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Over 100 Japanese surfers are riding the waves of Hikkaduwa in the Japan Professional Surfing Association (JPSA) Championships organised by SriLankan Airlines for the fourth year. This ends on Tuesday after five days of contest.

Local surfers too entered the event, which is the final tournament for the year in JPSA's calendar. This official ranking event gives the surfers a final chance to improve their standings in the UPSA rankings and they include several top professionals from last year's rankings. Total prize money on offer is Japanese Yen 1 million with the winner receiving JPY 300,000 (Rs. 270,000), first runner-up JPY 150,000 (Rs. 130,000), second runner-up JPY 70,000 (Rs. 60,000) and third runner-up JPY 50,000 (Rs. 45,000) while those placed from 5th to 20th too receive prize money.

A JPSA official said that they are happy to have this event in Sri Lanka and appreciate the co-operation from SriLankan Airlines and other sponsors. Continuing he said that Sri Lanka is known by many surfers as a good surf spot, and hope to have this event in the island in the future too and strengthen the friendly ties that already exist between Japan and Sri Lanka.

SriLankan Airlines Manager for Japan and South Korea, G. T. Jayaseelan, said that the airline have been promoting Sri Lanka to different market segments and with the launch of the JPSA event four years ago, they have broken into the Japanese surfing market too. He further said that SriLankan Airlines are promoting different places in the country for different periods and are exploring the possibilities of a Sri Lanka Cup event in Arugam Bay during the summer. Promotions Manager of SriLankan Airlines, Saminda Perera, said that the airline is increasing its participation in organising international events in Sri Lanka and already there are two surfing tournaments in Hikkaduwa and Arugam Bay, so surfers can ride the waves throughout the year. (L.G.)

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