The 3rd West Asian Games were to be held from 7 to 17 April 2003 in Damascus, Syria. However, they were postponed and then cancelled. On 4 April 2002 the West Asian Games Federation decided that the Games would be held every four years, instead of two, namely one year before the Asian Games. The Third West Asian Games was held from the 1 to 10 December 2005 in Doha, Qatar as test event for the 2006 Asian Games and involved over 1,200 athletes from 13 nations participating in 11 sports. Women participated in the West Asian Games for the first time.