15 May 2019 IWWF World Wakeboard Championships in Abu Dhabi
The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation’s (IWWF) Executive Board has approved the bid for the 2019 IWWF World Wakeboard Championships to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Abu Dhabi Marine Wakeboard Academy
The event will be organised by the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club (ADIMSC) from 19th to 23rd November 2019.
Riders will compete for IWWF World titles in ten age-group categories for both men and women (14 & Under, 18 & Under, 30 & Over, 40 & Over and Open) and team overall title. The event will offer a USD50,000.00 cash purse to riders competing in the Open Men’s & Women’s category. Salem Al Remeithi, General Manager of ADIMSC, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to host the 2019 IWWF World Wakeboard Championship. This is perfectly timed to coincide with the opening of the Abu Dhabi Marine Wakeboard Academy at the start of the 2019 event season.
Working closely with the IWWF, we will create a Centre of Excellence in Abu Dhabi for towed water sports – an Academy where people at all levels of ability will be able to learn new skills, improve their existing skills and further develop their knowledge and understanding of the sport. Being able to watch, and engage, with the world’s top riders will allow the Academy and our students to learn and further develop our knowledge.”
Jose Antonio Perez Priego, President of IWWF, said: “We are very excited to be running our first IWWF World titled event in Abu Dhabi and believe ADIMSC will organise one of the very best events we have experienced. We look forward to a long-term partnership with ADIMSC to develop towed water sports not only in Abu Dhabi but also in the entire UAE.”
Major place of marine sports
ADIMSC offers a superb venue for spectacular marine sport action between its base on the Breakwater and the Corniche in the UAE capital. Since 1993 the club has provided a strong organisational base for a wide range of marine sports events and activities which have added to Abu Dhabi’s status as a world-class sporting destination.
The club is one of the Middle East’s leading venues for marine sports events at local, national, regional and international level, having hosted rounds of the UIM F1 H20 World Championship, the UIM Class 1 World Powerboat World Championship and the XCAT World Series.
Across its full range of marine sports activities, ADIMSC places a major emphasis on attracting and nurturing young local talent for the chance to compete on the international stage. ADIMSC, with support from the IWWF, ran its first grassroots wakeboard event in October 2017 and has not looked back since, running an average of three domestic events a year and has now made the big step up to host the 2019 IWWF World Wakeboard Championships.
Best waves, wakes and ride
It plans to launch a wakeboard academy in September this year, in addition to its powerboat, jet skiing and fly board academies. The IWWF will be supporting ADIMSC by running coaching and technical officials’ training for its crew.
The official towboat brand of the 2019 IWWF World Wakeboard Championships is Centurion Boats. The 2020 Centurion Ri237 is the best of both worlds as the only towboat to pull both the IWWF wakeboard and wake surfing World Championships. “We are extremely honoured to be towing the 2019 IWWF World Wakeboard Championships in Abu Dhabi, UAE. We appreciate the opportunity to provide the perfect ride every time on another World stage. Centurion Boats offer the World’s best waves, wakes and ride. We’re going to prove it in November“. Amy Mauzy, VP Sales and Marketing Centurion & Supreme Boats.
Provisional Schedule
| Date | Events |
| Saturday, 16th November | Official Familiarisation |
| Sunday, 17th November | Official Familiarisation |
| Monday, 18th November | Official Familiarisation Team Managers’ Meeting (evening) |
| Tuesday, 19th November | Day 1 Competition Opening Ceremony (evening) |
| Wednesday, 20th November | Day 2 Competition Open Men & Women Categories Begin |
| Thursday, 21st November | Day 3 Competition |
| Friday, 22nd November | Day 4 Competition |
| Saturday 23rd November | Day 5 Competition – All Finals Medal Ceremonies & Final Night Banquet |
About the IWWF
The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) is the world governing body for towed water sports and has 90+ affiliated Federations worldwide. It was founded in 1946 in Geneva, Switzerland. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the sole authority for towed watersports. The IWWF is an affiliate member of the Association of IOC Recognized International Sports Federation (ARISF) and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). The IWWF’s sports disciplines include, amongst others, Waterskiing (slalom, tricks & jump), Wakeboard, Cable Wakeboard, Cable Waterskiing, Disabled Waterskiing, Show Skiing, Ski Racing, Barefoot Waterskiing & Wakesurfing.
