King Abdulaziz Festival for Falconry, in its first edition, allows visitors to practice shooting, either by arches, bow or aerial rifle, through two large fields, each with a shooting range of six lines, enabling 6 visitors to practice this hobby, at the same time, overseen by a group of elite national trainers, who have great experience and rich expertise. The Saudi falconry club, organizer of the festival, aims to set up shooting fields to educate young men and women, as well, the significance of ancient weapons, especially archery. Weapons used in shooting are varied with shotguns. The facilities of shooting include two types, the German-made: Diana model 27, weighting 2 kg, the speed of a shot is 200 meters per second and the total length of the rifle is 109 cm. The second type is Magnum 350, the American-made, a weight of rifle is 3.85 kg, the speed of the shot is 360 meters per second, while the total length of the rifle is 122 cm. It is also known as the Sectone or Umm Sutma, in the Kingdom, which is a simple rifle depending on the air for the velocity of the shot to go beyond its payload, which is used for hunting, with varying types, including wood and aluminum made, used according to the size of a bird, large or small, to allowing the visitor a shooting range of 10 to 20 meters, with the best methods of personal safeness and public safety, in order to maintain visitors' security. Visitors can also get a full explanation from the supervisors of the shooting fields, as well as the training of the children on archery, through the national team player, the first Arab gold medalist Abdulaziz Al-Rodhan, who calls the sport of shooting, as the sport for all ages' categories, as it is not limited to a particular age and is available to young and old age, alike, stressing that archery is a sport that needs calm and concentration, which is reflected on the character and characteristics of a person. Al-Rodhan pointed out the importance of shooting sport because it has a great impact on the character of the shooter, as it earns him wisdom and calm, and that were the qualities the parents and grandparents entertained, in the Arabian Peninsula. The skilled hunter waited a prey all through a day, so he could hunt them down, he said, adding that archery is closely interconnected to hunting by falcons, as these two hobbies are not limited to the concept of hunting, in itself; because they exceeded that by targeting the goal of promoting the level of the human being, to rely on himself and not to accept dependence on others, noting that the vision of the Kingdom 2030, is providing us with a new platform that will restore the old age authenticity, according to civilized basis, that making Saudi Arabia a globally balancing bridge between the past, the present and the future. Al-Rodhan expressed thanks of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for issuance of an order establishing the Saudi Falconry Club, which organizes the King Abdulaziz Festival for Falcons, the most important and largest forum, in the world for falconry, and a real opportunity to emphasize the importance of the history, originality and heritage of the Kingdom's civilization.
