Sri Lankans only see surfing, the fascinating sport where an individual can be seen battling huge waves on a board, on the television from time to time. But as at this year many a local know what surfing is and how the sport is being leveled.
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| Sarah Mason of New Zealand in action in the semi-final of the 6Star Women’s World Tour against finalist Lakey Peterson of the USA.
(Pix by Amila Prabodha) |
The SriLankan Airlines Pro Surfing competition held last week and the initiative in 2010 in Arugam Bay has made a huge impact in promoting the water sport in the country.
But even during the period of then war surfing was evidently a great attraction for the locals in the tourist areas such as Bentota and Hikkaduwa in the southern coastal belt and in Negombo towards the northwest. Sri Lankans would have never thought that surfing will have a massive global interest, especially in Arugam Bay in the eastern coast. Arugam Bay is a place that was battered by the three-decade long ethnic war. The area was further hampered by the devastating tsunami in 2004, making the location even vulnerable.
Almost a decade ago, the tourists took the risk in visiting the location with their heavy packs which included a surfing board though locals feared to travel to Arugam Bay. These visits by the foreigners who regarded Arugam Bay as a perfect location for surfing opened doors to the youths in the area who were traditional fishermen.
A young set of youngsters, eight years back from now formed the Arugam Bay Surf Club (ABSC) scenting surfing had the potential to build up their lives. The surfers of Arugam Bay still do fishing for a living for six months and during the off period of the year which turns out as the best for surfing they engage in the water sport in different way; helping out the tourists and at the same time competing at local tournaments.
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| Victorious Duane Desoto being carried by his friends soon after the final duel against Taylor Jensen of the USA. |
“Even during the war lot of tourists came to Arugam Bay and the people of the area were engaged with tourism throughout the year. Today tourism is the main income source for people in Arugam Bay,” Krishan Ariyasena, a young fisherman and the secretary of ABSC told the Sunday Times. The conductors of the SriLankan Airlines Pro event, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) which is the global governing body of the sport has identified Arugam Bay as one of the top surfing breaks in the world. This endorsement has boosted the image of the location whilst helping Arugam Bay to stamp its weight in the world surfing map. The ASP in association with Lanka SportsReisen (LSR) and SriLankan Airlines took the initiative last year to introduce a 6 Star World Surfing Championship after conducting four successful events in Maldives.
But this year when the stakeholders got together to hold the event for the second successive time, they made sure to upgrade the event. A total of 96 international professional surfers competed this year in two competitions; a 6 Star Women’s World Championship and a Men’s Longboard World Tour. By conducting these events, the ASP in addition to providing the locals the international touch of surfing, also gave the young set of ABSC who are turning into full time, the exposure to international events.
With the international surfing event in Arugam Bay brining the due response to Sri Lanka, two years after winning peace in the country more surfing events are set to take place in the area in the near future. But each year with the increasing number of arrivals, the area runs out of hotel rooms when an event of this magnitude takes place.
“I bought over a property that was almost abandoned few months back. I then developed it with all the facilities and the place has been fully occupied for the past six months by the surfers,” Murali, the proprietor of Paradise Hotel said.
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| Enthusiastic foreign fans watch top class surfers take the waves at
Arugam Bay. |
This year top ranked Longboard surfer of the world, Duane Desoto won the Men’s Longboard World Tour with 10000 ASP points and a cash award of US$ 10,000. The women’s 6 Star World Championship was won by American Courtney Conlogue as major changes are expected by next year.
“This event signifies how important sports tourism is for Sri Lanka as a global destination. We as the national carrier intend to promote this event while helping develop Arugam Bay as a prominent destination for tourists both local and international,” Nishantha Wickremasinghe, The CEO of SriLankan Airlines said.
A significant progress in this year’s competition was the surfers who had visited in the past year coming down with their families. “Last year the surfers came here individually but this time they have come in big numbers; with their families and friends. This shows that Arugam Bay is becoming a global surfing destination,” Sriyanjali, who runs an eco-friendly hotel, commented.
Sriyanjali’s statement was endorsed by the Men’s winner, Desoto who hails from the islands of Hawaii. “The conditions here are similar to my home back in Makaha, Hawaii. I’m on top of the world and all my hard work paid off finally. The waves at Arugam Bay are challenging as any other top surfing joints in the world. This is a place that every surfer in the world should come and experience. The people here are friendly and I will surely some with my family next year for this eventful competition,” Desoto told reporters after his triumph. |
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