Crown Prince of Dubai honoured at UIM awards ceremony

by Karien Jonckheere on 3 Mar 2014 H.H Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, was honoured at a glittering UIM awards ceremony over the weekend.

President of the Union Internationale Mononautique (UIM), Raffaele Chiulli awarded H.H Sheikh Hamdan with a special trophy at the fifth UIM World Champions Awards Giving Gala at the prestigious Salle des Etoiles in Monaco in recognition of his incredible contribution to the sport of powerboating.

Accepting the award on his behalf was H.E Dr Saif Al Ketbi, President of the Dubai- based World Professional Powerboating Association (WPPA), while also part of the WPPA delegation were: Dr Khalid Al Zahed (Vice President of the WPPA), (Saeed Hareb (President, UAE Marine Sports Federation), Sid Bensalah (Secretary General of the WPPA), Mohammed Al Marri and Arif Al Zaffain (pilots of the 2013 UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Series winners, Fazza).

'This award is a reflection of the massive part that H.H Sheikh Hamdan and also the city of Dubai have played in the development and promotion of powerboating in recent years and it is a great honor to be recognized in this way,' explained Al Ketbi.

'The WPPA signed a partnership agreement with the UIM at the end of 2012 and since then has been working tirelessly in its role as a strategic partner of the world governing body.

'As one of the central hubs for the sport, we are constantly seeking to develop and further promote powerboating – something which has been witnessed by the incredible expansion of the UIM Skydive Dubai XCAT World Series in the last two years.

'We will continue to work hard in this role as we further promote our wonderful sport, from our base in Dubai – reaching out around the world,' he XCAT website