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Record-Breaking UAE Entries Spur Local Growth Of Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge |
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Nine UAE-based Quartets to Battle World’s Leading Adventure RacersUAE-based entries will form nearly a fifth of this year’s Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge field, signalling a marked increase in local participation for the internationally-acclaimed, multi-discipline endurance race. With a maximum field of 50 four-person teams - which must include male and female members – registered for the fourth edition of the annual challenge, nine UAE quartets will shoulder domestic hopes when they tackle Abu Dhabi’s spectacularly diverse terrain from December 10-15th. “While adventure racing remains a niche discipline globally, the increase in local entries indicates that the event is entering the mainstream of UAE sporting culture,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, Events Manager, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority – the event’s organiser. “While our three previous races have established the event’s credentials as an instant classic and the ‘world’s most international adventure race,’ it was always our long-term objective to yield increased local participation.” The Challenge, which includes mountain biking, desert and mountain adventure running, rope work and orienteering, swimming, trail running and sea kayaking, has now accrued a nine-fold increase in UAE entries since its inaugural running in 2007. “This milestone enhances the Challenge’s domestic and international value and heralds the next chapter in the race’s evolution. Within a few years, it is entirely conceivable that UAE-based endurance athletes, raised on the Challenge, will be competing in the country’s colours internationally,” added Al Sheikh. While the event’s 36 Emirates-based athletes are not expected to match the experience and pedigree of the world’s best teams, eight of the nine UAE teams’ preparations received a boost during an ADTA-organised, specialist, two-day training clinic. “Endurance and adventure races are growing in popularity internationally, so it is no surprise at the evolving interest within the UAE,” said Sylvain Thuault, the event’s Race Director and a 25-year veteran of the sport. “At the same time, this is no ordinary sporting endeavour - the Challenge is the ultimate test of physical and mental fortitude. The training programme was specifically designed to help inexperienced participants get to grips with the inherent demands of competing against the world’s best athletes across a multitude of contrasting landscapes.” Far from dispiriting local contestants, the gruelling training scheme - which covered numerous disciplines and settings, from the luminescent waters of the UAE capital’s Corniche, to the stark beauty of the Liwa Desert - galvanised several UAE teams’ confidence. The preparation exercise has even fixed Team NBADDirect/Arrows’ collective eyes on snaring a share of the Challenge prize pool - the top 30 finishers are guaranteed a slice. “If we don’t make the top 30, we have to be the best UAE rookie team to nibble at the prize purse,” said Guy Bartle-Jones, the team captain. “We want to collect as much money as possible for three charity-based organisations.” For others, however, the training session was a grim reminder of the enormity of the task facing them in seven weeks time. “The training days were important because we had so many questions. None of our team, except our captain, Eric, has previous experience in this kind of competition,” said Team Al Moughamiroun’s Maxime Libar. “We now understand that we have to work as a team every step of the way; all of us must know exactly what he or she is doing.” The Adventure Challenge was conceived by ADTA to globally promote the emirate’s burgeoning credentials as a world-class adventure leisure destination and to showcase Abu Dhabi’s vast natural beauty. ADTA works closely with a number of governmental and commercial bodies to successfully stage the Challenge, including General Head Quarters of the Armed Forces (GHQ); Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA); Abu Dhabi Police; Al Ain Traffic Police; Abu Dhabi Customs; Ministry of Health; Abu Dhabi Beaches; Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Mirfa municipalities; and Emirates Palace. To find out more about Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2010, please log on to: www.abudhabi-adventure.com. |
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