Surfing turns a new chapter
Dilanka MANNAKKARA
Sri Lankan Airlines Pro 6 Star WQS, the first international surfing
competition to be held in the Sri Lankan shores will commence at Arugam
Bay from June 18. Arugam Bay which is recognized as the best surfing
area in the Asian region would attract a large number of international
professional surfers for the much anticipated event. The competition
would be the first move in portraying Sri Lanka as a world famous
surfing destination.
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Surfing in Arugam Bay. Picture by Dilanka Mannakkara |
Surfing which has grown in popularity in recent times reached a
landmark as the surfing community of Sri Lanka recently gathered
together to conceive. The Surfing Federation of Sri Lanka (SFSL) an
official governing body for the sport. This move would greatly benefit
the enthusiastic Sri Lankan surfers to continue in surfing as well as
would ensure the development and growth of the sport around the island.
According to Peter Rob-O, Chief adviser to the SFSL, the new
governing body aims at having a series of surfing competitions around
the island, to develop the existing surfing clubs in Sri Lanka while
increasing membership to the SFSL. He also said that the SFSL would look
into sponsorship deals as surfing is relatively an expensive sport. The
SFSL also hopes to gain the membership of the International Surfing
Association (ISA) in the near future and would also seek in to the
possibility of creating a national surfing team which would bolster the
hopes of the highly talented Sri Lankan surfers.
Rob-O who is an Australian also mentioned that he was amazed at the
talent shown by the local surfers and with the SFSL backing them with
necessary training facilities and sponsorships Sri Lanka's surfing would
reach new heights in the future.
The Chief fund raiser for SFSL is Tim Tanton, an Englishman who is
part of the Paddle4Relief organization which has been providing the
financial support for the Arugam Bay area for a long time.
The first Annual General Meeting of SFSL will take place in Arugam
Bay along with the Sri Lankan Airlines Pro 6 Star WQS competition. |
