DUBAI // Surfers have had a double dose of good news. With high winds and waves expected, the emirate’s first surfing competition, this weekend’s Surf Dubai Sunset Open, looks like it will be a hit.

Sixty four entrants will compete in three categories: the long board, the short board for those aged 14 years and over, and the short board for under 14s.

The other good news is that after five years of struggle, including disagreements with the authorities, the founders of Dubai’s first surf school are close to being accredited by the emirate’s Sports Council.

It has been a challenge almost as daunting as “shooting the curl” or “hanging 10”.

Previously, surfers faced numerous obstacles, from shrinking public beaches to a suspicion that the sport was a danger to beachgoers.

But that never dampened the enthusiasm for the sport felt by Scott Chambers and Daniel van Dooren, who founded the Surf School of Dubai five years ago.

Surf Dubai, an association also set up by Mr Chambers and Mr Van Dooren, has seen its membership grow from 15 to 1,500.

The sport’s surge in popularity is evident to anyone who sees the rising tide of surfers riding the modest swell each day at the Umm Suqeim public beach. Around 20 per cent of the students are locals, five of them members of Surf Dubai’s board, which champions the sport.

“So few people realise what great surfing Dubai has,” said Mr Chambers, 26.