Dubai First will mark the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 'Spirit of the Union' of the UAE with a unique sporting event which will take people back in time.

The Emirati Endurance Pentathlon, the first of its kind, will have seven teams of five members each competing a healthy spirit to promote heritage sports.

Organised in association with the Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and Dubai Municipality, it will be held on November 25 at Al Khor Park. The family day will start at 11am followed by the actual pentathlon at 2pm.

The five sports are an Emirati wooden boat race, pearl diving, palm tree climbin, archery and horse racing.

"Dubai First is pleased to unveil a new and exclusive sporting concept in line with the visions of our President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai," said Ibrahim Al Ansari, CEO of Dubai First.

"When we first we put our minds together on what we should do to celebrate the 40th anniversary of UAE National Day, the emphasis was to maintain the heritage and culture. After much brainstorming we came up with the idea to show the heritage of sports in those days," said Al Ansari.

"We put the five sports together which everybody used to do then and with the cooperation of the Dubai Sports Council and help of Ismail Rashid we conceived it," he said.

"Through this cultural-sporting event, Dubai First aims to host an unforgettable National Day for all. We also invite the expatriate community residing in the UAE to join us and enjoy Emirati hospitality as well as our all-day family activities," said Al Ansari.

He thanked Dr Ahmed Al Sharif, secretary general of DSC and Ahmed Abdulkarim and the Public Parks and Horticulture Department of the Dubai Municipality for their support to make the Emirati Endurance Pentathlon a reality.

"This is just a start and we hope to make it an annual event," he said.

The contestants will be dressed as typical Emirati pearl divers. In the first race the five-member team will race for 600 metres.

Thereafter they will stop at a designated checkpoint where one member will dive down for six metre and fetch an item placed in advance to simulate the pearl dive.

The next stage will be the palm tree climbing, where a member will climb up a tree for a date-picking technique.

The archery contest will then follow and the pentathlon will conclude with a 250-metre horse drag race.

Seven retired Emirati football stars have been picked to captain the teams. They are Adnan Al Talyani, Fahed Khamis, Ahmad Saeed, Yaser Salim, Salim Jawher, Adnan Al Zaabi and Mohamamed Al Juhari.

Rashid Al Kamali, head of marketing of DSC thanked Dubai First for organising the event.

"On behalf of the Dubai Sports Council, I would like to extend greetings to all for the National Day," he said.

"The pentathlon will show our young generation how our elders lived and depict in a way their life," Al Kamali added.

Mohammed Al Fardan, head of Promotions and Recreation office at Dubai Municipality's Public Parks and Horticulture department said there are 121 parks in Dubai, six of which are major one. "We are happy to be associated with the event," he said.