Media Release
WORLD’S BIGGEST SURF SKI RACE JUST GOT RICHER!
October 16, 2007
Dubai Shamaal Prize Fund Reaches US$50,000
Dubai (UAE): Not content with attracting the great and the good of world surf skiing, organisers of the 2007 Dubai Shamaal have announced the second staging of the event will be the richest race of its kind ever seen in the history of the sport worth a staggering US$ 50,000.
Competitors such as current world champion Oscar Chalupsky, world number two Dawid Mocke and US Championships and Molokai winner Lewis Laughlin will all have their sights set on the US$ 20,000 first prize – and with a difference of US$ 14,000 between first and second place, it promises to be a memorable fight to the finish.
“With the finalized prize money breakdown, there is no doubt that the Dubai Shamaal is the richest surf ski race in the world,” said race director Wayne Randall.
To be staged on November 30, the event has received entries from all over the globe. In addition to the powerhouse trio of Chalupsky, Laughlin and defending champion Mocke, other big guns confirmed for the Dubai Shamaal include the evergreen Hank McGregor, nine-time Molokai winner Dean Gardner, flat water master Tim Jacobs and double Olympic gold medalist Greg Barton, who is showing form with solid performances in the US Championships and New York Mayor’s Cup.
Three-time Molokai winner Herman Chalupsky is also racing and is in form after wining the Mayor’s Cup in New York last week, while Australian-based South African teenager Antoine de Rooster will face the stars of the sport having won the recent Dubai Anchorman prize.
As well as flights and accommodation to help him compete at the sharp end of surf skiing’s biggest ever event, de Rooster will also race with the world’s fastest and lightest racing ski, the Epic V10 Super Elite, yet another of his Dubai Anchorman prizes.
Add the US$ 3,000 on offer to the competitors for the three ‘Fennspots’ gates on the course and it is easy to see why a race that is still in only its second year is dominating the world surf ski calendar with around US$ 65,000 worth of prizes. And with Race Director Randall announcing plans for a US$ 100,000 prize-fund in 2008, the event looks set for a bright future.
As expected from a ground-breaking event, the race will see an impressive media turnout with website Surfski.info reporting the race as it happens. Specialist outlets Paddle Power TV, Surfski TV and South African Paddler magazine have also confirmed coverage of the event, while US-based adventure writer Joe Glickman will report back to an intrigued US market.
Randall added: “We are planning a unique doubles race over 1,000m, a sunset Dragonboat dice around the Burj Al Arab – the world’s most luxurious hotel - the mother of all after-race parties on the beach and a trip to the finals of the Dubai Rugby 7s.
