AILYN AGONIA

DOHA NINE hotels across Qatar will be competing in four sport events as part of the 3rd Inter-Hotel Mini Beach Olympics 2012 which starts on Tuesday.

The five-day event aimed at promoting camaraderie through sportsmanship among the hoteliers in the country was inaugurated through a ceremony held at the InterContinental Doha, the year’s Olympics host, on Monday.

The participating hotels include Diplomatic Club, Four Seasons, La Cigale, Oryx Rotana, Renaissance, Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, W Hotel and InterContinental Doha. Their representatives will compete in swimming, beach soccer, beach volleyball and 2-km run to be held at InterContinental Doha beach area.

The opening ceremony was marked by a parade of the athletes, presentation of teams’ muses and a Cheering Squad Competition. Renaissance won the Cheering Squad Competition while the muse of W Hotel bagged the title of Best Muse.

InterContinental Doha General Manager Hafidh al Busaidy welcomed the guests on the occasion who included general managers and top management representatives of the hotels.

Prior to the event, a ceremonial torch relay was held on Saturday to signal the transfer of the hosting rights from last year’s host Four Seasons to InterContinental Doha. Four Seasons Regional VP and General Manager Simon Casson handed over the torch to InterContinental Doha’s Director of Human Resources Gerardo Urbina. The torch was also passed on to all participating hotels this year.

The awards ceremony of the friendly competition will be held on April 14.