| The 2009 Indonesian Pro Surfing Tour kicks off in Kuta Beach |
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| Wednesday, 22 April 2009 17:08 |
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The Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Pro Tour 2009 was officially launched on the sands of the world famous Kuta Beach in Bali on Saturday afternoon in front of the Hard Rock Hotel just before sunset, complete with Balinese gamelan music and dancers, speeches, giveaways, and s live music performance, announcing the start of this exciting competitive surfing season. The season’s first pro event will be the Rusty “Rumble in Da Jungle” 6-star contest at Bangsal Beach in Sanur, starting off on April 26th with a waiting period of 3 weeks with which to allow the contest to be run in only the best waves, creating the most exciting event for both the surfers and the spectators, with a prize purse of 35 million Rupiah at stake. Six more pro events will be held in locations throughout Indonesia including West Java, Sumbawa, Rote, and of course Bali. Please check www.isctour.com for details on the schedule and to follow the tour as it travels to these exciting surf spots. The Saturday afternoon launch event was attended by local and national media, members of the surf industry, surfers, staff and management of Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia and the ISC, and of course the tourists and beach workers that crowd the sands of Kuta Beach each day in front of the Hard Rock Hotel Bali. After the beautiful Balinese dancers had entertained the audience, Bruce Waterfield from Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia headquarters in Jakarta gave a welcoming speech in which he explained, “Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia’s sponsorship is an extension of our CSR program happening around Bali. We have been working with local authorities and NGO’s to clean up Bali’s beaches and improve environmental awareness through education. The ISC, surfing and surfers are users of the beaches in a place where surfing has such a global focus…..so we’re very keen to work with ISC, the governing body of surfing in Indonesia, as they provide an organized platform for the surfers to develop their skills and have great future.” After a big round of applause, he added, “This is CCBI’s second year supporting the ISC. The large value of our sponsorship represents our commitment to provide all Indonesian surfers an opportunity to develop themselves, the sport and lifestyle of surfing, and an opportunity to shine on the world stage.” His speech was followed by a few words from ISC CEO and pro surfer Tipi Jabrik, who expressed his appreciation saying, “Thank you to CCBI for their support of the ISC and for surfing in Indonesia. Partnering with Coca-Cola opens a lot of doors for us, and with their help and media connections we can create more visibility to what we are doing here in Indonesia. Their community involvement in beach clean up, reef preservation, and other social programs means a better future for Bali and Indonesia. Finally, my heartfelt thanks to our loyal event sponsors Billabong, Oakley, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, and Rusty for making our tour grow each year and become such a big success, and to Baliwista (Bali’s Lifesaving Dept) for helping out at every event!” Mr. Ngurah Darma, the head of Bali’s Tourism Department, was next to take the microphone, informing the audience of how grateful he is for CCBI’s support of Bali and surfing, and how proud he is of the ISC’s success. He went on to say that his tourist department fully supports surfing and want to become more involved in the future. He was then presented with his very own surfboard by Tipi Jabrik and Yerki Basuki (GM of Operations, Bali), courtesy of the Coca-Cola ISC tour. Another surfboard was given to lucky Misa Tai from Surf Edge Magazine, the winner for doing the best impersonation of a Coca-Cola TV advertisement, and finally a glorious sunset capped off the event, while Bali lifeguard, surfer and musician extraordinaire Marcello, played the guitar and sang to a darkening sky. The ISC would like to express their appreciation to Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia, the Hard Rock Café Bali, Baliwista, the Bali Tourism Department, Billabong, Oakley, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, Rusty, GUS, SurfTime, Magic Wave, Hello Bali, Bali and Beyond, and the other media in attendance for their support.
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 April 2009 17:10 |
