Having successfully completed the first Waterski Stop of the 2008 Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup series in Dubna, Russia last week, the event now moves on to the first 2008 Wakeboard Stop ever staged in Egypt. Sponsored by Palm Hills Developments (PHD) on the sun drenched beaches of Hacienda Bay near Alexandria in the north coast area, this Stop will have a cash prize purse of US$80,000.

To add to the atmosphere of the event, all 18 male Riders and 8 female Riders will be escorted on a private visit to the Pyramids on the way to the competition site itself. This will present a first class photo opportunity. The Wakeboard Council of the International Water Ski Federation (IWSF) has confirmed  that the top ranked Riders from the following countries will participate : New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Korea, Belgium, USA, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Great Britain and China.

The outline World Cup programme at The Palm Hills Development in Hacienda Bay is as follows :

Arrival of Athletes – August 12/13th
Semi Finals – Thursday August 14th
Finals – Friday August 15th

Palm Hills Developments (PHD) is one of Egypt’s premier real estate development companies. With a pipe-line of 14 major projects and a land bank of over 33 million sq.m., the business is rapidly expanding from residential housing to retail, office and tourism projects. Its properties are in East and West Cairo, the North Coast, Ain Sokhna and the Red Sea area. MasterCraft will again provide all the World Cup competition boats and technical support.

The 2007 World Cup season finished in Doha, Qatar, in the Arabian Gulf, with the very best Riders taking home the coveted World Cup titles. Top of the podium then were Philip Soven (USA), Andrew Adkison (USA) and Chad Sharpe (CAN). In the women’s event it was Dallas Friday (USA), Raimi Merritt (USA) and Shelby Kantar (USA). All six top 2007 performers are included in the line-up for this opening event in Egypt to begin the World Cup battle all over again. Unless injuries interfere, it looks like this World Cup Stop in Hacienda Bay, sponsored by Palm Hills Developments, will ensure that the very best Riders in the World today will make their first visit to Egypt a spectacular inaugural experience.

Following Dubna in Russia, and this Palm Hills Developments World Cup Stop in Egypt, the Waterski & Wakeboard World Cup series will then move on to Singapore, India, Malaysia and Qatar. Stops are currently under discussion for as far ahead as 2012.