Mangaluru: Mantra Surf Club in association with Kanara Surfing and Water Sports Promotion Council is getting organised to host National Surfing Championship from May 27 to 29 at Sasihitlu Beach, Mangaluru. Preparations are in full swing for the inaugural “All Cargo Indian Open of Surfing” The event is being organised by Mantra Surf Club in association with Kanara Surfing & Water Sports Promotion Council.

All Cargo Indian Open of Surfing is presented by Karnataka Tourism, Government of Karnataka. It is recognised by International Surfing Association and Surfing Federation of India. This is the first surfing festival being organised in Karnataka during the pre-monsoon swell.

The event is going to be officiated by Steve Robertson – General Manager for World Surf League (Australasia), Tim Hain – General Manager, Asian Surfing Championships.

The idea behind the event is to promote and showcase beaches of Karnataka as popular surfing & adventure destination.

At a news conference on Friday, Kishore Kumar President Mantra Surf Club announced that the national championship will be held for three day and in four categories- Under-16, Junior boys-17 to 22 yrs, Senior men- 22 to 28 yrs and Masters men for those above 28 yrs.

International surfers for men’s category will be an open event. In all Rs 6 lakhs will be prize money that will be distributed among winners.

“Overseas participants from Dubai, Maldives, Sri Lanka will also be the main attractions in the competition. International judges are going to judge the events and as many as 50 participants have registered their name through online registration till now,” and may cross 100 before the event begins on May 24.

Top surfers from around India are excited and are looking forward to compete in Karnataka for the first time ever. The forecast for the event is looking very promising with 5ft – 8ft waves hitting the coast which will be a challenge for surfers. Top seeded girls in the country, Aneesha Nayak and Sinchana Gowda from Mangaluru are going to be the favourites in the women category. Deekshith Suvarna and Kiran Kumar from Mulki are top seeded from Karnataka.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner Chandrasekhar congratulated the district administration for organizing this event. Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim sought co-operation from all for the event.

Other highlights include various entertainment, live music, food festival and other activities during the surfing festival.