Powerboat Racing

The Việt Nam's first UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship will be held from March 22-24 at the Thị Nại Bay in Quy Nhơn City, Bình Định Province.— — Photos courtesy of the organisers

BÌNH ĐỊNH — The UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship began on March 22 at the Thị Nại Bay in Quy Nhơn City, Bình Định Province.

The first-ever world-level aqua sport tournament in Việt Nam is an official event of the Amazing Bình Định Fest running until the end of March.

The competition features 70 riders from different countries in the world.

On the first day, they took part in engine testing, rider briefings, fuel distribution and practice. Later are the qualifications of parallel slalom and competition for pole position.

The main races of Runabout GP1, Ski Division GP1 & Ski Ladies GP1 and Freestyle will be held on March 23 and 24 with the parallel slalom and freestyle night shows and awards ceremony taking place during the evenings.

Athletes pose for photo before activities on the first day.

There will be 21 prestigious trophies handed out to successful riders.

Sharing about the number and quality of this year's competitors, CEO of Aquabike Promotion Raimondo di San Germano said although it was not the largest number of competitors, he was confident those taking part were among the best in the world. The highest number of candidates came from Europe, followed by America.

Talking about the prospect of strong cooperation to develop water motorsports in Việt Nam, the Italian CEO affirmed that Aquabike Promotion and Vietnamese partner could work together for a long time to bring more more (tournaments and athletes) to Việt Nam as Aquabike Promotion wanted to develop this subject in Asia in general and in Việt Nam in particular.

Bình Định will host the tournament for five years in a row starting from 2024.

"The tournament promotes the image of the people and culture of the province and the country to international friends," said Trần Việt Anh, chairman of the Board of Directors of Bình Định F1 Company.

Athletes and supporters at the Thị Nại Bay in Quy Nhơn City, Bình Định Province.

"It is also an opportunity to create jobs for workers and expand the industries serving the tournament and fans of this sport. Our investment and organising this tournament is expected to push local businesses and enterprises to join hands in and build a sports economy for Bình Định."

Representing the sponsors, officials of Việt Thuận Group and the famous cruise brand Essence Grand Cruise (of Quảng Ninh Province) said they were excited to support this event.

They are working together to develop marine tourism with localities that have long coastlines in Việt Nam. —VNS