Quick Visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Submitted by Meri Gibson.
The United Arab Emirates is a Federation of seven emirates with Abu Dhabi as its capital. The seven Emirates are: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman. Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Kaimana, and Fujairah.
The third Middle East North Africa (MENA) Dragon boat championships 2025 took place between April 11th and 13th at Al Khan Corniche beach in Sharjah UAE.
The UAE is not a strong region for IBCPC member teams so I thought this would be an opportunity to visit the region while the championship was taking place and have important and essential conversations. I was fortunate to be sponsored to visit the region.
The event was held at Al Khan Corniche beach, a 5m deep and very wide manufactured lake with sand around it. It is a beautiful venue, even though it was extremely hot coming out of a New Zealand autumn of 15 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees, the hottest day so far and it is not even summer yet. Altogether over 2300 athletes from eight countries competed in 200 and 500m small boat races cross mixed, open and women’s categories in the open age and youth divisions.
There was one breast cancer paddler team from Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Jets. It was really awesome to catch up to chat and talk about the possibilities in the region.
The championship was organised by the Sharjah International Marine sports club which is a phenomenal organisation with a dedicated women’s sports club. I was able to have conversations with the media and communications manager and strategic planning manager, who all are extremely interested in furthering the cause of breast cancer Dragon boating in the region. They are very keen to hold a major event there.
This championship is now recognised by the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) as a major festival and it plays a vital role in promoting the growth of Drago boat races across the Middle East and North Africa.
I am extremely excited to see what develops out of being at the event as I know there is a willingness to promote breast cancer paddling and the importance of exercise following a diagnosis of breast cancer.
