Surfing recognised as a national sport and be included in National Sport Competition (PON). Is it Possible?

This time Kim talks about the government support of the development of surfing in Indonesia and back in the 70s when he was active in surfing competitions and organising surfing in Bali. Kim believes that if surfing in Indonesia is to progress it must have support from the government. In the past ex Bali governor Ida Bagus Mantra said “ Surfing is just in Bali” but now surfing is all over Indonesia because all areas have waves suitable for surfing.

Now that it is recognised that many provinces in Indonesia have waves good for surfing Kim believes that each province should have a surfing club or association that also coordinates with the tourism department to promote surfing. If every province had a surfing club it would be much easier for surfing to be recognised as a national sport which could then be included in the National Sport Competition (PON).

The government has started supporting surfing now as seen by competitions such as the Bupati Cup held at Canggu last year. The Quiksilver contest at Dompu was also supported by the Bupati as well as several other contests. As we concluded our chat Kim said “ 30 years ago there was noone surfing in Indonesia and now everyone ‘dances on the waves’, hopefully surfing can be recognised as a national sport and be included in National Sport Competition (PON)”