Dubai: Shaikh Ahmad Hasher Al Maktoum, the UAE’s champion shooter, inaugurated an exhibition tracing the history and evolution of parachuting in the country.
Shaikh Ahmad was shown around the venue at the DIPC Exhibition Centre by Yousuf Al Hammadi, Mohammad Yousuf and Majid Al Bastaki, from the Emirates Aerosports Federation, and John Grubbstorm, President, FAI.
Shaikh Ahmad was all praise for the pains taken by the organising committee in assembling such a wonderful exhibition, mainly of old photographs that trace the history of parachuting in the UAE and the region as a whole.
“It is very important for us to know our past so that we can have something to show our future generations,” Shaikh Ahmad told media present at the occasion.
“I would urge each and every resident who attends the Dubai International Parachuting Championship (DIPC) to spend some time and take a look at this exhibition as this is so much part of our history. A country without a past cannot have a future,” he added.
The exhibition has been put on display in six different categories starting with the history of the sport along with the personal contribution made by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, following the setting up of the dedicated Skydive Dubai drop zone on The Palm.
A special section has also been dedicated to all the eminent personalities who have visited Skydive Dubai in the past few years. These include F1 multiple world champion Michael Schumacher and his wife Corinne, Real Madrid and French star Zinedine Zidane, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo, boxer David Haye and pop star Usher.
A special section has also been reserved for display of old and new equipment used in parachuting along with a section on the evolution of the annual DIPC in taking the sport to the next level.
The Fifth DPIC will continue until December 7 and the parachuting exhibition will run right through till the end of the competition.
