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UAE, November 6, 2016 - Brazil and Great Britain emerged as the overall winners of the highly successful inaugural UAE edition of the World Rafting Championship (WRC) 2016 which began on October 31, 2016 and concluded yesterday (Saturday, November 5, 2016). The tournament held in partnership with the International Rafting Federation was held at Al Ain City's Wadi Adventure, the Middle East's pioneering whitewater rafting, kayaking and surfing destination, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
WRC 2016 wrapped up with yesterday's Downriver races for the Under-23 (Men and Women), Master (+40 Men and Women), and Open (Men and Women) divisions. Brazil and Great Britain dominated the races overall to reign supreme over a highly competitive field of 85 teams from 28 countries which included the debuting UAE National Rafting Team comprising officers of the Abu Dhabi Police. The participants competed for top spots in the Sprint, Head-to-Head (H2H), Slalom and Downriver disciplines of the R4 (four-man) - class tournament. The full recap of the score board is as follows:
Sprint
Under 19 Men: 1st Brazil, 2nd Germany, 3rd Argentina; Under 19 Women: 1st Russia, 2nd Great Britain, 3rd Italy; Under 23 Men: 1st Brazil, 2nd Great Britain, 3rd Czech Republic; Under 23 Women: 1st Great Britain, 2nd Japan, 3rd Brazil; Open Men: 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Argentina, 3rd Brazil; Open Women: 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Slovenia, 3rd Japan; Master Men (40+): 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Slovenia, 3rd Japan; Master Women (40+): 1st Japan, 2nd New Zealand, 3rd Czech Republic.
Head to Head
Under 19 Men: 1st Russia, 2nd Brazil, 3rd Germany; Under 19 Women: 1st Russia, 2nd Great Britain, 3rd Italy; Under 23 Men: 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Great Britain, 3rd Brazil; Under 23 Women: 1st Brazil, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Great Britain; Open Men: 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Great Britain, 3rd Brazil; Open Women: 1st Great Britain, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Japan; Master Men (40+): 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Slovenia, 3rd Japan; Master Women (40+): 1st Norway, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Japan.
Slalom
Under 19 Men: 1st Germany, 2nd Russia, 3rd Slovakia; Under 19 Women: 1st Great Britain, 2nd Russia, 3rd Italy; Under 23 Men: 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Brazil, 3rd Great Britain; Under 23 Women: 1st Brazil, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Great Britain; Master Men (40+): 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Slovakia, 3rd Great Britain; and Master Women (40+): 1st New Zealand, 2nd Japan, 3rd Czech Republic; Open Men: 1st Brazil, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Argentina; Open Women: 1st Japan, 2nd Great Britain, and 3rd Russia.
Downriver
Under 19 Men: 1st Germany, 2nd Argentina, 3rd Brazil; Under 19 Women: 1st Russia, 2nd Italy, 3rd Great Britain;Under 23 Men: 1st Russia, 2nd Brazil, 3rd Czech Republic; Under 23 Women: 1st Great Britain, 2nd Japan, 3rd Brazil; Open Men: 1st Brazil, 2nd Russia, 3rd Argentina; Open Women: 1st Great Britain, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Netherlands; Master Men (40+): 1st Slovenia, 2nd United States of America, 3rd Czech Republic; Master Women (40+): 1st New Zealand, 2nd Norway, 3rd Czech Republic.
Overall Winners for all categories
Under 19 Men: 1st Germany, 2nd Russia, 3rd Brazil; Under 19 Women: 1st Russia, 2nd Great Britain, 3rd Italy; Under 23 Men: 1st Czech Republic, 2nd Brazil, 3rd Russia; Under 23 Women: 1st Brazil, 2nd Great Britain, 3rd Japan; Open Men: 1st Brazil, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Argentina; Open Women: 1st Great Britain, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd Japan; Master Men (40+): 1st Czech
Republic, 2nd Slovenia, 3rd United States of America; Master Women (40+): 1st New Zealand, 2nd Norway, 3rd Japan.
Joe Willie Jones, President of the International Rafting Federation, said: “The 2016 championships truly exceeded our expectations in terms of venue, quality of competitions and local support. Al Ain was the perfect backdrop for the event, and Wadi Adventure proved to be an excellent world-class venue that hopefully we will see more of in the future. We thank H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his support and extend our sincerest gratitude as well to all the sponsors, co-organizers and people who made this one of our best tournaments ever. We also hope that the UAE will continue to promote the sport of rafting and send more teams to future editions of the World Rafting Championship. On behalf of the IRF I would like to congratulate all the teams who participated in this year's championship and proved their genuine love and passion for the sport of rafting.”
Saif Al Bloushi, Chief Projects Officer, Tamouh Investments Group, said: “The World Rafting Championship provided an extraordinary platform for sharing the UAE's hospitality, love of sports and commitment to excellence to the world. We thank all those who contributed to the huge success of this landmark event and congratulate the competitors who are all winners in our eyes. We look forward to hosting more high-profile events at Wadi Adventure and invite everyone to enjoy its numerous attractions.”
Mr. Nilesh Mistry, General Manager-Wadi Adventure, added: “Congratulations to the winners and all the participating teams. We at Wadi Adventure are very proud of having met all the strict requirements of WRC 2016 and projecting a very positive image of Al Ain and the UAE as superior sporting and adventure destinations. We intend to continue offering our services and support to the UAE National Rafting Team and the sport in general. We appreciate the trust given us by the International Rafting Federation and we also acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the staff and management of Wadi Adventure who all worked together to make this year's tournament a resounding success.”
The 2016 World Rafting Championship was organized by Wadi Adventure and International Rafting Federation in cooperation with Three60 Leisure. It was fully supported by Tamouh Investments Group as the main sponsor, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Abu Dhabi Police; media Sponsors Abu Dhabi Media, Abu Dhabi Sports and Yas TV; other sponsors Trojan, Belvedere, Mubadala, Tafawuq Facility Management, Al Ain Water and Jobe Watersports; and valued partners Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, Eastern Motors Jeep, Green Mubazzarah Chalets, Danat Al Ain Resort, Al Ain Distribution Company, Al Ain City Municipality, Techno Gym, Universal Hospital, Aster Clinique, Abu Dhabi Airport, Dubai Airport and Hemaya Security Services.
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