The International Canoe Federation visited Abu Dhabi to inspect the venue for next year’s Stand Up Paddling World Championships.
Noemi Horvath, Chair of the ICF SUP Commission, travelled to the capital city of the United Arab Emirates to discover how organisers are preparing for the flagship event in 2025.
Abu Dhabi is scheduled to stage the ICF SUP World Championships for the first time at the end of October next year with dates yet to be confirmed.
During her visit at the start of this month, Ms Horvath checked out the location for the event and held discussions with the Host Organising Committee.
“It was a really nice trip,” said Ms Horvath.
“The Organising Committee is quite experienced with other ICF disciplines like Canoe Sprint, Canoe Ocean Racing and Dragon Boat.
“They haven’t organised a top-level Stand Up Paddling event before but that is why I am here to help them understand the sport.
“I met with a few people from the Emirates Canoe and Rafting Federation so we discussed a number of things.
“I also met with people from the main hotel which will be central to the whole event.”
Competition will take place on the stretch of water outside the five-star luxury Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri hotel.
“The location is fantastic,” said Ms Horvath.
“It’s quite a closed channel, it is not an open ocean so the water surface is perfect for Stand Up Paddling.
“There are no big boats passing by and no huge wind or big waves which will make the event very fair.
“It’s also a great location as it is easily accessible from Europe and Asia with low-cost airlines.
“I was there for a very short period of time as we wanted to do the site visit before the big heat as the summer there gets very hot.
“I might go back to see the place at the same time of year when we plan to have the event itself in 2025 to see how the weather is.
“The HOC is also planning to put on a test event in the autumn of 2024 which will help towards preparations for the World Championships.”
Ms Horvath said she also hopes that the 2025 ICF SUP World Championships will inspire more people to compete on the water in the UAE.
“I think there are many people participating in Stand Up Paddling at a recreational level,” added Ms Horvath.
“It will be one of our challenges to see how we can attract them to racing competitively.
“We should work on ensuring those people who like to paddle but haven’t really raced get the opportunities to do so.”
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