Persian Gulf Nations Are Coming Around to Ice Hockey ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Khalid al-Suwaidi was mesmerized when he first saw Canadian and American expatriates playing ice hockey at what is thought to be the only rink here. Suwaidi, who like many Emiratis grew up playing soccer, had never seen anything so fast and physical. Without a coach or friends to teach him, he started spending more time at the rink, and he turned to the Internet to find YouTube videos offering techniques and basic rules of the sport. "When I saw my first hockey game, I said, I need to play this game," said Suwaidi, who has been with the United Arab Emirates national team for a decade. When I spoke with a lot of guys about the hard position in hockey, they said goalie. So I said I'd become goalie. Ice hockey would seem a tough sell in Persian Gulf nations, where temperatures routinely reach 104 degrees. But a growing number of Emirati men and women are taking to the ice, inspired by the introduction of N.H.L. games on cable television. The sport's growth in the last decade has contributed to the rise of the United Arab Emirates national team, which has gone from a laughingstock - once losing to Kazakhstan, 38-0 - to one of the region's emerging powers. It won the Challenge Cup of Asia in March for the second time. The team's success also has inspired other Gulf nations to embrace hockey, with Kuwait now hoping to join the United Arab Emirates in qualifying for the International Ice Hockey Federation's Division III, and Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia starting their own national teams. Qatar has also started playing. At a 1,300-seat arena tucked into an Abu Dhabi sports complex, the United Arab Emirates team showed why it is the Gulf's best. The Emiratis routed Bahrain, 12-0, to reach the final of the second Gulf Cup this month and then dispatched Kuwait, 3-1, to win a second consecutive final. They outscored their opponents, 42-4. Except for Arab pop songs blaring during the breaks, the four-team tournament would have been familiar to anyone who has watched a high school game in North America. There were moments of slick stick handling and sizzling slap shots from the United Arab Emirates team juxtaposed with the inexperience of the Bahrainis and Omanis, who occasionally struggled to stand on skates. The Gulf countries have plenty of work to do. Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait each have one rink that is shared with recreational skaters, while the seven in the United Arab Emirates - including one in the country's largest mall - are insufficient to keep up with demand and develop a new generation of players. "We don't have enough ice rinks," said Mohamed Aref, the sports director for the U.A.E. Ice Hockey Association, which is considering deploying cheaper, synthetic ice rinks that could be outdoors. Without ice rinks, you will have a limited number of players. The sport also has struggled to get support from governments. The United Arab Emirates are a rarity in that they sanction a federation that provides financing to develop the sport, hosts tournaments like the Gulf Cup and covers the cost of players attending training camps and overseas tournaments. Players also receive a small monthly stipend, and a bonus for winning tournaments. There are still only 532 Emiratis playing, up from 200 four years ago. But most of the senior players took up hockey only in their teens and are amateurs. "You have to keep in mind the mentality of the local people; it's very difficult working here," said United Arab Emirates Coach Yuri Faikov, who is from Belarus. You have to repeat moments even 1,000 times. You have to show nonstop. You have to work, repeat each element a lot of times. After winning the Gulf Cup, the United Arab Emirates team is focusing on a qualifying tournament in October against Greece, Georgia and Mongolia that will determine which two teams return to the I.I.H.F."s Division III. The United Arab Emirates team was demoted after failing to win a game in a Division III tournament in 2010.