Hosting Emirates Dubai SailGP shows 'UAE is becoming sporting capital of world'

The 2024-2025 season, which begins in Dubai and finishes in Abu Dhabi, has drawn 12 boats from 12 nations competing across 14 races

Organisers of the SailGP event believe that the fact Dubai and Abu Dhabi are hosting the first and last races in the championship shows how “the UAE is becoming sporting capital of world”.

The seasons gets under way with 12 catamarans representing 12 nations in the Emirates Dubai SailGP at the Port Rashid Cruise Terminal 2 on Saturday.

The championship consists of 14 races including new audiences in Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, and New Zealand, as well as a return to Britain and New York.

The UAE already plays host to numerous international sporting events including the likes of UFC, cricket, Formula One, tennis and horse racing. And now Dubai and Abu Dhabi have the prestigious honour of staging the opening and concluding races on the SailGP calendar.

“In my view, the UAE is becoming the sporting capital of the world and we want to support establishing that as part of what the Emirates identity is,” Sail GP managing director Andrew Thompson said at the launch ceremony on Friday.

“It's quite a statement to have the opening event here in Dubai and then the final in Abu Dhabi.

“As you can see here that the conditions are really nice for our racing. We're very close to shore and fans can get a close and full view of the entire action on water.

“We have got a fantastic site here in Dubai and are looking at some sites in Abu Dhabi that will really showcase the UAE capital to the world for that final event in November next year.”

Team Spain’s strategist Nicole van der Velden is back with her teammates for the Sail GP title defence.

Having raced over the same course last year in Dubai, Van der Velden insisted they are “super excited” to get their campaign off to a good start and for another successful season.

“We're super excited to race again here in Dubai. It's an amazing racecourse. It’s really close to the people and it's really nice to have that atmosphere,” she said.

Team Spain's Nicole Van Der Velden is 'super excited' to be back in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

“It's hard to get sailing so close to the fans, so it's really nice to be racing nice and close for the people. It's a closed racecourse, so it's really small. So, there's a lot of action going on, it's a really dynamic race area, which keeps it fun for sure.”

Born in Madrid to a Dutch father and Venezuelan mother, Van der Velden spent most of her childhood days in the Caribbean, which inspired her to pursue sailing and water sports full time.

“I was 11 when I started windsurfing. I grew up on an island in the Caribbean, so it was easy to get on water,” she said of her journey.

“We moved from Madrid to the Caribbean for my dad’s work. I grew up in the tropics. I started sailing there and got into Olympic campaigning.”

Van der Velden, 30, competed at the 2016 Rio Games, winning two races and finishing 16th in the Nacra 17 with Thijs Visser.

Having missed out on Paris, the Spanish-Aruban sailor has not given up hopes to make it to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I’m working towards my goals and hopefully will make to LA,” she said. “Competing in the Sail GP with the team and doing my own things, I’m really focused on what I want to do and what I want to achieve.”

As for the racing conditions in Dubai, Van der Velden added: “The big difference here in Dubai is because it is so warm, the wind doesn't push as much as it pushes, let's say, in Spain in winter.

“The air density is a lot less, which changes a bit how the wind works, so yeah, that for sure makes a bit of a difference and some getting used to. The same wind intensity, it pushes a lot less and it makes a bit harder to stay on the foil, especially if we're a lot of boats close to each other.

“Also, the boats create wind shadows. So, you already have the wind that pushes a bit less, and then with the wind shadow, it's quite hard to keep it well, so you need to be aware and sharp on making decisions to try to avoid those moments of falling off the foil.”