Taking advantage of – rather than lamenting – Qatar’s windy weather and sweltering summers, a growing number of residents have embraced kite boarding, an adrenaline-pumping water sport that’s also gaining popularity around the world.
To highlight Qatar’s kite boarding scene, French expat Thomas Pujo recently created a short film on the movement.
For the 26-year-old and some 1,000 other Qatar residents, the nation’s temperamental winds and waves offer a perfect playground for those looking to get a bit of exercise.
Pujo, who recently released a trailer for his film, said the movie shows him working in an office, and then leaving his desk to go kiting around lunchtime. He then returns to the office soaking wet.
Kite boarding basics
A surface water sport that combines aspects of several other land and water sports, kite boarding offers enthusiasts the opportunity to surf and glide atop a small board while simultaneously harnessing the power of the wind to be propelled across the water.
There are several different styles of the extreme, adrenaline-pumping sport – freestyle, free ride, speed and course racing – and various surfaces – water, snow, or land – for kite boarders to choose from.
“The good thing is that you have a lot of different spots for practice so it never gets too crowded. People spread themselves all over Qatar. I think it’s a snowball effect, one person starts and get his/her friends to join as well,” he said.According to Pujo, the sport has slowly been gaining traction in Qatar, largely due to word-of-mouth.
Kite boarding has also been growing globally. The sport was recently selected to be one of four water sports in the 2018 Youth Olympics in Argentina, and is expected to be included in the upcoming 2022 Olympics.
Local residents looking to join the sport have various options. Some four different kiteboarding and water sport schools exist, along with individual trainers like Pujo, who charge around QR600 for a two-hour-long training session at, among others, two hotspots – Fuwairit and Zekreet.
Elementary kite boarding gear includes a kite, a board, and a harness, while professional practitioners tend to have several kites and boards in different sizes for different water and wind speeds and conditions.
While some of the schools sell gear locally, Pujo recommends sourcing equipment from websites and UAE-based stores like Eywoa, Liquid Force Kites and Al Boom Marine for a broader range of brands.
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