Abu Dhabi All Stars Go Live This Week

 

ABU DHABI, Arabian Desert - Abu Dhabi will play host this week to a selection of the world's very best stand up paddle surfers for the inaugural Abu Dhabi All Stars Invitational, presented by the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club, UAE SUP and Wadi Adventure Park.  

The All Stars event will take the world of competitive surfing into a new realm, with its innovative format taking place in the wave pool at Wadi Adventure Park. The athletes will then come into the centre of the City to take part in the heat format elimination sprints for a combo of events that will highlight the appeal, diversity and reach of the incredible sport of stand up paddling. Watch the Abu Dhabi SUP trailer here.

The whole event will be broadcast live from Abu Dhabi starting with the Surf component at Wadi Adventure Park this coming Thursday 4th & 5th and then moving into the City on Saturday 6th for the fast paced sprints. Make sure to tune in live at www.standupworldtour.com

Live schedule for the Abu Dhabi All Stars Invitational:

Unlike most surf events that are at the mercy of the surf forecast and nature's ever changing playing field, the wave pool at Wadi Adventure provides mechanical consistency, where every athlete will have exactly the same opportunities to surf, leaving it to their performance on the day to make the difference between winning and losing. 

The mechanical precision of the pool also allows us to provide accurate timing for the whole event, with the Live broadcast schedule for Thursday and Friday being as follows (pls note that all timings are on UAE time - CET +3hrs / Sao Paolo +7hrs / EST +8hrs / PST +11 hrs / HST +14hrs / Sydney -7hrs): 

Thursday 4th April: 

1pm: Live show begins

1.30pm: Round 1: the 'RIghts'

3pm: Round 2: the 'Lefts'

4.30pm: Round 3: the 'Closeouts'

6pm: Women's exhibition

6.30pm - 8pm: Freesurf Session

Friday 5th April:

10am: Live show begins 

10.30am: Sudden death Round

12pm: Lunch Break

1.30pm: live show picks back up again

2pm: Quarterfinals

4pm: Semifinals

5pm: look back and build up to the Consolation Finals & Finals

5.30pm: Consolation Finals

6.15pm: Finals

7.15pm: Podium at Wadi Adventure ParkMake sure to tune in live at www.standupworldtour.com
 

Innovative contest formats to be introduced in Abu Dhabi:

With a completely managable and predictable playing field, an innovative new format will be introduced at the Abu Dhabi All Stars, to promote performance riding and the most progressive and dynamic competition possible.

Round 1 will feature only the right hand breaking wave, with every rider getting 3 waves each, with their best wave to count. This will be a non elimnation round.

Round 2 will feature only the left hand breaking wave, with every rider getting 3 waves each, with their best wave to count. Again, this will be a non elimination round.

Round 3 will feature only the closeout wave, providing a junction section for riders to either boost air or lay into driving turns on. Again, each rider will get 3 waves each, with their best wave to count.

The best waves from Round 1, 2 and 3 will be added together to provide an overall result, with the Top 6 athletes advancing through to the quarter finals.

Sudden Death Round: The remaining athletes will go into a Sudden Death round for the final 2 places in the quarterfinals. Each athlete in this round will be allowed 3 waves of their choice, with their best ride counting towards their chances of advancing or not into the quarterfinals.

Make sure to tune in live on Thursday 4th April from 1pm UAE time to www.standupworldtour.com

The Final rounds to provide Man on Man surfing at its best:

 The Quarters through Finals will then adopt the traditional man on man format, with each heat providing the athletes 9 waves each: 3 rights / 3 lefts / 3 closeouts in the quarters and semis, with the best ride on each type of wave counting towards the overall result. 

In the Consolation Finals and Finals themselves, the athletes will have 15 waves each, with the top 2 scoring rides from each type of wave counting towards their overall score to determine who will be the Champion of the Surf component of the Abu Dhabi All Stars Invitational. 

Remember to tune in live from 10am UAE time on Friday 5th April to www.standupworldtour.com for the culmination of the surf component of the Abu Dhabi All Stars.

Elimination Sprints to turn heads in center of Abu Dhabi:

As a part of the Abu Dhabi Beach Games, the objective of the Sprint racing is three fold:  

1. To create highly competitive racing to the backdrop of Abu Dhabi's unique city scape

2. Provide a complete and well rounded test of the All Stars' abilities

3. Open up the sport to the UAE and promote its growth and development 

The World Series sprint racing format will be adopted for the All Stars event, but this time, utilizing the increasingly poplular inflatable boards: as the first race of its kind adopting this kind of board at an elite level, it will be the chance to test the travel friendly equipment at the highest level, and provide another level playing field for the athletes.

The Open racing taking place in the morning at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht club will provide 8 lucky men and 4 lucky women to compete alongside the All Stars in this unique inaugural event in the UAE.)

Watch out for the Abu Dhabi All Stars Women showdown:

Featuring stand out stand up surfer from the La Torche Pro in 2012, Caroline Angibaud, as well as World Series stand out racer Olivia Piana, up and coming racer out of Eastern Europe Manca Notar, but also Abu Dhabi resident and powerhouse racer, Jen Scully (2nd behind Annabel Anderson in the 2012 Chicago World Paddle Challenge), the women's fleet is truly international and will promote the further development of the sport in the UAE. 

The women's showdown will feature a daily exhibition session in the pool and then the sprint racing in Abu Dhabi itself, as the women will battle it out to become the Abu Dhabi All Star.

Tune into the Morning Show with Zane & Rocky:

Make sure to tune into the morning show each day live from Abu Dhabi at 9am (UAE time), starting this Wednesday 3rd and running daily thru Sunday 7th April. Zane Schweitzer (Starboard) and Rocky Canon will be taking you through the adventure in a way that only they can, as the Waterman League explores Abu Dhabi and breaks new ground with the All Stars Invitational.

So, make sure to not miss your dose of Zane and Rocky at 9am daily on the 3rd - 7th April at www.standupworldtour.com

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