Billabong Indonesia’s Marketing Manager Tim Hawken was delighted with the opportunity to come on board as the presenting sponsor of the event after its inaugural success last year, stating, “Billabong is very stoked to be part of the Rote Open. The wave there at Boa is an untapped gem! We love the spirit of adventure this place offers and look forward to seeing some of the best surfers in Indo and beyond getting the chance to compete there. It's not just a surfing event, it's a cultural experience as well."
Billabong will be extending special invitations to their team of international surfers for the Rote Open 2010.
The winner of the Rote Open International Division will pocket $3,000 and the runner up $2,000. In the ISC Open Division the winner will bring home $2,750 USD and the runner up $1,275 USD as well as gain valuable ISC Championship points.
Last year’s Rote Open winner Garut Widiarta from Bali is excited to be going back to defend his title, saying in true surfer fashion, “That place is sick man… a totally cool place and so different compared to Bali. I loved the coconut trees and the really beautiful white sand beach. Very mellow and nice people there too … I had such a great time there last year. The righthander there at Boa was smoking, from glassy to windy it was always good, a long wave just like Snapper Rock in Australia. I can hardly wait to go back there for sure!”
Last year, Widiarta and fellow Bali pro Marlon Gerber battled it out in an exciting duel at the scenic reef break of Boa to the delight of hundreds of spectators on the beach, with Widiarta taking home Rp 20 million in prize money and 3,500 ISC Championship points. Widiarta ended the 2009 ISC Tour season in the number two spot in the rankings.
New this year is the addition of an International division where foreign surfers will compete against the top 16 finalists from the ISC Open Division for almost $10,000 in prize money. After observing the amazing skills of the Indonesian surfers last year, the Honorable Regent of Rote Leonard Haning has upped the ante in appreciation of the surfer’s skill and dedication, doubling the prize money of last year and adding the International division.
According to Mr. Amos Lillo from Tresna Travel, the event organizer for the Rote Open 2010, “Regent Haning was so impressed with the success of last years event that he increased the prize money budget twofold, not purely for promotional purposes but because he saw how dedicated and committed these athletes are to their surfing. He decided the best way to help was with this ‘creative economy” of rewarding them well in their job as professional surfers.”
Lillo went on to say, “Regent Haning has the vision to make Rote an attractive and inspiring tourism destination, and having international surfing events here each year is a great way show off its world class waves, beautiful beaches, clean water, and its unique culture.”
Rote Island is part of the regency of Kupang, with Kupang being also the name of the capital city of island of Timor, the southernmost island in the Indonesian archipelago. The city of Kupang is just 1.5 hours by plane from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport and there are several flights each day between the two destinations.
The island of Rote itself is approximately 1,200 square kilometers with a population of just over 100,000. The main town in Rote is named Ba’a, which is the hub for commerce and transportation on the island. Daily ferryboats to and from Kupang are the standard form of transportation for both tourists and locals alike.
A special event package has been created by Tresna Tours in order to provide optimum transportation and accommodation services for the event at $350 USD, which includes airfare/transportation to and from Bali, lodging, meals, and the entry fee for the competition. Participants will leave from Bali on the 13th of September, flying to the city of Kupang in West Timor and then traveling by boat to Rote, then returning to Bali on the 20th. Non-surfers and not-competition surfers who just want to experience Rote and its environs are also encouraged to take advantage of this special travel package.
The Rote Open 2010 will also act as a tourism promotion event, showing off not only the great waves but also the exquisite beauty of the island. During the five days of competition there will also be various local programs staged to allow the participants experience more of the culture, meet the local people, and tour several of the many scenic spots around the island.
The Rote Open 2010 presented by Billabong is sponsored/suppported by the Government of Rote Ndao, Trensa Tours, Bank NTT, Kementrian Pariwisata RI, Visit Indonesia Year 2010, TransNusa Airlines, Susi Air, Garuda Indonesia, Batavia Air, Nusantara (NAC), Bintang Flores, JayaKarta, BlueDragon, the Coca-Cola ISC Tour, Surfersvillage.com, Lines Magazine, SurfTime Magazine, Magic Wave Surf Community Newspaper, TransTV, and MetroTV.
The Rote Open 2010 is sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour.
For more information and/or to register for the event please contact:
Tresna Tours and Travel
Jl. Akasia Gg. Sokabuana No. 11
Office: 62-361-759997
Fax: 62-361-8424818
Email: info@roteopen2010.com
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