American University of Sharjah (AUS) held the Sharakah Sports Festival 2017 for high school students from its Sharakah partner schools from Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain on Saturday, January 28, 2017. Held on the AUS campus, the festival included soccer, volleyball, basketball and table tennis tournaments in which more than 850 students formed 87 teams to compete for the Sharakah Cup.

The event is an AUS community outreach program that encourages students from grades 10 to 12 at Sharakah schools to embrace good sportsmanship and fitness.

Ali Shuhaimy, Executive Director of Enrollment Management at AUS, said, "We believe this event provides a great opportunity for AUS to exhibit its commitment to community engagement and to strengthen its ties with feeder schools. We are pleased with the turnout during the event, and were very happy to showcase AUS's state-of-the-art sports facilities and our beautiful campus. We look forward to continue organizing this and similar events in the future."

Sharakah is a partnership program between AUS and select high schools initiated by the Office of Enrollment Management to partner with certain schools selected to engage with the university's strategic initiative to create a platform for cooperation in various academic and non-academic areas. These include the engagement of teachers and students through training sessions, workshops, as well as cultural, social and sporting activities.

Schools participating from Sharjah included Al Shola School; Sharjah American International School; Dawha School and Al Maarifa School. Dubai schools were International School of Arts and Sciences; Sharjah American International School-Dubai; Al Mawakeb School, Al Barsha; Al Mawakeb School, Garhoud; Philadelphia Private School; Dubai International School, Al Garhoud; and Dubai International School, Nad al Sheba. Participating schools from Abu Dhabi were Al Nahda School Boys; Al Nahda School Girls; International Community School; Rawafed National School; Najah School; and Madar School and Liwa International School from Al Ain.

First place in boys' basketball went to Al Mawakeb School, Al Garhoud, while Sharjah American International School, Sharjah, placed first in boys' soccer and Al Mawakeb School, Al Garhoud, placed first in girls' soccer. In volleyball, International School of Arts and Sciences and Dubai International School, Al Garhoud placed first in boys' and girls' volleyball, respectively.

First place in boys' table tennis went to Majd Abo Asath from Al Mawakeb School, Al Garhoud. First place in the boys' 100m race went to Ali Mohammed from Dawha School, Sharjah, while Nada Hasan from Sharjah American International School won the girls' 100m race.

The event also welcomed players' families and the AUS community at large to enjoy outdoor fun. Shuhaimy estimated that the total number of people attending the festival exceeded 1,200.