The venue for this last Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup Stop of the 2008 season was a man-made saltwater canal at the exclusive Doha Diplomatic Club in Qatar. Clear blue skies and a comfortable 29C air temperature made it perfect for this final World Cup Stop of the season. Doha Qatar in the Arabian Gulf has a skyline which says it all. Breathtaking skyscrapers seem to appear overnight - and each tries to outdo the other for grandeur. The nearby Aspire Dome houses 30 sports arenas and is the largest of its kind in the world.
The hectic World Cup global tour of 2008 included Dubna Russia, Hacienda Bay Egypt, Marina Bay Singapore, Putrajaya Malaysia and finally the Diplomatic Club in Doha Qatar. Included at this Stop, the 26th in the series, were slalom, tricks and wakeboard for both men and women. As most of the World Cup overall season places depended on the Doha outcome, this added an extra fascination to the results. The event was sponsored by Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), The Diplomatic Club, MasterCraft and the International Water Ski Federation (IWSF)
In wakeboard, all the World Cup stars were there. Shelby Kantar (USA), Raimi Merritt (USA), Andrew Adkison (USA) and young Nick Davies (GBR) have all had an outstanding World Cup season. However, two superstars were also in Doha to do what all expected! Four time X-Games Champion Dallas Friday (USA) in pro women and World and X-Games Champion Phillip Soven (USA) in pro men, are almost unbeatable at present.
As in shortboard/tricks, the new rising World Cup stars got closer and closer over the season. The 15-year-old USA sensation, Raimi Merritt, following her 3rd place in the Singapore World Cup Stop, stunned all in Doha by beating the wakeboard legend, Dallas Friday (USA) on this occasion to take the Doha World Cup title. Phillip Soven, on the other hand, was in a league of his own yet again. Dean Smith AUS, Andrew Adkison USA and Trevor Hansen USA got a little closer - but still could not catch him. Soven took the Doha World Cup Wakeboard title as expected in impressive style.
The Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup overall season winners will be announced shortly. Details will be available at waterskiandwakeboardworldcup.com.
Here are the results of the Doha Qatar Stop of the Wakeboard World Cup series:
Pro Men
1. Phillip Soven (USA)
2. Dean Smith (AUS)
3. Andrew Adkison (USA)
Pro Women
1. Raimi Merritt (USA)
2. Dallas Friday (USA)
3. Shelby Kantar (USA)