Falconers are ‘activating’ their birds.

Advanced technology plays an important role in falconry, said Mohammed Abdullah Bin Dalmook, Director of Corporate Support at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC).

He was speaking to the Gulf Today on the occasion of the ongoing Fazza Championship for Falconry 2019-2020 at Al Ruwayyah desert area in Dubai.

“Every year we are upgrading with the most advanced technological solutions available in the market to make our daily tasks not only smooth, time saving but also error free. Prior to the start of our annual championship, we ask participants to get registration done through a computerised system which allots them a unique number and all the details of their falcons, schedule of matches and all the necessary information,” he said.

Highlighting the practice of the technology in very event, Mohammed Abdullah Bin Dalmook mentioned that they have tagged a speed sensor to each falcon and two at the end-point of the designated area of the match where the accuracy of the time is recorded. “The networking between sensors at the start-point with the falcon and two at the end-point not only gives the judges the accurate speed but the software also assists them in calculating all the relevant data through high speed programming and hardware,” he said.

A falconer starts with registration of his falcon on an automated system which gets their username and password to monitor their participation details from the match, category, activation etc., throughout the event without any delay.

In the second step ahead of the match day, the participants has to pass through a ‘smart gate’ where the sensor on his falcon is activated. This enables the ‘control room’ through the computerised system know the falconer has arrived and allows them to participate in their designated time slots.

A falcon match is all about the speed and accuracy to reach the prey and the understanding between the falconer and his catcher, distancing around 400 metres.

“We do not have any manual system of enrolling, checking or monitoring as there is no use of paper in any single stage. If one needs updated information, there are many smart kiosks in the championship venue available while one can check the updated status of their required race through an online portal,” he said.

It is also mentioned that the falconry was a traditional sport and one of the important parts of the local heritage. The falcons allowed in local events are as young as 4-7 months old and the breeds include pure Shaheen and Hurr and Jeer Shaheen, Jeer Tib, Jeer Qarmoosha, Pure Jeer. Falcons below one year are called ‘Farkh’ and those older called ‘Jernas’.

The number of people adopting falconry as a hobby has been increasing in the country while the support of government is also playing a vital role in bringing falconers from all over the GCC countries to compete in the number of local events. With the support of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai through the platform of the ‘heritage centre,’ organising a number of annual activities from tournaments to championships encourages residents.

Every year the number of participants from all over the UAE has been increasing as young boys as old as 4 years and elders in their 60s and 70s are showing their commitment with their love of falconry through the participation in the categories of ‘Sheikhs’, ‘General Public’ and ‘young’.  “This year, we are allowing for the second time young girls up to 12 years to participate in the ‘young’ category as we received a number of requests from the parents that their young girls are also showing interest in the falconry,” he said. Besides the annual championships, the centre organises events and competitions, conducts heritage studies and specialised research on the preservation and documentation of the UAE’s national heritage, and provides heritage sources and references for researchers and members of the public who are interested in heritage studies.