First time tournament will be held in the Middle East. More than 1,000 players from 60 teams expected to participate.
March 5, 2014 – Dubai, UAE – Dubai will host the 2015 BULA & WFDF World Championships of Beach Ultimate (WCBU) next year, the first time the premier competition for Ultimate Frisbee players will come to the Middle East.
Expected to be held on the beach along Jumeirah Beach Residences in March 2015, the championships will welcome an estimated 1,000 athletes from more than 60 teams to the UAE.
The 2015 BULA & WFDF World Championships of Beach Ultimate are organised by United Arabian Ultimate, the local Ultimate Frisbee association, in partnership with the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), the international governing body of all flying disc sports, and BULA, an organisation promoting and assisting Beach Ultimate worldwide.
“We are extremely happy to have selected Dubai to host the 2015 World Championships,” said Patrick van der Valk, the BULA president and Chairman of WFDF’s Beach Ultimate Committee. “Dubai’s infrastructure and central location will attract the best players worldwide and we look forward to welcoming everyone.”
“It is a pleasure to see the development of disc sports in the Middle East. Beach Ultimate continues to grow quickly and we believe this venue will give our athletes a very interesting cultural experience,” said Robert “Nob” Rauch, president of the World Flying Disc Federation.
The championships will kick off on March 8, to coincide with International Women’s Day, and will run until March 13.
This will be the fourth WCBU. The first was hosted by Portugal in 2004, and previous competitions have been held in Brazil in 2007 and Italy in 2011. The World Flying Disc Federation is hosting the World Ultimate Club Championships in August in Lecco, Italy.
“Players coming to the event are really going to have an amazing time in Dubai,” said Patrick Fourcampre-Maye, president of United Arabian Ultimate. “Great beaches, great weather and a stunning skyline backdrop. It’s simply going to be an experience well-travelled Ultimate players won’t have had before, and I know they are going to share that amazing experience with the world.”
In the run-up to the main event next March, United Arabian Ultimate will host clinics and tournaments across the UAE, run youth leagues in local schools and coordinate local outreach campaigns.
“We took a team from the UAE to Italy in 2011, and we’ve been dreaming of this since,” said Mr Fourcampre-Maye. “It is going to be amazing for our sport, not just in Dubai, but for the region too. And we are going to make sure we capitalise on this opportunity to bring Ultimate into schools and increase participation at the youth level.”
Participation in the sport worldwide is growing, and there are more than 56 member countries of WFDF and active teams in more than 80 countries. Last year, the International Olympic Committee granted provisional recognition to the WFDF, the first step towards having Ultimate included in the Olympic Games.
More information is available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wcbu2015 and Twitter at www.twitter.com/wcbu2015.
For more information, contact:
Jen Thomas
Media and Communications Coordinator
United Arabian Ultimate
+971 (0)55 800 3547
media@wcbu2015.org
