Cool moves and hot boards

El Gouna premiers as host destination for Kiteboarding World Championships

This March El Gouna premiers as host for the Grand Slam Kiteboarding World Championships, making the resort the first destination in Egypt to welcome this event. The competition is scheduled to take place March 20 – 27, 2016 with participants competing in the disciplines of Freestyle, Big Air, Wave and Slalom. The world’s best kite surfers have the chance to win prize money totalling 40,000 euro for Freestyle and 10,000 euro for Big Air. In both cases the El Gouna tournament delivers 1,000 points for the 2016 World Championships ranking – an important step on the way to the 2016 World Championship titles. The event was introduced during a press conference by the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports on February 15.

As official sponsor for this and future water sports events the Mosaique Hotel, “El Gouna’s kitesurfing hotel” as it likes to call itself, stages an after-party on March 26 and donates one hotel voucher each for the competition’s best male and female water sports stunt.

El Gouna is going to welcome a myriad of top riders, seasoned veterans and exciting new names gathering to compete for the championship title. The acclaimed holiday resort owned by destination development specialist Orascom Development also expects to see hundreds of spectators and water sports enthusiasts. “The outstanding talents among the international professional boarder community promise an exceptionally exciting competition drawing great international attention to the world’s premier kiteboarding event,” explains Khaled Beshara, CEO for Orascom Development. “We feel honoured to be able to welcome the world’s kiteboarding elite here on the Red Sea coast and are excited that El Gouna plays host to another high-profile event this year.”

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Khaled Abdel Aziz, is confident the event will have a positive economic and social impact: “Sports events of this size further add to development of the respective sport. Their main purpose, however, is to provide young generations with role models and to inspire them to get active.”

Samy Mahmoud, Chairman of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, points out the great achievement for Egypt and adds: “While sport tourism is a highly sought after niche it is about much more than the hosting of exciting events. Its potential goes far beyond that. For example, there are numerous new opportunities for Egypt as sporting destination designed to support tourism in general and generate broad international attention for the destination.”

Medhat Khalil, President of the Egyptian Sailing Federation, pays special thanks to the International Kiteboarding Association for electing El Gouna as host for the Kitesurfing Grand Slam: “El Gouna is worldwide known as one of the top kitesurfing destinations. It offers constant winds, sunshine and warm temperatures along with long stretches of safe, shallow waters and unrestrained access to the open sea. We look forward to hosting many more high-profile events of this kind.”

About El Gouna

25 kilometres from Hurghada International Airport and a four-hour flight from Germany, El Gouna is nestled on a 36 million square metre stretch of land between the Red Sea coast and Egypt’s Eastern Desert Mountains. The resort, founded some 25 years ago by Egyptian entrepreneur Samih Sawiris, extends over ten kilometres of beachfront with many quaint lagoons and acclaimed architecture featuring modern Arabic design. There are two main hubs of activity: Kafr El Gouna (downtown) and the Abu Tig Marina, both offering a wide choice of restaurants, bars, shisha cafés, shopping arcades and service facilities.

El Gouna is also known as Egypt’s most environmentally friendly holiday destination – another reason for many Germans to settle here. The resort’s approximately 20,000 residents and their families benefit from facilities like playschools, day care centres as well as international and national schools. People looking to buy a home in El Gouna may choose from a wide range of options, for any budget and taste, from stylish apartments in the marina to luxury villas with private jetty. The resort not only boasts 2,700 private villas and apartments, it also has its own waste recycling plant and water management system, a farm, a brewery and a winery. Excellent medical care is provided through a fully equipped hospital with international standards, including a decompression chamber and a dialysis unit. 365 days of sunshine per year make activities like kiteboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, parasailing, horseback riding, golfing, diving, sailing or quad tours great fun. And with a total of 17 hotels, guests are sure to find accommodation options to suit any budget, from basic family hotels to five-star luxury resorts. Construction of El Gouna’s second 18-hole championship golf course is underway.

For further information on real estate, hotels, restaurants and activities visit www.elgouna.com.

Media contact uschi liebl pr: Pia Lexa
uschi liebl pr, emil-geis-str. 1, 81379 munich, germany
ph. +49 89 72402920, fax +49 89 724029219, mail: [email protected]
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