For Immediate Release

Malaysian Youths Enter First FAI World Drone Racing Championships, Shenzhen China

 

29 October 2018, Kuala Lumpur – A team of two Malaysian youth will join the ranks of 115 of the world’s best drone-racing pilots from 32 nations converging at the tech-city of Shenzhen in southern China from 1-4 November 2018 for four days of high-calibre racing this weekend.

 

Malaysia will be represented for the first time on this global arena by 23-year old male (Amir Haziq Saiful Rijal aka Amir) and 19-year old female (Saw Zhi Ying aka JinnyGurl) and their helper, Muhammad Fahrudin Bin Yusoff. Amir Haziq has participated in many competitive races in this country. In 2016, he won the third place at Multigp Malaysia held in Johor. Then in 2017, he took 2nd place at Multigp KL, attained 1st place at Taiping Race, was a Top qualifier at Southern Drone Race, got 1st place at the UMP Race, 6th place at Asia Drone Championship and 1st place at Drone GP – Micro Drone Race. JinnyGurl, on the other hand participated in the 2016 CF Droners Meet-Up Friendly Racing (Under-18) and Zone E-7 Amateurs (Under 18 Micro squad) where she won consolation prize with an overall ranking of 6.

 

 

“My hometown is in Setapak though I grew up in Kepong. I’m studying IT majoring in Computer Science at Inti because I’ve been fond of video games since I was a child and there’s a lot of potential in IT. As I venture into the IT world and having to play around with various programming languages, I started out freelancing and eventually got the privilege to work for Go International Group Dotcom, the company behind AsiaFitnessToday.com and the Move8.org fitness movement. I started out with a fascination for robotics and eventually got into building my own robots, one of my best friends back then built his own drone so eventually I built mine for fun, I never thought I would get into racing but eventually found myself finding the need for speed for my drone and ended up joining friendly neighborhood drone races for more exposure. I’m rather shy, so I’m usually low-key,” shares JinnyGurl.

 

I’m studying Bachelor in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) and I’m from Kuala Lumpur. What gets me about drone racing is i started my drone hobby using the toys grade drone. Just enjoying taking cinematic views but I started to enjoy going through obstacles using the drone. Drone racing is still new in Malaysia so I did more research about it and became more interested in racing. I also like joining competitions for every hobby. So for my drone hobby, racing lets me be competitive. I joined the DIY group and started building my own racing drone then joined a few races and was recognised by a person called Jason who is now my team manager for my team called Team Airstrike. Team Airstrike really help me alot in racing in terms of sponsorship and support,” said Amir Haziq.

 

Both youngsters hold their FAI Sporting License and will mark history as the first official drone racing pilots to represent Malaysia at an international tournament, whilst in the female drone pilot category, JinnyGurl will be competing against female pilots from 13 other nations. In fact, it would seem the young ones are leading the way as the official online simulation of the drone racing track used for the championships in Shenzhen was developed by 15-year old Elouan Jorrand from France.

 

In Shenzhen, competitors will participate in a series of races flying multi-rotor drones with at least three power-driven propellers and weighing no more than 1kg. Drone racing in malaysia is gaining rising following, with a few international drone races held in Malaysia; The MultiGP, Drone League etc. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded for first, second and third places in four classifications: General Individual, Women, Juniors and National Teams. The venue is the futuristic-looking Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre. In FAI Drone Racing up to six radio-controlled, multi-rotor model aircraft fight it out to be the fastest around a closed circuit. Pilots must navigate a series of gates and obstacles – whoever is fastest, wins. Races typically take three minutes. Drones, which weigh less than 500g and are battery-powered, are equipped with an onboard video camera that transmits real-time video images to the headset worn by the pilots. The pilot sees what the drone sees.

 

The event is hosted by the Bureau of Sports, Culture and Tourism of Municipality of Shenzhen and KAISA Culture Sports & Tourism Group. The Aero Sports Federation of China (ASFC) is the National Airsport Control in China.

Team Malaysia is sanctioned by Malaysia Aviation Sports Federation (MSAF), supported by the National Sports Council or Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) and co-sponsored by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Team Malaysia’s participation was initiated and coordinated by Aerolomba Sdn Bhd with strategic marketing partner Go International Group Dotcom Sdn Bhd and technology ecosystem partner, DOJO KL Sdn Bhd.

 

All pioneer partners involved in this project are doing so in the spirit of propelling Malaysian youth towards advancement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and the national innovation agenda in pursuit of our vision 2020 as a fully developed country, and to push for aerosports to be recognised as a national sport as it’s already globally recognised by the International Olympic Council (IOC).

 

For live results, follow http://faidroneworld2018.aero. 

For live viewing of the event, please check the fact sheet below.

 

Ends.

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General Inquiries: official@msaf.gov.my

Media inquiries: prnews@gointernationalgroup.com

This press release has been issued on behalf of Malaysia Aviation Sports Federation by http://PRNews.GoInternationalGroup.com – a news release writing + distribution service.

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Fact Sheet

TO WATCH THE LIVE EVENT:

The FAI Media Team will be on site to create videos, articles, and press releases, and to take photos of the Championships.
All this content will be available on the FAI and competition websites, and on the social media pages – make sure to follow us!!!

• www.facebook.com/drones.fai
• www.twitter.com/drones_fai
• www.instagram.com/drones.fai
• www.flickr.com/photos/airsports_fai
• www.youtube.com/airsportschannel
• www.fai.org
• http://faidroneworld2018.aero

There will also be a live streaming service running on both Facebook and YouTube on November 3 and 4.

The details of these sessions are:

Saturday, November 3: 15:00 – 19:20 local Shenzhen time
(7.00 – 11.20 CET, 3.00 – 7.20 USA, 18.00 – 22.20 AUS)

Sunday November 4: 17:00 – 19:30 local Shenzen time
(9.00 – 11.30 CET, 5.00 – 7.30 USA, 20.00 – 22.30 AUS)

 

WORLD AIR SPORTS FEDERATION (FAI) is the Fédération aéronautique internationale, the world governing body for air sports. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The World Air Sports Federation certifies world aviation and space records and is a non-governmental and non-profit-making organisation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). FAI activities include Aerobatics, Aeromodelling, Airships, Amateur-Built and Experimental Aircraft, Balloons, Drones, Gliding, Hang Gliding, Helicopters, Manpowered Flying, Microlights, Parachuting, Paragliding, Paramotors, Power Flying and all other Aeronautic activities and Space records.

www.facebook.com/airsports.fai | www.instagram.com/airsports.fai | www.twitter.com/airsports_fai

www.flickr.com/airsports_fai | www.fai.org

 

SANCTIONING BODY – The Malaysian Sports Aviation Federation (MSAF) was formed on 31st May 2003 after discussion between Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technologies (MIGHT) and the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia (DCA) to be a govern body to all sports aviation activities in Malaysia. The membership of Malaysian Sports Aviation Federation (MSAF) is open to all associations, clubs and companies registered in Malaysia who directly or indirectly involve in sports aviation activities. The Malaysian Sports Aviation Federation (MSAF) is registered with the Federation Aeronautical Internationale (FAI), the world body for sports aviation activities. Visit www.msaf.gov.my

 

COORDINATOR – Aerolomba Sdn Bhd was established in 2012 as a pioneer in managing and organising airsports events. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur with a branch office at the 54,000 sq ft Putrajaya Recreational Airfield, Aerolomba offers event venue rental services, as well as event management of local and international recreational airsports activities and a magazine publication. It forged ties with Red Bull to organise a first in Malaysia – the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Putrajaya in 2014.

 

CO-SPONSOR – Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation or MDEC (formerly known as Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn. Bhd.) is the lead agency in driving the digital economy in Malaysia under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia. Since its inception 22 years ago, MDEC’s mission is to develop the nation’s digital economy. MDEC’s implementation efforts are centred on driving investments, building local tech champions, catalysing digital innovation ecosystems and propagating digital inclusivity.

MDEC is also responsible to ensure that Malaysia plays an integral part in developing and nurturing talent to drive digital innovation around the world, while attracting participation from global ICT companies to invest and develop cutting edge digital and creative solutions in the country.

To know more about MDEC’s efforts and initiatives in driving Digital economy, please visit www.mdec.my or follow us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyMDEC/ or Twitter: @mymdec.

 

ECOSYSTEM PARTNER – DOJO KL Sdn. Bhd. (DOJO) is a community focused co-working space based within the Golden Triangle in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They seek to empower the creative and entrepreneurial by creating inspiring workspaces, organising education and social events, and providing personalised services to help their members grow. Taking a “People First” approach, they believe inspiration, happiness and connection will enable creation and innovation; thus increased productivity. DOJO events are curated to enhance wellness and foster meaningful relationships.For more information on DOJO, visit www.dojokl.com.

 

STRATEGIC MARKETING & SPONSORSHIPS PARTNER – Go International Group Dotcom Sdn Bhd is an experiential events and integrated marketing communication company. Our vision is to create unforgettable experiences through live events that are powered by technology and inspired by “Movement & Rhythm”.  Since 2005, our pioneering spirit along with a passionate team of skilled professionals have delivered innovative events with impact in Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. From organising eSports events to tech talks, humanitarian fun runs to treasure hunt walkathons, the group’s latest venture is AsiaFitnessToday.com, a fitness activation platform. Visit www.gointernationalgroup.com.

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