Professional Sports Group

The Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival will take place on Saturday 16th October on the Abu Dhabi Corniche. Held under the patronage of Abu Dhabi Beaches The Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival is destined to become the UAE’s most coveted community open water swimming event within Abu Dhabi.

There will be various races open to the public along with relay races for schools, businesses and families to compete against one another. For all spectators there is the chance to have breakfast on the beach whilst they support their family, friends or colleagues.

The Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival will include a charitable component with  donations of 5AED from each participant going to the Donate a Brick campaign for Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre.

The event encourages healthy living and active lifestyle amongst the local community and aims to become an iconic event which celebrates Abu Dhabi’s unique Corniche and Beaches, which rival the best public beaches in the World.

  

The feature event of the Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival will be The Waha Capital Abu Dhabi Mile (1.6km). This is open to anyone over 16 years old who is competent in being able to complete the distance. Males and females will set off separately in different heats.

Prizes for Winners
Male:	5,000 AED
Female:	5,000 AED

Competitors must be able to complete the Mile distance within 50 minutes for health and safety reasons.

The Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival will feature the Etihad Holidays Splash Dash series enabling the rest of the community to challenge one another.

The adults race will be 700m across the Corniche Bay, from the flag pole across to the beach.   This is open to anyone over 16 years old who is competent in being able to complete the distance.

The under 15’s youth race will be 200m open water race around buoys in the Corniche Bay.

There will be four separate heats: Men, Women, Boys 15 and under and Girls 15 and under.

Prizes for Winners
Male:	2 x Return Etihad Airways Pearl Class Tickets to Europe
Female:	2 x Return Etihad Airways Pearl Class Tickets to Europe

All entrants into the Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival 2010 will be entered into a Free Prize Draw to win a Family Holiday to Thailand courtesy of Platinum Sponsors Etihad Holidays.

 

The Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival will offer local businesses, schools and families the opportunity to compete against one another. The relays offer a fantastic opportunity for families, work colleagues and school friends to bond whilst developing fitness in order to win the bragging rights over other competitors.

The challenge also provides a great way to raise money for the Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre with the donate a brick campaign

Teams will consist of four competitors, other than the family relay which will either be the father or mother plus one child.

THE CARBOHOLIX SCHOOL RELAYS        4 x 100m
-    11 & Under
-    13 & Under
-    15 & Under

This is open to all schools and swim clubs. Children cannot compete in multiple categories within the School and Swim Club relays. Each team will be made up of two male and two female competitors.

CORPORATE RELAYS                4 x 200m
-    Men
-    Mixed (2 males & 2 females)

This is open to all local businesses in the UAE. Each team will be made up of four individuals. Teams of 4 women can compete in mixed category, if we receive multiple women’s teams, we will create a separate heat
 

THE NATIONAL FAMILY CHALLENGE        Adult – 200m / Child – 100m
-    Father & Child (15 & Under)
-    Mother & Child (15 & Under)

Each team will be made up of one adult and one child either male or female.

TIME	ACTIVITY
06.00am	The National Village opens + Body marking for competitors
07.00am	THE  WAHA CAPITAL ABU DHABI MILE (1,609m)
07.00am	Men’s Race
07.10am	Women’s Race
07.45am	THE ABU DHABI RELAYS
07.45am	The Carboholix Schools Relay - 11 & UNDER* 4 x 100m
08.00am	The Carboholix Schools Relay - 13 & UNDER* 4 x 100m
08.15am	The Carboholix Schools Relay - 15 & UNDER* 4 x 100m
08.30am	The Abu Dhabi Corporate Men’s Race
08.45am	The Abu Dhabi Corporate Mixed Race*
09.00am	The National Father & Child (15 & Under) Challenge
09.10am	The National Mother & Child (15 & Under) Challenge
09.20am	THE ETIHAD HOLIDAYS SPLASH DASH (Adults 700m Across the Corniche)
09.20am	Boys 15 & Under 200m
09.25am	Girls 15 & Under 200m
09.30am	Men 700m
09.35am	Women 700m
10.00am	PRIZE GIVING CEREMONY & ETIHAD HOLIDAYS PRIZE DRAW

 * 2 male and 2 female swimmers per team

Platinum Partners

                

Gold Partners
                           
 Charity
 

Organiser

1. Officials maintain the right to refuse or reject any entry.

2. Safety officials have the authority to take swimmers from the water when they are deemed to have difficulty in completing the course or if they haven’t reached the halfway buoy of the 1 Mile swim in 25 minutes or do not finish in the Time Allowance of 50 minutes.

All swimmers must be unaided to be eligible to win a prize i.e. no wet suits or seal suits, no flippers or fins, boards, or any other floatation gear is permitted (with exception of The Flippers Race), no individual escort boats, surf skis or board paddlers will be allowed to accompany swimmers – any person wishing to use a swim aid must first register his/her intention by contacting the race director prior to race day.

Blind swimmers may be escorted by a “buddy” swimmer, providing the event director has been notified prior to the swim. All swimmers must swim the prescribed course. All swimmers are to wear their prescribed cap and number. The decisions of the Race Director are final and protests are not permitted.

3. All swimmers must behave in a sportsmanlike manner, and follow completely the instructions of the Race Director, Swim Marshals and Safety Personnel

4. Body Marking: Every swimmer must have their race number marked on their left arm, otherwise they will not be permitted to participate in the race.

5. Changing Facilities / Nudity: Changing facilities are provided on the Abu Dhabi Beach.  Swimmers must be appropriately attired at all times while in public.  Nudity will not be tolerated and swimmers will be disqualified and escorted from the premises in this instance.

6. Diving: Swimmers must run into the water up to knee level before diving.

7.  Knocking / hitting: Swimmer’s are to be mindful of knocking other competitors. It is inevitable in open water swimming, however should race officials feel a swimmer is impeding another swimmer by repeatedly knocking them, he or she will receive one warning notice prior to being disqualified.

8.  Start: Each race will start when the Race Starter sounds his klaxon. For most races, competitors will run down the beach into the water.

9.  Timing: The first 3 finishers in each race will receive an official time.  All other competitors are required to time themselves should they wish - there will be a start/finish clock.

10.  Children aged Under 11 and Under 13 will start in the water.

11.  Flippers Race: Each swimmer MUST wear a pair of swimming flippers. Buoyancy aids such as a Lilo and Arm Bands may also be used. However, competitors are reminded that it is a race and normal race rules apply including time allowances and knocking/hitting other swimmers.

Time Allowances:
Waha Capital Abu Dhabi Mile: Each swimmer has 50 minutes to complete the mile. After 50 minutes, any swimmer not reaching the finish line will be removed from the water for safety reasons.
Etihad Holidays Splash Dash: Each swimmer has 30 minutes to complete the Splash Dash. After this time, a swimmer still in the water will be asked to leave the water.
Team Relays: If for any reason, a team has not finished within 5 minutes of the winning team, then the Team may be disqualified.
Finish Line: A competitor is not deemed to finish until he or she crosses the finish line.

Safety and Risk Management
Board paddlers, safety personnel, rubber dinghies, Waterways patrol boats and safety divers will patrol the course for the duration of the race. Qualified personnel in emergency first aid and medical procedures will be on site. If a swimmer feels unable to proceed, they should attract the attention of water safety personnel. This should be done by lying on your back and raising your right arm. Swimmers enter this event at their own personal risk, they are responsible for their own physical condition, and are urged to train and have a medical check prior to entry. A swimmer deemed incapable of completing the course may be taken out of the water by safety officials at any time. Any swimmer who pulls out of the race must notify race officials immediately.

Cancellation/Postponement
The race committee reserves the right to cancel the race due to weather conditions or other safety considerations. In the event of cancellation or postponement, there will be no refund of entry fee.

Indemnity
All swimmers compete at their own risk. By entering onto the starting point on the Abu Dhabi Corniche Beach, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the Event Rules and have completed the Event Entry Form, including the Release & Waiver, in full.

The Start
Race numbers on arm and caps are required to access in water start waves.

Medical Emergencies
For medical emergencies, a First Aid area will be located at the finish line and qualified lifeguards will be positioned around the entire event. Event and lifesaving staff will be on hand at the start and on the water also. Please notify an official should you require medical attention. The onus is on the swimmer to supply and make arrangements regarding special medical / health requirements while competing.

RACE	ENTRY COST
WAHA CAPITAL MILE ENTRIES:	130 AED per entrant
ETIHAD HOLIDAYS SPLASH DASH:
Aged 16 and over	90 AED
Aged 15 and under	40 AED
RELAYS:
Corporate Relays	50 AED per person
School/Junior Relays	FREE
Family Relays	35 AED per person

To enter click on the logo below.

Help support Donate a Brick charity

This is a fantastic opportunity to get your friends and family to support you as you conquer the Corniche through sponsoring your swim to raise even more money for Donate a Brick, a charity initiative to raise money to fund building an Abu Dhabi Special Care Centre for children with special needs.Click on the Donate a Brick logo to download your sponsorship form.

Volunteer

For volunteer opportunities at the Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival, please email in your interest stating your name, age, contact details and mention any volunteer experience that you may have to with ‘Abu Dhabi Swimming Festival’ as the Subject.