Dubai: The French city of Nice is the latest to join the list of venues on the 2015 XCAT Powerboat World Series.
The announcement was made following the signing of a formal agreement between Nice and series organisers the World Professional Powerboating Association (WPPA) following a meeting in Paris on Tuesday.
Christian Estrosi, Deputy Mayor of Nice and President of the Metropole Nice Cote d’Azur, met Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, UIM President, the French Powerboating Federation President Jean-Marie L’homme and a delegation from Dubai headed by WPPA Vice President Dr. Khalid Al Zahed. The meeting was also attended by Arif Saif Al Zaffein, CEO of Victory Team and WPPA Board Member, along with Ronan Morgan, WPPA CEO.
“For the first appearance of the XCAT boats, the stunning city of Nice will be hosting the fifth round of the UIM XCAT World Series from October 16 to 18. The UIM is very pleased about the entry of this new venue on its racing calendar, only a few miles away from its headquarters located in Monaco,” Chiulli said.
Estrosi added: “People in the city of Nice are waiting with patience to watch a splendid event of UIM XCAT World Cup Series along with a number of exciting activities for both local and international spectators.
“We expect all the positive factors in our city such as weather, availability of water sports lovers and tourists and our reputation in hosting international water sports competitions would serve to make the event a grand success.”
Saif Bin Markhan Al Ketbi, WPPA President, welcomed the addition of Nice to the XCAT calendar.
“We are proud to have Nice as one of the host cities. We extend our sincere thanks to the city authorities for joining us in our journey through the most attractive water sports destinations in the world, with the aim at spreading our sport,” he said.
Nice will be the fifth city to host an XCAT race this season after Fujairah, Dubai, Cascais in Portugal and Australia’s Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, the local authority of Nice has shown interest to be the part of the XCAT World Cup, which would make it the first French city to host the event following similar races in Italy’s Naples, Stresa and Arona in previous years.
Dr. Khalid Al Zahed, WPPA VP, said: “The high demand from international cities to host the World Cup Series indicates its popularity among global communities and water sport lovers. This thrilling sport has achieved a high position and reputation within a very short period and this gives us great ambition for the future.”
