Clubs in which NYUAD teams play against several teams from community leagues in Abu Dhabi. The sports involved in these leagues are cricket, dragonboat, softball, tennis, touch rugby, volleyball and road racing and triathlon.

There is also a variety of sports-related Student Interest Groups that fall under the administrative purview the Athletics Department such as golf, karting, squash and scuba.

Apart from these sports, the school offers countless physical education courses like boxing and fitness training and the Athletics Department organizes recreational activities such as ice skating and indoor sky-diving.

Practices for competitive sports start on Aug. 31, For more information students and staff can contact the Director of Athletics Peter Dicce.

Pablo Pacareu is a staff writer. Email him at features@thegazelle.org.