Young surfers kill it at Covelong Point Surf and Music Festival
Surfers Suhasini and Dharani dominated the waves at the 2nd edition of the festival which saw over 100 surfers from across the country and other parts of the world partake in the three-day event.
Surfers from India and and the world got together last weekend (September 12-14) to ride along the southern coast's waves at the 2nd edition of Covelong Point Surf and Music Festival near Chennai in Tamil Nadu in south India.
The three-day event saw over 8000 people in attendance, with surfers pulling off floaters and airs amidst live musical performances at Covelong Village, India's first surf village.
Ismail Miglal, a surfer from the Maldives, won in the Open category with a 9 point wave. He was also one of the best floaters of the competition. Auroville-based Suhasini Damian took the top spot in the Women's category. According to the judges, she read the waves better than other girls who were more experienced. Covelong's Dharani dominated the Juniors (17-22) category with a 6 point wave. Being a skateboarder helped his surfing. He did three snaps, a nice cutback and ended on a good floater. The Groms (under 16) category was taken over by local boy Appas Ali.
On winning the Juniors category, an excited Dharani told The Outdoor Journal, "
On Saturday I scored the highest point wave, and was so excited about it. But then on Sunday, when it started raining, at first I thought I wouldn't be able to do my best - but in spite of that, I was determined to give it my all. And then I found that I actually enjoyed myself! I feel like everyone in Tamil Nadu should learn how to surf, it's a very natural sport for us, living so close to the ocean. But you need to have determination, and keep at it."The event was hosted and promoted by logistics firm TT Logistics and independent music label EarthSync, in association with Surf Federation of India and The Times of India.
The district of Covelong belongs to a number of fishing communities. Several local-born surfers are fisherman. "They naturally understand the sea, its rhythm, they can intuitively anticipate a wave even before it breaks - that beautiful connection to the ocean, is what makes for a true surfer. We want to continue to support and nurture these talented young surfers, and empower the community with initiatives surrounding their passion for surfing," Yotam Agam, founder of the festival and co-founder of EarthSync was quoted in a press release from Earth Sync.
Winners from all surfing categories won cash awards of 15k, 10k and 5k. The competition also featured a volleyball tournament and catamaran races with cash prizes for winners.
GROMS (Under 16) - WINNERS 1st Appas Ali - Covelong Point Surf School 2nd Satish - Ummidhi Vizag Surfer 3rd Raghul.G - Covelong Point Surf School
JUNIORS (17 – 22) - WINNERS
1st DharaniS - Covelong Point Surf School
2nd Deekshith - Suvarna Mantra SurfClub
3rd Munvar Hussain - Covelong Point Surf School
SENIORS (23 – 28) - WINNERS
1st Sekar. P - Covelong Point Surf School
2nd Vignesh V - Covelong Point Surf School
3rd Kiran Kumar - M.U Mantra Surf Club
MASTERS (29 and above) - WINNERS
1st Murthy Megavan - Covelong Point Surf School
2nd Velmurugan - Pondicherry
3rd Sandeep Samuel - Cocopelli Surf School
WOMEN’S CATEGORY - WINNERS
1st Suhasini Damian - Kallialay Surf School
2nd Sinchana Gowda - Mantra Surf Club
3rd Aneesha Nayak - Mantra Surf Club
OPEN CATEGORY - WINNERS
1st Ismail Miglal - Maldives
2nd Samai Reboul - Kallialay Surf School
3rd Surya P. - Covelong Point Surf School
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