KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Surfing Association brings an exhilarating surf competition, the Borneo Surf Festival, at Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai Kota Kinabalu from today until Sunday.
There will also be Tamu Pantai (bazaar), local musical and cultural performances, Summer Beauty Queen Search, and games by the Ultimate Frisbee Sabah. Entry is free for everyone to attend.
The first of its kind in Borneo, the surf competition will be held at an international level, with International Surfing Association (ISA) & Asian Surfing Championships (ASC) qualified surfers attending as judges.
“Started small since we have no experience, we used to follow guidelines off the internet, and by 2015 we flew judges from Peninsular Malaysia, then we realised Sabah needs to have qualified judges given the high potential waves we have here,” says Ronny Rizal, the Sabahan qualified ISA judge.
Apart from expanding the festival worldwide, the Sabah Surfing Association aims to grow the surfing sport by encouraging local youth participation in the competition.
“We are honoured to be presented by Rip Curl as our main sponsor, and Nexus Resort again as our venue partner alongside Happy Plugs, The Big Bite Burger and Keehuu Organic.
“Yes, that we have surfing lessons at the resort for guests staying here. We look forward to future collaboration with the Sabah Surfing Association,” says Irwan Goh, general manager of The Nexus Resort.
The event is strongly supported by the Ministry of Tourism & Culture (MOTAC), Tourism Malaysia, and Sabah Tourism Board. Surfing has a high potential to contribute in the sports tourism industry, therefore the Sabah Surfing Association will put more focus into developing it as a main attraction in Borneo.
The conference panel comprise of Roy Marail (Nexus Surfer), Irwan Goh (venue sponsor Nexus Resort), Muhammad Faisal (main sponsor Rip Curl Malaysia), Ivan Tan (Sabah Surfing Association), Ronny Rizal (judge), Julinus (Sabah Tourism), Jeaner Alex (best local surfer)
For more information, please contact Shafina Adly at 012 3069977 or email at [email protected] or Sabah Surfing Association Committee.
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