Over 100 Dubai students will swap the classroom for the golf course this week when the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai adds a unique job opportunity to their educational CVs.
To be staged on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 November, the US$8 million tournament will see 118 students from GEMS Wellington International School gain valuable work experience as volunteer scoring assistants – a service the school has provided for the past three years.
In total, 64 girls and 54 boys ranging from 14 to 18 years of age will rub shoulders with the top 60 players on The European Tour as they assist with the final event on The Race to Dubai. And with the multi-national collection of students charged with all aspects of scoring, they will have a major role in the smooth operation of one of the biggest golf events in the world.
“Most of the students want to have some real work experience where they are given genuine responsibilities and are treated like adults,” said Andrew Morley, the tournament’s scoring co-ordinator at GEMSWellingtonInternationalSchool. “Paul White and his scoring team at The European Tour treat the kids as adults and the students really respect them for this. Students in Dubai are often not used to non-academic work and, while expectations are high, they enjoy rising to the challenge.”
Jobs undertaken by the team include carrying the mobile score boards around the course, operating mobile PDAs that link directly to the live scoring on the internet, assisting with the implementation of the laser guidance distance calculators, Championship Village and Media Centre scoring and manning the on course leaderboards.
“Over the years, the feedback from the students has been amazing,” added Morley. “They really love getting involved and enjoy the freedom and responsibility they are given. It is often up to them in teams of six to come up with the best way of organizing themselves and to develop a system that works.
“Although the students are expected to work some of it out for themselves, they are always ably supported by Paul White and his team. We also have some returning from last year so they are always on hand to teach the newcomers.”
European Tour International Director, Dubai Office Nick Tarratt added: “We are always grateful for the scoring support we receive at the DP World Tour Championship from the staff and students at GEMSWellingtonInternationalSchool.
“They have a serious job to do and work hard to deliver a great support service to the team from The European Tour. Hopefully, they will have a good time as well as adding some valuable work experience skills to their CVs.”
2013 DP World Tour Championship www.DPWTC.com