Dubai: Way back in 1999, His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, approved the setting up of a marine sports club in the emirate. Since then, the Fujairah International Marine Sports Club (FIMSC) has played a crucial role in hosting several international and national level events from Class One and Formula One powerboat racing to jet skis and traditional rowing.
During the week gone by, Fujairah was once again in the limelight after the successful hosting of the fifth and final heat of the 2012 UIM X-Cat World Powerboat Series.
Setting the course was Ahmad Ebrahim Al Beloushi, the charismatic managing director of the FIMSC, who has been with watersports organisation since 1991.
Two decades down the line, he has the task of ensuring Fujairah stays on the sporting and tourism map through various activities. But it is the cultivation of sportspersons at the grass-roots level that has caught his fancy as he tells Gulf News in this interview:
Gulf News: How would you look back at what Fujairah has achieved in the past few years?
Ahmad Ebrahim Al Beloushi: Fujairah has been on the watersports map since 2001, be it the jet skis or the traditional dhow sailing or the Class One and Formula One, and now the X-Cat powerboat racing, we have always been playing a complementary role in the development of the sport in the UAE and this region.
How did this club come about?
We started off with Class One racing in 1998, even before this club was established. After that His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, approved the starting of a marine club in Fujairah. Since then we have developed stage by stage by opting to host all sorts of races here. We've always had the support of the Fujairah Government in whatever we have done, but at the same time we have worked our way in becoming a self-sustained business enterprise where we have planned and sustained all watersport activities through our own income and budget. This was always the goal and we are glad we have achieved this. Of course the government is always there to help us whenever we have the bigger events like the X-Cat or the Class One races.
You also have some regular sponsors backing you.
Yes, we do have local sponsors. But with all due respect to these companies, we do not get as much as we deserve. Maybe this is due to a change in strategy from their part, but we are happy to do whatever we can to sustain the sport in this part of the country.
One of our main supporters down the years has been Saeed Hareb in his capacity as the president of the UAE Marine Sports Federation. He has believed in us and together with him we have achieved what we have today.
What sort of role do you see this club playing?
I see all three marine clubs in the UAE [Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah] are a joint venture on behalf of the UAE. We have never seen ourselves as separate entities. We have assisted and helped each other in organising events all along. We work as one team. We have a close relationship, be it at the management level or the lower level. The aim has been to ensure the improvement of watersports and related activities in the UAE.
What's different about Fujairah?
Each club has its own uniqueness. Here in Fujairah, we tend to be different. The atmosphere is different. The water is different. We have the Indian Ocean and a part of the Gulf of Oman and this influences weather conditions here. We try our best to be as hospitable as possible. We are pushing hard to make this venue as good as any in the world. You can confirm this from any of the participating teams. We don't want to say we are better than others, but we are unique in a certain way.
With so many other activities taking place in Fujairah, how can you continue keeping people interested in watersports here?
As a marine club, part of our responsibility is to promote Fujairah as a tourism destination. When we had the first race — the Class One round in 1998 — we had just two hotels with 300 rooms. We were struggling to find rooms for the teams and their crew. Today, we have more than 30 hotels with more than 8,000 rooms here. This is how the emirate has managed to draw in the business. There is a big change happening in Fujairah and we are very much a part of this development and change.
What is your commitment to watersports?
We are doing very well. I don't want to mix sports with politics. Sports should always be played aside from the politics. Our target should be to ensure development and interest from the younger generation. We have already seen the fruits of such grass-roots development with Dubai and Abu Dhabi boasting of highly successful teams that have made their mark on the international level. These teams are the ambassadors for the UAE on the international stage.
Would you think about having a team representing Fujairah?
We do have a plan to have something similar, but it would be more as a training school or nursery for young sailors and racers from this part of the country. The UIM has backed our youth development programme. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, is very keen that we have such a training centre. He has personally told us to institute a rowing team that will represent Fujairah. As a club we have been expanding as well. I hope by next year the training centre will be established and running.
Will that be part of the future plans for this club?
Yes, it will be housed in the new building that is coming up here next to the present site. We have much more space and we can get young kids from here involved in our programme. We will also be targeting girls as well. That is one of the goals. It will be everything under one roof — rowing, sailing, powerboating, and then jet skis, and other categories at a later stage.
What is the future going to be like here?
It [the club] is already strongly involved in promoting Fujairah at all levels. This club is the foundation and now we need to build on this step by step. Since 1999 till today we have achieved a lot and we can be proud and satisfied with what we have done. But of course we want to do more, and it will happen.
The future is Fujairah then?
We are here to help in whatever way we can. I would say the future is the entire UAE, but Fujairah is here to help in the development of watersports in the UAE.
