Lifeguards from Dubai's famous Wild Wadi water park made a big splash yesterday when they came out on top in a lifesavers' competition.
Ten teams, each with four members, did battle in the blazing sunshine to determine who were the best.
The contest, held at Fujairah's Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, drew hundreds of spectators.
The lifeguards competed in races and took part in different "emergency reaction" rounds. After a gruelling series of events it was Wild Wadi who won the day, prompting one spectator to remark: "David Hasselhoff from Baywatch has got nothing on them." The team from the Dubai water park won both the pool and beach emergency incident categories as well as the team endurance race.
Patrick Antaki, general manager at the Le Meridien resort, said it would be organising the competition every year.
"Fielding 10 teams for this initial life-saving competition was a fantastic response for what will now be an annual event," he said. "What we have done as a community is to highlight the critical job performed every day by the nation's lifeguards, while raising awareness about the need for water safety standards across the UAE." He added that next year the competition may be expanded to include more participants from across the UAE and that the format would be reviewed.
By Emirates Today Staff
© Emirates Today 2006
