HYDRO-VICTORY: Members of Hydropower team celebrate their victory in the Bidar 15 Paddlers Mixed event after crossing the finish line.
KUCHING: Hydropower powered their way to win the first event of the Sarawak Regatta and IWWF Wakeboard World Cup, the Bidar 15 Paddlers Mixed (eight men and seven women) at the Kuching Waterfront yesterday.
Second were Lang Lau while in third place were Jang X, followed by Tekasa Abok and Sekakal and Taju Remaung in fourth and fifth places respectively.
Sixteen heats were competed yesterday and the finals of 15 events will be held over today until Sunday.
However, today’s programme will start with the practice rounds for Pro-Men and Pro-Women of the Wakeboard World Cup at7.30am, followed by a show practice by Stars of Florida and Pro-Women semi-finals.
In the afternoon, the regatta will continue with eight finals which are the Bidar 15 Paddlers Men, Balok 7 Paddlers Men, Bidar 10 Paddlers Women vying for the Nippon Oil Challenge Trophy, Perahu Kenyalang 15 Paddlers Tourist, Bidar 20 Paddlers Inter-Division Men vying for the Harian Metro Challenge Trophy, Perahu Tambang Oars and Perahu Tambang Engine.
On Saturday, six finalists will take to the waters for the Sarawak Youths Wakeboard Cup. They are Arafan Edruce, 21, Dzakri Bohari, 23, Muhammad Zahhar, 16, Muhammad Zaim, 10, Hadi Hizwan, 15, and Hasfarazy, 21.
Also lined up for the day are the quarter-finals for the Pro-Men and Pr-Women of the Wakeboard World Cup and four finals of the Sarawak Regatta namely the Bidar 30 Paddlers VIP Men Category B vying for the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage Sarawak Challenge Trophy, Bidar 20 Paddlers Men vying for the Telekom Malaysia Challenge Trophy, Bidar 30 Paddlers VIP Men Category A vying for the Cahya Mata Sarawak Challenge Trophy, Perahu Kenyalang 20 Paddlers International Open (Ministry of Tourism Malaysia Challenge Trophy).
On the final day, the semi-finals and finals of the Wakeboard World Cup will be held together with three more finals for the Sarawak Regatta, which are Bidar 30 Paddlers Hotel/Tour Agencies (Tourism Malaysia Challenge Trophy), Perahu Kenyalang 20 Paddlers Inter Varsity and the highlight of the event the Bidar 30 Paddlers Men “King of the River” vying for the Tuan Yang Terutama Negeri Sarawak Challenge Trophy.
Thirty-one world top ranked wakeboard athletes including nine women from 18 countries will be competing in Kuching this week, with the Pro-Men champion getting U$15,000 and the Pro-Women champion receiving US$8,000.
Participating countries are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, The Netherlands, South Africa, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Thailand and the US.
Stars of Florida will also be performing two water-ski shows on Saturday and Sunday.
This is the first time that the IWWF Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup series stop is organised together with the iconic Sarawak Regatta over the same weekend.
Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud will grace the event tomorrow while Head of State Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin will give away the prizes at the closing.