King Abdul Aziz Falconry Festival was announced as the world's largest falcon racing tournament with the participation of a record number of 1,723 falcons, which competed for 10 days from Jan. 25 to Feb. 3), the Guinness Book of Records reported on Sunday. GBR's official representative Shida Subasi Jamissi delivered the certificate confirming the festival's registration in the book to Saudi Falcons Club's executive director Hossam Bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Hazimi at Malham, north of Riyadh. The Guinness announcement was a new Saudi achievement in the world's largest falconry festival with a total cash pot of prizes valued at SR17,630,000, amid wide participation of falconers from Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and the world at large. "It is an honor to attend SFC competitions, in which 1,723 falcons have participated, a new category that was recorded according to the international standards," said Jamissi. "The recognized standards state that there should be no threat to life and all participating falcons must be in good shape. After getting the accurate number from the Statistics Department, I can confirm that SFC was officially registered in GBR with 1,723 falcons as the world's largest falcons' tournament here in Riyadh on Feb. 3, 2019, " she added. SFC has organized Al-Melwah 400 meters competition, which included rounds for Saudi falconers and international rounds, while 13 cup rounds were run Sunday to pick 39 winners. The winners of each round will receive SR500,000, while second and third places will get SR200,000 and SR100,000 respectively. The festival's organization came after the unprecedented success of the Saudi falcon and hunting exhibition held last month, with great international and Gulf participation. The two events was organized by SFC, which was established by a royal decree issued by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and under the direct supervision of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. — SG
