Riyadh to host Festival for Maritime Sports

Despite the lack of a coastline or even a seashore, Riyadh will host the second Festival for Maritime Sports from Dec. 5 to 7, 2012.
The three-day festival will be held at Al Salam Park and will attract young and old to participate in a variety of fun and competitive marine activities.
Admiral Awad bin Aied Al-Balawi, Chief of the Saudi Arabian Maritime Federation, said the first maritime festival was such a hit with residents and visitors to the city, they decided to host the event again. He said marine sports draw huge numbers of young people and their families and plans are underway to showcase a wide range of sports and activities and teach people about the benefits of participation.
The Federation aims to promote a culture of maritime activities including powerboating and sailing, water skiing, windsurfing, parasailing, swimming and diving, fishing, and even underwater photography. Popular shore activities such as beach volleyball, beach football and beach handball will entice the land-loving sports enthusiast.
Al-Balawi said his federation is working with other sporting organizations to fund, promote and offer water sport training programs from beginner to professional levels. The federation is instrumental in organizing water sport competitions and spreading the popularity of marine sports to coastal cities on the Kingdom’s east and west coasts.
The festival is expected to welcome more than 30 thousand visitors a day to the Al Salam Park, a multi-environmental family park designed to host an event of this size.