Surfline, January 16, 2010
Ready to make history as the first Indonesian junior surfers to travel outside of Indonesia as a team to compete in a world junior championship surfing competition are Putra Hermawan, Putu Anggara, Agus Frimanto, Koko Mitsu Antara, Ediana Putra, Jeren Kiring, Sandi Selamet, and Oney Anwar.
Chosen for the honor of representing Indonesia in the 2010 ISA Quiksilver World Junior Championships based on their outstanding competitive surfing performances last year, these "best of the best" young Indonesian surfers ranging in age from 11 to 17 years old will fly from Bali to the city of Auckland and then travel to the scenic surf town of Piha to compete against the best Under 16 and Under 18 surfers in the world for the pride of their country. The event will take place from the 20th to the 28th of January 2010.
The last time Indonesian surfers participated in an International Surfing Association event was in 1996 at the ISA World Surfing Games held at Huntington Beach in California. Those surfers were Rizal Tanjung, Dully Ismael, and current Indonesian Team Coach Tipi Jabrik.
The only other time that an Indonesian team of junior surfers represented their country in an international event was at the Quiksliver World Grommet titles held at Kuta Beach in Bali in 1993. Rizal Tanjung, Pepen Hendrik, Wayan Wirtama, Tipi Jabrik, Dully Ismael, and Wayan Darmawan were among those that participated in that competition almost 17 years ago.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Tipi Jabrik and others, the Indonesian Surfing Federation (Persatuan Selancar Ombak Indonesia) has now become the ISA's National Governing Body for surfing in Indonesia, as well as has been officially recognized by the Indonesia Department of Sport (KONI) and the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI).
The result is that Indonesian surfing athletes may once again participate in international ISA events such as the World Junior Surfing Championships, the World Surfing Games, World Masters Surfing Championships, World BodyBoarding Games, and more. In addition, Indonesia can now lobby to host these internationally visible events and further develop their tourism industry, and Indonesian Surfing Championship (Coca-Cola ISC Tour) judges may now participate as judges in these events as well.
The funding for the Indonesian team's trip comes from the generosity of the surf industry and its supporters in Bali: Billabong Asia, Hurley, Oakley Indonesia, Quiksilver Asia, Rip Curl Asia, and Rusty Asia, Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia, the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour and KCB Travel. In addition, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Nick "Chongee" Ngau-Chun in Piha for his tireless efforts, the incredible generosity of Fiona Anderson at the Piha Camp Ground for the lodging, transportation and meals for the team, and a special thanks to Ben Kennings of Surfing New Zealand for his help with sorting out the team's visa's.
Throughout the event you can find daily updates at www.isctour.com
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