Yudi Andika Wins 5th Annual Monsoon Mayhem Surf Challenge at Desaru, Malaysia

10 January 2011, Desaru-Malaysia:  In an intense battle against his three fellow finalists and the pounding 3-4 foot waves of a seething South China Sea, Yudi Andika from Banda Aceh, Indonesia dodged the countless tirade of waves unloading on the Desaru Beach sandbar to outscore his opponents and retain his title of Monsoon Mayhem Open Division Champion for the second consecutive year.   Andika received a trophy and 1,000 MYR (approximately $325 USD) for his win.

Andika and finalists Mamat (Malaysia), Yen (Malaysia) and Gilang (Indonesia), were challenged not so much by each other as by the conditions, with big waves and strong winds requiring superhuman efforts just to reach the outside and position themselves to catch a ridable wave.  “That was the toughest final I have ever surfed in,” said an exhausted Andika back on the beach. “I’m so very stoked I won and really I’m surprised and thankful.  It was a lot of work out there and I was just lucky to be in the right spot to catch a couple, ones that stayed up so I could make a few turns before getting hammered on the inside,” he added grinning.

Runner up Mamat, who hails from Cherating in Malaysia, was still smiling as he accepted his runner up spot.  “It was so hard to find a good wave, as I had to keep dodging those big close outs,” he explained.  “Near the end I paddled north up the beach because I thought I saw a couple lefts coming in, knowing I needed just one good wave to win, but time ran out on me.  Next year I’m coming back to win this thing!” 

The 5th Annual Monsoon Mayhem Surf Challenge, a 1-star Asian Surfing Championship sanctioned event, was held at Desaru Beach from 7-9 January and included four different divisions of surfing competition as well as the “SlideFest” skate competition. Desaru Beach is an approximate 1.5-hour drive from Singapore and a one-hour drive from Johor Bahru, and is the favored surfing destination for those living in these two cities.

Prior to the exciting Men’s Open Division Final on Sunday afternoon were the finals of Bodyboard Division, the Women’s Division, and the Masters Division.  The wave and wind conditions were a challenge for all the competitors on the final day, forcing the competitors to spend the majority of their 15-minute heats as much under the water as on top.  One competitor estimated he had to “duck dive” over 100 times during his heat, and he never even surfed a wave! 


Almost 100 competitors from countries including Hawaii, America, Canada, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia joined in the event.

The initial two days of competition presented milder conditions leading up to the final day, with sun and intermittent showers giving the weekend the complete gamut of weather options to the coastal resort area of Desaru, know for its pristine golden sand beach and mostly calm seas.  But the event certainly lived up to its moniker of Monsoon Mayhem during the final day, with strong wind and occasional rain squalls broken up by short periods of sunshine, coupled with the wild and crazy waves.  Women’s Division winner Yasnyiar “Bonne” Gea from Indonesia admitted, “If this wasn’t a contest there is no way I would have paddled out to surf.  It was my first time to surf here and the whole event was really fun, so to end up winning is just wonderful.”

The Director of Bigfoot Industries Nazir “Ajill” Salleh was very pleased with the event, saying “It certainly was Mayhem out there today in the surf, but it was great to see how the fans and spectators cheered on and supported the surfers, and everybody had a great time.  It’s not as much about perfect conditions and winning, it’s more about getting together at the beach to enjoy the sport we love.  I’m so thankful for the support of our sponsors, the government, my crew, and the ASC for making it such a success.”

Tipi Jabrik from the Asian Surfing Championships was also delighted with the results of this, the very first official Asian Surfing Championship event of 2011.  “We were excited about the opportunity to work with Bigfoot to take this event up to the next level as an ASC event.  The crew here did a great job and we look forward to many more years of exciting Monsoon Mayhem events in the future”, he said.

The ASC held a judging training seminar before the start of the event led by ISA certified Head Judge Arya Subyakto, and provided the computerized judging system used during the competition to ensure adherence to ISA judging criteria.  In addition, Tipi Jabrik acted as Contest Director and Tim Hain provided photography and media services.

The Director of Tourism of Kota Tinggi Mohammad Radif and the Director of Tourism of Johor Nizam Abdul Wahid were both in attendance at the event, and during the press conference held at the Desaru Goldan Sands Mr. Radif stated, “I would like to congratulate Mr. Salleh on the great job he has done putting this event together and taking it to the next level. We were proud to support him in his efforts and we hope for an even bigger event and more international participants next year.”

The Monsoon Mayhem 2011 was organized by Bigfoot Industries and co-organized by the Surfing Association of Singapore, hosted by the Desaru Golden Beach Hotel, supported by Kerjaan Negeri Johor, Kementerian Pelancongan Malaysia, Jabatan Pelancongan Negeri Johor, Kejora, and Tourism Malaysia.

Sponsors included Friends, Unkl347, Fatimah Mohsin the Wedding Gallery, Salty Skin, Magic Room, Fakie, Indicator Shoes, Hunting High & Low, Celticlub, Lucas and Son’s Surfboards, with media partners Goreblog and Absolute Studio, partners Skim Class Heroes, Wavehouse Sentosa, MRB, Sempol Boogie, and Satusuku Surf.


Special thanks to surfing friends Kota Tinggi Surf Crew, Johor Surf Community, KL Surf Community, Cherating Surfers Village, Kuantan Surf Community, Japanese Surf Community Singapore, Terengganu Surf Community, Singapore Surf Community, and the Phuket Boardriders Club.

Monsoon Mayhem Surf Challenge 2011 Contest Results

ASC Men’s Open Division 
1.  Yudi Andika (Indonesia) – 1,000 MYR
2.  Mamat (Malaysia) – 600 MYR
3. Yen (Malaysia) – 400 MYR
4.  Gilang (Indonesia) – 200 MYR

Women’s Division 
1.  Yasnyiar Gea “Bonne” (Indonesia) – 500 MYR
2.  Dyah Rahayu Dewi (Indonesia) – 300 MYR
3.  Brenda Lee (Malaysia) – 200 MYR
4.  Cheryl Tang (Singapore) - 100 MYR

Master’s Division
1. Toshi (Japan) – 500 MYR
2.  Decha (Thailand) – 300 MYR
3.  Taka (Japan) – 200 MYR
4.  Tom (USA) - 100 MYR































Bodyboard Division
1.  Apex (Malaysia) – 500 MYR
2.  Apai  - 300 MYR
3.  Bobee – 200 MYR
4.  Usun - 100 MYR

Skateboard “SlideFest” Results
1.  Hilmi (Singapore) - 300 MYR
2.  Flea (Singapore) - 200 MYR
3.  Ahmad (Singapore) - 100 MYR

Best Local Surfer Award = Yen from Cherating - received new surfboard from Satusuku Surf Shop

Best Upcoming Johor Local = Haikal - received 300 MYR worth of surf products from Bigfoot Industries

For more information please contact:

Nazir Salleh - Bigfoot Industries
+65 9011 6944
bfinternational@gmail.com

Tim Hain - ASC
+62 8123 606674
tim@isctour.com

Photos and text by Tim Hain - ASC

Bigfoot Industries is a privately owned Singaporean company founded in 2006.  The company focuses on promoting the future development of boardriding sports in Singapore and Malaysia, especially surfing, skateboarding, and skimboarding.  Apart from the Monsoon Mayhem, Bigfoot Industries also organizes the Skate for Unity and Skim for Unity events as well as sponsors individual athletes in surfing, skating, and skimboarding.

The Asian Surfing Championships was established in 2010 to help develop surfing throughout the South East Asian region through creation and support of local, national and regional surfing competition event.  The ASC is based in Bali Indonesia and operates in cooperation with the Indonesian Surfing Championships (ISC).

Tim Hain
Media Director- ASC Tour

CV. Selancar Indonesia
Jl. Raya Kuta No. 21
Pertokoan Kuta Raya Blok 9 Abian Base 
Kuta, Bali 80361
INDONESIA
Phone/Fax: +62 361 768293
Mobile: +62 8123606674
Email: tim@isctour.com
www.isctour.com