8 world-ranked surfers compete at Hikkaduwa

Some of the world’s top surfers will take part in a Japanese surfing championship that returns to Sri Lanka this month after a five-year break following the end of the war.

The Japan Pro Surfing Association’s annual competition will be held from 19th to the 23rd of this month at Hikkaduwa, on the south-west coast.

The Association’s Pro Surf 2010 is being jointly organised by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and Sri Lankan Airlines. Sri Lanka Airlines said that the island is the only country outside Japan where the Japan Pro Surfing Association’s ranking events are held. Sri Lanka attracts more than 800 Japanese surfers annually, both to Hikkaduwa and to Arugam Bay on the southeast coast.

The Sri Lanka Airlines’ statement said the return of Japanese Pro Surf to the resort of Hikkaduwa after a five-year absence is a major milestone for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which has been enjoying an extraordinary period of growth over the last nine months.

This year’s surf competition will see eight world ranked surfers among the contestants battling it out for the three-million-rupee prize money.