SriLankan Airlines sponsors BPSA Surfing C'ship

THE pristine beaches and the wild waves of the east coast of Sri Lanka will once again be the chosen venue for the SriLankan Airlines Champion of Champions BPSA Surf Competition. This will be the second year SriLankan Airlines is co-sponsoring the event with BPSA (British Pro-Surf Association) and TTAL (Travel and Tours Anywhere Limited).

The event which is scheduled to be held from 27th to 30th June will be attended by over 50 professional surfers from United Kingdom and Sri Lanka, together with a number of Australian surfers.

The surfing paradise of Arugam Bay was the obvious venue for the Championship as waves have a height of fifteen feet or more, receiving the same swells that hit other world renowned surfing locations during mid year.

It is also legendary for its right-handers, a surfing term which mean that the waves are favourable to right-handed surfers, who makes up the majority of the surfing community.

There are three popular point breaks within 20 minutes from each other, one reef breaks anything from 2-6 feet providing a wall that barrels to give a surfer his ultimate adrenaline rush, an almost 400 metre ride.

The other two breaks also provide high quality surf. With sea temperature that lasts at 27 degrees Celsius through out the year, Arugam Bay is an ideal surfing location. As the title sponsor the airline provides air tickets and prize money. The official tour operator is TTAL's local agent Crystal Holidays.

TTAL offers surfing destinations such as Maldives, Bali, Costa Rica, Durban, Barbados and many others throughout the world. Technical support is given by Lanka Sportsreizen, the leading agent for adventure sports in the country.

As the national carrier of Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines is at the forefront of promoting sports tourism into Sri Lanka.

The 2005 surfing event will be the part of an on-going program to incorporate Sri Lanka as part of the British Professional Surfing circuit, while boosting the country's tourist industry and promoting the airline as a world class passenger carrier.

The airline also sponsors the National Championship of the Japanese Pro-Surfers Association which is held in Hikkaduwa on the west coast of the country where over one hundred Japanese surfers will participate in November.

SriLankan hosts two golf tournaments during the year. The first, Golf Classic was held in April at the Victoria Golf Club in Digana, Kandy.

The Cargo Golf organised by SriLankan Cargo was held in early May this year. SriLankan believes golf will bring in high-yielding tourists into the country and has great potential in promoting niche tourism to an up-scale clientele.

SriLankan Airlines in conjunction with Singer Sri Lanka also sponsors the Singer SriLankan Rugby Sevens tournament at the Kandy Bogambara stadium in September.

The natural landscape of Sri Lankan is favourable to many adventured sports such as canoeing, para-gliding, mountain biking, climbing and hiking. Diving in the Indian Ocean around the island is now emerging as yet another niche tourist market.

Together with traditional tourist attractions of beaches, culture and heritage, these attractions will be a strong pull for travellers seeking action-packed, exotic tropical holidays.