World's richest paddling race on December 3
On December 3, the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) will host the World's richest paddling race.
The Dubai Shamaal Surf Ski Race will host the biggest line-up yet with 155 paddlers and $60,000 up for grabs. The title of this prestigious race is highly coveted and part of a circuit which includes Mauritius and South Africa. Already in its fifth year in Dubai, the race is open to men, women and children who register prior to the event. And for those not racing, there is a great social atmosphere with events in the lively paddler village at the DIMC watersports centre.
"We are very happy to host this race again and delighted to see that each year there are more competitors. It is a great sport for fitness and we hope that this race will inspire more young people to take part. Dubai has such great weather and the sea is always warm, it is the ideal climate for watersports of this nature," said Saeed Hareb, CEO DIMC and President of the UAE Marine Sports Federation. Racing will start at Jebel Ali Palm at 2pm and finish approximately at 5pm with the prize giving followed by an evening of entertainment.
Open clinics with world-renowned paddler Oscar Chalupsky will take place throughout the week leading up to race day, where paddlers can learn about technique improvement at the paddler village at DIMC. Oscar is the 11-time World Paddle Ski Champion, multiple winner of the Umkomaas River Marathon, and Olympic Canoe Team captain and participant, representing South Africa in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
This year there will be a battle between Tim Jacobs - winner of the race for last two years and Dawid Mocke who has also won twice in the past to see if one of them can scoop a third win in Dubai as one more win for either of these two paddlers will pocket a $5,000 bonus.
The Dubai Shamaal is part of Southern Shamaal; The world's longest and toughest ocean paddle race is the legendary 244km PE to EL race held in the Eastern Cape of South Africa over the past thirty years.