Dh1m in cash prizes for Al Gharbia water sports fest

Top Stories

UAE announces 2-month grace period for residence visa violators

UAE announces fee refund for tax service charges from August 1

Paid parking in Dubai: Residents face up to Dh4,000 extra yearly costs when new rates kick in

The Dh1 million prizemoney Al Gharbia Water Sports Festival 2011 will be held in Al Marfa City from March 25 to April 2.

Published: Wed 23 Mar 2011, 12:49 AM

Last updated: Wed 8 Nov 2023, 4:01 PM

The event is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region, initiated by the Western Region Development Council and organised by Abu Dhabi Motors Club, the third edition of the 10-day event will include a host of competitions in various disciplines, in addition to various traditional and community activities, musical and theatrical performances. The programme for this year includes beach soccer, beach volleyball, kite boarding, surf ski kayaking, wakeboarding, heritage and modern sailing in addition to swimming.

The festival has been gaining increasing popularity over the last two editions, with over 50,000 visitors reported in 2009, while last year edition attracted well over 70,000 visitors.

This made the festival the most prominent popular event in the Western Region and helped enhance the region’s presence as a unique tourism destination and a host of choice for sporting events.

Mohamed Hamad bin Azzan Al Mazrouei, Director General of the Western Region Development Council, said: “Al Gharbia WaterSports Festival has made a resounding success on the local, regional and international levels over the last two years, with the participation of tens of high profile competitors from a number of Arab and foreign countries. The festival’s activities have been positively reflected on the tourism sector in the region.” “As we, today, celebrate the launch of a new edition that carries more diversity and participations, we promise to exert more efforts to further develop this festival to the highest levels, highlight the region’s natural and heritage attractions, enhance its position on the world’s tourism map and promote it as a host of choice for sporting events,” he added.

Obaid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, the Festival Manager, said: “Al Gharbia WaterSports Festival 2011 is witnessing a noticeable increase in the number of the participating countries, with 13 countries have confirmed entry so far, including debut for some countries.

New activities have been added to the program this year, and the festival is expected to attract 100,000 visitors.”

Al Mazrouei added: “Our objective from Al Gharbia WaterSport Festival is to establish the culture of sporting and tourist activities in this region which is rich in natural and geographical attractions that enable it to be one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the region and the entire world, in the light of the continuous support by our wise leadership.”