Dubai: Born in Rome on January 22, 1957, Raffaele Chiulli is a Doctor of Sciences with honours from the University of Rome and had post-graduate education at Duke University in the US, INSEAD in France and IMD, Switzerland. He speaks English, French, Spanish and his mother tongue Italian. After serving the International Power Boating Federation (UIM) for many years as President of the UIM Pleasure Navigation Commission, Member of the UIM Council, Member of the Power Boat P1 Management Committee and UIM Commissioner for the Endurance and P1 World and European Championship, Chiulli was elected the eighth President of the UIM in November 2007 at the 80th UIM General Assembly. In the short span of five years, Chiulli has worked tirelessly to ensure the profile of water sports is raised worldwide. His first major step towards this success was when the activities of the UIM were recently given the official nod by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Given his background, Chiulli has been enthusiastic about the safety and security of teams and crew involved in high-octane water sports like powerboat racing. The UIM President has endorsed this week's Safety and Performance Seminar for Powerboat Racing being held at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) on Wednesday and Thursday, as part of the 20th Dubai International Boat Show.
GULF NEWS: What are your views on safety in various disciplines of water sports?
RAFFAELE CHIULLI: For the UIM, safety and security are two ingredients that are high on our list of priorities. We have been working on several aspects of safety, both on and off the water. For sure, safety is not just a one-off thing for us. It is a continuous process.
If it is a continuous process, how do you ensure that everyone involved adheres to the norms?
We have rules, just like any other sport. And rules are there to be followed, not to be broken. We have adequate machinery to ensure that these rules are strictly followed by all those involved in our sport.
What are some of the things that are being worked on to give these aspects a better bite?
We are always evolving with our ideas in working towards the safety of our sport. We work in tandem with other sports federations and bodies with the sole aim of ensuring that we can all benefit — the drivers learn, the crew get more knowledge and our sport gets even more rich.
Are there any examples of such close collaborations?
Oh yes. Next week I am leading a delegation from the UIM to Paris to meet up with FIA President Jean Todt. What we are going to do in Paris is just exchange knowledge. The UIM will pass on knowledge of safety to the FIA and they in turn will give us their studies on what they have done in motorsport.
What exactly do you plan to speak on there with the FIA?
A lot of recent study has been on seat belts and helmets and these are definitely two main topics that will come up for discussions between us. In addition, we will also speak on the use of alternative energy for running engines in water sport. The FIA has already invested a lot in this sector and we aim to benefit from this. We realise we are the ones in need and so we need to be open so that we can evolve and change so that sport is the winner.
In the past you have spoken about youth development in water sports. How far has this progressed?
We make it a point to involve junior level racing at each and every round of the world championships, be it F1, Class One, the X-Cat or even jet-ski racing. And now we have started organising safety workshops and seminars during race days so that our drivers, throttlemen and allied crew all have a hands-on experience. I must laud the efforts put in by the Gulf region led by the UAE, Dubai in particular. Your region has been leading the way for the rest of the world.
The X-Cat powerboat racing has caught up in recent years. What are the views of the UIM on this class of powerboating?
The X-Cat Racing has great potential. It is truly a tremendous brand that has evolved in the Gulf in such a short span of time. Over a period of time this class of powerboat racing has not only become popular, it has also invested a lot of energy, time and effort in understanding safety on and off the water.
When this class was started I was not a huge fan as I saw a lot of unwanted issues with this class of racing. But over a period of time, led by Saeed Hareb, Dubai has invested so much in making our sport much safer. There have been excellent studies done in safety and the sport has benefited.
