JEDDAH, 3 December 2005 — In its bid to promote and encourage sports in the region, Umm Al Quwain will host one of the highly anticipated and prestigious international skydiving and parachuting championship.
Entering 9th year, the Asiania Parachuting Championship will bring together some of the top and highly skilled teams from around the world to battle for the top honors in the event started on Thursday and will last Dec. 10.
The event is being held under the auspices of the Emirates Aviation Association and the Umm Al Quwain Aeroclub.
Brig. Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Mualla, owner and chairman of the Umm Al Quwain Aeroclub and himself a well-known skydiver, said that the Asiania Championship had evolved as a premier sporting and entertainment event, attracting both contestants and watchers from around the globe to experience some of the finest aerial displays and intricate skydiving maneuvers.
“The Asiania Championship is a tribute to the vast community of adventure-seekers who constantly explore opportunities that offer continuous thrill and entertainment,” Al-Mualla said. “We are pleased to observe that there is a thriving community of sports lovers in the GCC itself who share our passion and excitement in taking this outdoor sport forward.”
World-class teams in the 10-day event include participants from Russia, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Egypt, Thailand, Korea, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kazakhstan, Czechoslovakia, Malaysia, Jordan, Oman and Morocco.
The Asiania 2005 Championship was inaugurated on Thursday by Supreme Council Member and Umm Al Quwain ruler Sheikh Rashid ibn Ahmed Al-Mualla. An elaborate ceremony, complete with music and laser displays, marked the opening of the Championship.
The championship is supervised as per the rules of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) and will see contestants showing their skills in skydiving, parachuting and aerial acrobats. The participants will be tested for team accuracy, individual accuracy, individual style, four-way sky formation and four-way canopy rotation.
Arab teams were expected to continue their spectacular performance during this championship, with the Saudi, Omani and UAE teams being the keenly watched among the regional squads, a top organizer said. “The excitement is building up for a tense climax and we are confident that Arab teams will once again showcase their breathtaking aerial skills,” said Yousif Al-Hammadi, President of the Emirates Aviation Association, a keen supporter of the event.
“Emirates Aviation Association has always been a prominent supporter of such exciting events and we are confident that the skilled contestants who are participating in the Championship this year will inspire other people to take up this thrilling sport,” Al-Hammadi said.
