Porto Marina Powerboating Championship

By Karim Maksoud

The fifth race of the 'Class I' World Powerboating Championship was held at Porto Marina from October 25th through the 27th. This event was hosted by Amer Group. The world class event was described to have been an experience similar to "driving a Formula 1 car and flying an air plane."
Amer Group signed an agreement with the World Professional Power boating Association to host the Powerboating Championship in Egypt for at least the next five years. The teams that were present were from UAE, Italy, Qatar, Norway, and England. This event was covered by 142 international TV channels.
The Championship was advertised on Egyptian TV and on different channels. This event was a way to invite tourists to Egypt. The event was attended by thousands of viewers as it was free of charge, but many of the viewers attending had no background on the sport. People who attended found that there was poor organization. Some people were not informed that the races would be held at another gate in Marina. Hosting such an event in Egypt is a great step towards attracting more tourists to Egypt. It is also a good way to utilize the beautiful Egyptian beaches to make new water sports more popular.