Camel racing facts for kids
Camel racing is an exciting sport where camels race against each other. It's very popular in places like Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Mongolia, and Australia. People enjoy watching these races, and they are often a big attraction for tourists.
Camels are surprisingly fast! They can run up to 65 kilometers per hour (about 40 miles per hour) in short bursts. They can also keep a steady speed of 40 kilometers per hour (about 25 miles per hour) for a whole hour.
In the past, young children often rode the camels as jockeys. However, because of concerns about children's safety, many countries like the UAE and Qatar have stopped this practice. Now, in modern camel racing, robots are often used to control the camels instead of human jockeys. These robots are controlled by people using remote controls.
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Major Camel Races
There are some really big camel races around the world.
The Camel Cup
One famous race is the Camel Cup, held every year in Alice Springs, Australia. It's a very important event and offers one of the biggest prizes for camel racing in Australia. Besides the races, there are also market stalls and other fun activities for everyone to enjoy.
The Boulia Desert Sands
The biggest camel race in Australia, in terms of prize money, is "The Boulia Desert Sands." This race takes place in Queensland and offers a huge prize of A$500,000!
Why Child Jockeys Were Banned
For a long time, young children were used as jockeys in camel races. However, many people became worried about the safety and well-being of these children. There were concerns about human rights.
UAE Leads the Way
The UAE was the first country to ban children under 15 from being camel jockeys. This important rule was announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan on July 29, 2002. Other countries, like Qatar, soon followed this example. This change helped protect young children and led to the use of robot jockeys in the sport.
Images for kids
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1878 Camel racing in Egypt
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See also
In Spanish: Carrera de camellos para niños
