With two weeks to go for the National Surfing Championship to be held at Panambur beach from May 29, more than 60 participants have already registered for the event, while the organisers are expecting more in the coming weeks.
Besides attractive cash prizes, the event’s main attraction would be the ranking of the participants at the all-India level, said Rammohan Paranjape, vice-president of Mulky-based Surfing Federation of India that is hosting the event for the first time in Karnataka.
The ranking, Mr. Paranjape said, would help selecting the team to represent India in international surfing events across the world.
At the same time, it would also help the federation, the governing body of surfing in India, to identify and declare the ‘National Surfer of the Year’.
Though the federation had attempted to offer ranking in previous events, it was not possible due to some technical reasons. This time, it is hopeful of declaring ranking, Mr. Paranjape said.The first three winners in each category — grooms (under 16); junior boys (17-22); seniors men (22-28) and masters men (29 and above) —would get Rs. 25,000, Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000 cash prize besides citation and certificate. For winners among international participants, the prize money would be Rs. 50,000, Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 20,000 respectively, he said. There would also be consolation prizes, he added.
Local surfers have already started extensive surfing practice at Panambur and Mulki beaches ahead of the surfing event. About four to five participants are engaged in rigorous practice, Mr. Paranjape said.The success of the event, however, solely depends on the weather condition, he said and hoped that the weather would not play spoilsport.
