World’s top Surfers for Arugam Bay

Dilanka Mannakkara

Arugam Bay, the picturesque beach in the East Coast was recently voted as Asia’s top most surfing destination by Floating Asia. Giving impetus to this title comes the Sri Lankan Airlines Pro 2010 Tournament which is expected to attract the top surfers to Arugam Bay from June18-24.

Surfers already confirmed their participation are from the United States, Australia, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany and few other countries numbering 128.

The event is being conducted by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), the global governing body for the sport, which organizes the World Championship Tour known also as the ASP World Tour. Twenty-two international surfing referees will judge the event.

Manoj Gunawardena, CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines, said, “Sri Lankan Airlines is delighted that our pioneering efforts to position Sri Lanka as a must-visit destination among international surfers have now come of age with Sri Lankan Airlines Pro Surf 2010.”

Due to the security situation and terrorism we couldn’t stage such an event for the last 30 years. Sri Lankan Air Lines organized a similar surfing event in Maldives in the past.

He also mentioned that Sri Lanka has a long history in the world of surfing, and especially in bringing surfing events to this country, having successfully lobbied with the British and Japanese surfing associations to bring international events to Hikkaduwa and Arugam Bay.

Sri Lankan organized the first international event in Arugam Bay was in 2004, at a time when Arugam Bay was considered a magical and mythical location by foreign surfers.

He said that the ultimate winner would be Arugam Bay and its community with these sort of events happening in the area.

Dileep Mudadeniya, Managing Director of SLTPB, said “Sri Lanka Tourism has always been a pioneer when it comes to creating signature events of world class stature and these kinds of international surfing events would give a boost to the booming industry of tourism.

He also said that “This is a Six Star Event, the highest rating in the World Qualifying Series of the Association of Surfing Professionals, and will place Arugam Bay firmly on the map”.

The event has already drawn the participation of one of the sporting world’s leading brands Billabong, as the Brand Sponsor. Association of Surfing Professionals, Australasia Operations Manager, Dane Jordan, said, “Sri Lanka has several excellent locations which are ideal for surfing” and that he rates Arugam bay as a top notch surfing destination in the world because of its high performance waves.

Lanka Sport Reisen Managing Director Thilak Weerasinghe mentioned that two Sri Lankan surfers would get wild card entries and the prize money of the tournament would be a staggering a $145,000 .

The event will be launched with a colorful opening ceremony with a cultural show.