DUBAI // A UAE team will be taking to the water next weekend, aiming to win the World Flowboarding Championships.
Last year, the team of one Emirati and three expatriates placed third at the championships held at Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi.
The event is being held at Yas for the second consecutive year and the team hopes to take home the gold medal this time.
“We came very close last year when we finished third and there were only a few points separating us from first place. So this year we are very confident,” said Mohammed Ibrahim Darwish.
The 24-year-old Dubai resident will be competing in the flowbarrel bodyboard category at the event, which will feature teams from 14 countries starting next Thursday and concluding on Saturday.
“This year we are going to go a couple of steps better and win it,” said Darwish.
In the flowbarrel bodyboard category, competitors use a smaller version of a surfboard for their routine of manoeuvres.
“The team and I have been practising three times a week, working to improve our routines and increasing the level of difficulty. Hopefully it pays off and the judges are impressed,” said Darwish.
“The other teams won’t know what hit them.”
Darwish got involved in bodyboarding in 2006, but did not really take to it initially.
“At first it was difficult but the more I learnt, the more I enjoyed it and it has become so much fun,” he said. “We know where we need to improve from last year and we’ve been working hard on that.
“It’s difficult to say who will be our biggest rivals this time because we don’t know how they have been training or what they have been working on, but I would say that the US team is usually strong.”
This year’s championships will be Darwish’s fourth, and he believes the quality of the team has been improving each year.
Clayton Barker, Darwish’s 30-year-old South African teammate, is the world champion in the strapless stand-up board category.
“This is the second year in a row that Yas Waterworld is hosting the event and I think it would be fantastic if we had a good turnout from the public to support the team,” said Barker.
“You get a real buzz when you step out and the crowd hears that you are competing for the UAE and they cheer.
“You really want to perform at your best and it gives you that extra bit of incentive to do your best.”
Barker became involved in the sport 12 years ago by happenstance in South Africa.
“I was with some surfing friends and a wave machine had just opened up near where we lived,” he said. “We decided to give it a try and I was hooked.
“It’s classed as an extreme sport and it’s definitely growing in popularity, particularly among Emirati guys.”
Barker, an assistant operations manager at Yas Waterworld, said he had seen the skills of local bodyboarders improve considerably in recent years.
“We have flowboarding sessions twice a week and you can see how much the guys have improved in the last few years,” he said.
“The key thing is to practise, practise and practise to improve your routine and learn to do the more difficult moves and tricks.
“I get a lot of inspiration from watching what they do in skateboarding or wakeboarding and try to see if I can adapt it.”
Entry to the championships is free from 2pm onwards.
Yas Waterworld hosts the Yas Flow League every Saturday from 8am to 11am and from 7pm to 10pm on Wednesdays.
A range of training is provided, catering for beginners to more advanced levels.
For more information visit yaswaterworld.com.
nhanif@thenational.ae
