Surfing ‘Nationals’ in Arugam Bay to kick-start sports tourism
The Surfing Federation of Sri Lanka (SFSL) will be the first sport governing body in the country to host a ‘national championship’ after almost all sports activities across the country came to a standstill six months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though the pandemic has not fully disappeared, Sri Lanka has managed to curb the spread with a committed plan, as SFSL will join with Lanka Sportreizen (LSR) to conduct the Open and National Surfing Championship on September 26 and 27 in Arugam Bay.
Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa (R) having a casual chat with LSR Chairman Thilak Weerasinghe at the press conference - Pix by Amila Gamage
The two-day event, a giant collaboration of SFSL, LSR, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Ministry of Tourism and the two sponsors – Mobitel and Lin Asia Holdings – is expected to attract the starving local surfers and more importantly foreigners, who are held up in Sri Lanka due to the pandemic.
The event will come as a mega boost for the surfers of the country, mainly those who are based in the eastern coastal surfing belt in Arugam Bay. More importantly, the event is an initiative by the young Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, who aims to change the culture of sports in Sri Lanka, by transforming the ordinary ‘sportsperson’ to ‘sports entrepreneur’.
Minister Rajapaksa, a former national rugby captain, emphasised that sports necessarily should go hand-in-hand with tourism if Sri Lanka needs to develop in both sectors.
“We have a clear plan in place and we are optimistic that it could be implemented and carried out comprehensively in the next five years to restructure sports and its culture in Sri Lanka. Our aim is to generate an atmosphere where we could create a sports economy worth US$ One Billion during this time,” Minister Rajapaksa told reporters.
The upcoming two-fold surfing competition will serve as a prelude to potential local and international sporting events that are based on promoting the country as a destination for sports tourism.
According to Hiran Ukwatte, the president of SFSL, the Arugam Bay event will be the third and final instalment of the National Championship, which was held earlier in Hikkaduwa and Madihe in Matara before the outbreak of the pandemic. In addition to being part of the series of a national championship, the event is expected to revive the interest of the surfing sports fraternity, who have been hit severely due to the lack of activities and tourism.
“Anyway, an event was already planned for September with the collaboration of the World Surf League, but as we all know activities across the world came to a standstill. Furthermore, the stakeholders in the Eastern Province have been severely affected by it, and this event will surely be a sigh of relief for them,” stated Thilak Weerasinghe, Chairman of LSR.
The event will unfold on September 26 with the Open Championship, which will be held as an event without any barriers. This category has been added to attract mainly the foreign surfers who have been stuck in Sri Lanka for some duration, and it will also allow local competitors to surf alongside the more competitive international counterparts.
The National Championship will be held on September 27 and this category will allow local surfers to upgrade themselves in rankings following the concluded two competitions held prior to the pandemic. The organisers expect around 100 surfers in both categories including women, and the decision to separately categorise women surfers will depend on the number of entries.