FIRST-EVER SURFING COMPETITION IN BACHOK A CROWD PULLER

BACHOK, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- The two-day inaugural surfing competition held at Pantai Impian Kemasin here, which ended today, will be turned into an annual affair during the monsoon season in Kelantan.

Kemasin Surf Competition Volume organiser Fazreen Haiqal Azmi said the extreme watersport attracted over 2,000 visitors over the two days, adding that the sport received an encouraging response among youth.

"The participants were not just from Kelantan but also from Sabah, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur as well as from Portugal.

"Most of the participants took an interest in surfing after being exposed to it in Cherating, Pahang since the 1980s," he told Bernama today.

Fazreen Haiqal, also the Kelantan Surfing Association secretary, said three categories were contested, namely shortboard, longboard and bodyboarding, while a grommet (young participant) category was included for those aged below 16, with the contestants evaluated in 15 minutes for each hit.

He said the participants were aged between 10 and 48 and they organised it due to requests from surfing enthusiasts, with the competition receiving the green light through the Kelantan State Tourism Information Centre.

"Although many other beaches can be used for the surfing competition, Pantai Impian Kemasin in Bachok remains the most suitable due to several factors, including the presence of a breakwater, and also its strategic location facing the South China Sea," he added.

-- BERNAMA