Jan 7, 2008

Catching The Surf At Cherating

Riding the waves is what 85 contestants came to Cherating to do on the last weekend before the turn of the New Year. At the shores further up north of Kuantan, Pahang, Cherating has been a favourite destination of surfers from all over the world. With a contest running second year in a row, the King of The Point Surf Competition attracted participants from Australia, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt and Singapore. What is more encouraging is the sheer number of under-15 year olds participating in the Grommet’s category. Their agility on the boards gave them the competitive edge in the Open category causing spectators to cheer for them instead.

Organised by Satu Suku Surf School Cherating, which receives an average of 50 students every weekend coming from the Klang Valley and as far south as Singapore, surfing is fast gaining popularity among the locals. While people in the capital city are drumming to the beat of the Drum Festival, here in Cherating, surfers were paddling to ride the thunderous roar of the wave as it breaks on the bronze beach. This event saw some promising talents being given the opportunity to take home prizes in cash and kind which would spur their interest further to grow in the sport.

In the Men’s Open, Mohd Daud bin Mohd walked away as the champion, with RM1,500 worth of Quiksilver vouchers and RM600 cash while the First Runner-Up, Abu Abdul Rashid bin Ali took home a RM1,000 Quiksilver voucher and RM400 cash. The Second and Third Runners-Up, Tunku Khairil Tunku Ibrahim and Mohd Didaqt bin Musaddiq walked away with Quiksilver vouchers worth RM500 and RM300 together with RM300 and RM200 cash prizes respectively.

In the Women’s Open category, four lovely ladies took on the task to compete and show their agility on the surf board and rose from the Heats to the Finals on the last day. Cheryl Tan from Singapore was hailed as the champion, with RM1,000 worth of Quiksilver vouchers and 2days/1night’s stay at Legend’s Resort Cherating. The First and Second Runners-Up, Nur Hayani Norrizan and Mariam Abbas, walked away with RM500 and RM300 worth of Quiksilver vouchers respectively while the Third Runner Up, Farisha binti Mazlan took home RM100 cash and a 2days/1night’s stay at Cherating Bay Resort. With the hip apparel from Quiksilver called Roxy, surfing has become a fashion statement for the ladies as they strut with their boards from the beach to the break. The colourful and snazzy women’s apparel has been a hit with beach-goers and will soon become a standard for dressing up for any sun and sea getaways.

The Under-15, ‘Grommet’s’ category saw the most action with the youngsters manoeuvring the boards with ease and little effort. Mohd Nazrin bin Nasruddin became the champion, taking home a Quiksilver voucher worth RM1,000, RM150 cash, a 2days/1night’s stay at Cherating Bay Resort and a skateboard. Mohd Didaqt bin Mussadiq became the First Runner-Up to take home a RM500 Quiksilver voucher and RM100 cash while Second Runner-Up Mohd Suhaimi bin Hassan took home a RM300 Quiksilver voucher and 1 meal voucher for two at Surf and Chill Café. For the Third Runner-Up Ahmad Syahir bin Abdul Hayu, he had a RM100 cash plus a meal voucher for one at the Surf and Chill Café. The main sponsors of the event were Tourism Malaysia, Quiksilver (M) Sdn Bhd, Impiana Cherating Resort, Alang’s Rawa Resort, Surf and Chill Café, T Tours and Travel and Cherating Bay Resort. No less important were the supporters of logistics and safety control personnel for the event such as the Kuantan Town Council, Fraser’s Hill Development Authority, Marine Police Team, Fire Brigade and Rescue Team, Civil Defence Department, Kuantan and Kemaman Hospital, Pahang State Information Department, Head of Village of Kg. Cherating.

The event closed with a speech by YB Dato’ Maznah Mazlan at a dinner hosted at Impiana Cherating Resort just before the prize giving ceremony. She urged the private sector to be innovative and proposed that they take the task to organise events that would bring people to see the best of the state throughout the year and not just during competitions.

Info : Virtual Malaysia

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