‘Indian Open of Surfing 2017’ from May 26 to 28 at Sasihithlu Beach
May 26th, 27th and 28th sees the second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing, India’s National Surfing Championships. They will be held at Sasihithlu Beach, approximately 15 minutes north of Mangaluru.
May 2016 was the first year the Indian Open of Surfing was run where Sasihithlu hosted the inaugural event. It was a huge success and proposes to continue hosting the event in the years to come. The idea behind the event is to promote the beaches of Karnataka as popular surfing and adventure destinations.
This event will feature surfing and SUP athletes from various cities of the east and west coast of India. Many international athletes will also be participating in the event. With a coastline of 320km, the state can offer amazing experiences to both domestic and international travellers seeking adventure escapades with a blend of culture and tradition of the state.
The National Titles will feature athletes from all surfing states including Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh plus athletes from overseas and should include at least surfers from the US, Sri Lanka, France, Madagascar and others.
It will be a great spectacle to see with many other activities happening in addition to the best surfers and SUP Paddlers from around the country competing.
The Events that are open for competitors to compete in are:
– Novice – 14 and under – Never surfed in a surfing competition before, Surfed for 12 months or less
– Surfing – Groms – 16 and under
– Surfing – Juniors – 17 to 22
– Surfing – Seniors – 23 to 30
– Surfing – Masters – Above 30
– Surfing – Women of all age
– Surfing – Open Category
– SUP – Men
– SUP – Women
This year, the Surfing Federation of India, India’s National Governing Body of Surfing, has excitingly included the Novice 14 and Under category. This is open to surfers who are 14 years or younger at the start of the contest, have never surfed in a contest before and who have only started surfing since the 2016 Edition of the Indian Open.
This is such an excellent inclusion as it is an extremely proactive decision to help open up surfing and assist in the growth and develop of surfing. It will encourage youngsters new to the sport to get involved in the competition and participate in a much more relaxed way. It will give them a taste of what it is like to surf in a contest and hopefully motivate them to then train hard to be able to compete at a much higher level in the 2018 Indian Open of Surfing and the other contests around India. It will also give them a chance to meet other new surfers from all over India and help them make new friends and new surf contacts around the country. There is also the possibility of a Body Board Competition.
For those who have some time during the contest, it is definitely worth making the effort to get to Sasihithlu to watch the festivities and high-performance surfing on show.
If you have been thinking of starting surfing yourself, then head to your local surf school. Walkin’ On Water Mangalore, based at Panambur Beach is currently hard at work training new surfers for the Indian Open, with some surfers just starting within the past two weeks motivated and enthusiastic on competing.
You can contact the Panambur Beach Surf School – Walkin On Water Mangalore – on surf@walkinonwatermangalore.com, 9743440134 or 9972113538 or visit the website www.walkinonwatermangalore.com
