Visitors to the Qatar International Boat 2013, which was held at Lusail Marina, were “thrilled” with a display of “flyboarding”, a unique sport featuring a board that uses water jets powered by a jet ski to propel its operator into the air as high as 10 metres.
Development of the flyboard’s propulsion mechanism began in 2011, and it was introduced to the general public during the World Championship in China that year.
The first world championship event in Doha was in October 2012, at which more than 20 nations participated. A video posted on YouTube had 3mn visitors in 15 days of its release, a release said.
Rashid al-Kawari, an expert Qatari flyboard operator, who performed said, “The flyboard is very intuitive. It is like learning to walk.”
“Between two and 20 minutes are needed to learn to use it with an instructor or 20 minutes to an hour without. The nozzles under your feet ensure 90% of the propulsion allowing movement, which depends on the feet tilt of the flyboarder, while the nozzles on the hands are used to ensure stabilisation in the same way one uses ski poles,” al-Kawari said.