Flying Dragons bag sponsorship for world event

Dubai: Dubai Internet City yesterday announced it will sponsor the Dubai Flying Dragons team at the 2008 Club Crew World Championships (CCWC) in Penang, Malaysia.

The Dubai Flying Dragons team was founded in 2006 by the Dragon Boats Alive Club to promote the sport in the Middle East and build a competitive team representing the UAE and the region in this year's world championships.

One of the world's most popular sport competitions, the sixth Club Crew World Championships will be held from August 1-3, and draw over 400 teams from over 20 countries including Singapore, China, Thailand, Indonesia, The Netherlands, UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa. Attracting over 20,000 spectators over the three-day period, the event will be telecast on 30 top channels across the globe.

Malek Al Malek, Executive Director of Dubai Internet City said: "In our relentless drive to grow as a dynamic and holistic business model on the global landscape, Dubai Internet City pursues an active Corporate Social Responsibility agenda through endorsing events that impact the overall development of the communities around us.

"Our sponsorship of the Dubai Flying Dragons team specifically underscores our keenness to support the growth of sports activities in the region. It also allows us to provide promising individuals the opportunity to compete at international levels and position Dubai as a hub for sporting excellence."

Jason MacKenzie, Coach of the Dubai Flying Dragons women's team, added: "We warmly welcome Dubai Internet City on board as our exclusive sponsor. The partnership is beneficial to both the crew and DIC.

Higher profile

"While serving as an enormous brand builder for our sponsors in the target market, it will also provide great entertainment for fans looking for high voltage excitement. Partnering with Dubai Internet City brings together two entities to drive a common goal of continuing to improve the profile of dragon boating in the region."

DIC hosted the third Dubai Corporate Games in April, with companies such as Dubai Properties and Chaloub Group to battling it out for honours in various team championships including dragon boating, football, and basketball.