As dawn breaks over the Bay of Bengal on Friday, surfers from across the globe will try to rule the waves as the third edition of the Summer Swell Challenge gets under way.
An entire glossary of surfing jargon will spring to life as surfers try to get barrelled by ducking into and out of a transient tunnel of a breaking wave, do a soul arch or striking a pose of confidence on the surfboard or perform a cutback or reversing into a breaking wave.
About 70 surfers, primarily from across India, besides professionals from the U.K., France, Spain and Reunion Islands, will participate.
“The whole idea of the event is to encourage more youth to engage in the sport,” says Juan Reboul, organiser and founder of the Kallialay Surf School near Serenity Beach.
The event, supported by Bodhi Café and BigRush, will have two referees from the Reunion Island and one from the Surfing Federation of India.
As a sideshow, skating competitions, though on a less intense scale, will be held on a ramp set up at the venue.
Prizes worth over Rs. 5 lakh are up for grabs.
Juan and his brother Samai moved from Spain to Auroville as children and have since made this city their home.
The local fishermen are naturals when it comes to water sports, he says. “Fishermen’s kids especially are very good and have this connection to the ocean they are rediscovering through surfing,” says Samai Reboul.
There is a storm forecast for Friday. You might think that is scary news, but surfers are gleeful as it means riding waves that are a couple of feet higher than those in regular conditions.
