A three-day International Surfing Festival, organised on the Varkala Edava Beach by the Department of Tourism, concluded on Sunday, showcasing Varkala’s potential to become a premier surfing destination.
The event saw the participation of talented surfers and water-sports enthusiasts. In all, 65 domestic and foreign contestants participated in the event, which was the first international surfing festival to be hosted by the country this year. The event was organised in association with the International Surfing Association, the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS), District Tourism Promotion Council, and the Surfing Federation of India. International Surfing Association (ISA) representative Rory Symes from Australia was the head judge of the competitions, held from 6 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. every day from March 29 to 31. Competitions were held in Under-16 (boys) and Surfing Open (men and women) categories.
The winners
Kerala Tourism Secretary Biju K. and actor-cum-surfing athlete Sudev Nair gave away the prizes to the winners at the valedictory function held on Sunday. Kishore Kumar bagged the first prize in the Surfing Groms (Under-16) category while Tain Arun and Prahlad Sriram won the second and third prizes respectively. In the Surfing Women’s Open category, Kamali P. won the first prize and Sandhya Arun got the second prize. Ishitha Malavya won the third prize. Ramesh Mudhihal was the winner of the Surfing Men’s Open category. Hareesh M. got the second prize and Srikanth D. won the third prize.
The event marked Kerala as a premier surfing destination in the country, besides promoting Varkala’s high potential as a global water-sports hub. It provided an opportunity for water-sports enthusiasts to get a first-hand experience and practise surfing, said a release issued by the Tourism department here on Monday.
