Plans to boost tourism and sports through surfing
By A Special Correspondent
COLOMBO – In order to revive both sports and tourism, Lanka Sportreizen (LSR) is making arrangements to organize and conduct an Open / National Surfing Championship in association with the Ministry of Sports and Surfing Federation of Sri Lanka (SFSL) on September 26 and 27 at Arugam Bay in the eastern coast of the island.
It will be the first ‘national championship’ to be held in the country after almost all sports activities across the country came to a standstill six months ago due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The two-day event, a collaboration of SFSL, LSR, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the 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.
“In fact, we were planning with the World Surf League to conduct a similar event in September in the East, which did not happen due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought worldwide activities including tourism and sports to a standstill,” said Thilak Weerasinghe, chairman of LSR, a Destination Management Company in Sri Lanka, which has been in the forefront of promoting tourism through sports and adventure.
He said the event was being organized in order to revive both sports and tourism on the advice of Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, a keen surfer himself.
Among the events conducted by LSR in the past are British Pro-Surf Championships, Rating Tournament for the Japanese Pro-Surfing Association, ASP WQS 6 Star Men’s Short Board Event with the Australian Surfing Professionals, ASP WQS 6 Star Men’s Long Board Event & Women’s Short Board Event with the Australian Surfing Professionals and WSL WQS 3000 Men’s Short Board Event with the World Surf League.
The event will come as a major boost for the surfers in the country, mainly those who are based in the eastern coastal surfing belt.
More significantly, sports will be made a US$ 1 billion revenue-generating subject within the next five years, declared Minister Namal Rajapaksa at a press conference.
The minister’s plan includes the local manufacture and export of sports equipment, sports apparels, and services to the world.
Hosting water and adventure sports events can also woo high spending tourists to Sri Lanka for which he hopes to work with the Ministry of Tourism. “It will also be a good destination marketing tool for Sri Lanka,” he said.
According to SFSL president Hiran Ukwatte, 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 viral outbreak.
The Arugam Bay event will unfold on September 26 with the Open Championship to attract mainly the foreign surfers who have been stuck in Sri Lanka for some duration. 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 two competitions held prior to the pandemic. The organizers expect around 100 surfers in both categories.
-ENCL