The battle of supremacy as begun with the growing surf scene in India. Surfers from the west coast and east coast are toughening out and it seems east coast surfers are far more dominant and way ahead.

The battle of supremacy as begun with the growing surf scene in India. Surfers from the west coast and east coast are toughening out and it seems east coast surfers are far more dominant and way ahead.

Not long ago, surfers from across the coasts were pretty much on par and the competitive spirit was less or didn’t exist at all.
Besides, skills possessed by surfers weren’t any noteworthy, until surf contests happened which changed the surfing scenario altogether.

Earlier, I used to wonder If I would ever see Indians achieving that level of competitive surfing in a short period of time. But in a couple of official events organized by the Surfing Federation of India in the last 6 months, we have seen some scintillating surfing skills put on display by under 16 grooms to seasoned senior surfers who have dramatically upped their game. Woah! It’s amazing what contests can do.

I am excited to be part of a growing movement that is revolutionizing the beach culture, water sports, and adventure tourism in a country that has 7,200 km of coastline and 1.2 billion people.

If you are beginning to wonder, what does the future hold for surfers and surfing scene in India? I would say it’s bright! It’s the most promising water sport activity and the surf culture seems to have spread throughout the coastline of India and is popping up on the mainstream news feed quite often.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala have the country’s best surf spots. Surfers are coming from all walks of life, which is a good sign. The fisherman community has embraced the sport more than anyone and our country’s best surfers today.

Amidst all these, the Surfing Federation of India is playing a huge role in the development of the sport by bringing in contests, workshops, roping in many icons as ambassadors to promote the sport with a clear vision to put India on the global surf map. The dream is to have a national surf team representing India in various international surf contests and possibly reach the same level as the U.S, Australia, and Brazil one day.

All this is a long dream, but the process as begun with all the key ingredients in place, a great deal of enthusiasm, dedicated people who are willing to make this dream come true. What we need is encouragement, brotherhood, and harmony among surfers, surf schools, and clubs, without forgetting the vital part of good financial support from the governments and corporates.

Let’s all hope that India produces a Kelly Slater of its own in our lifetime!

 

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