BANYUWANGI – Tiga tahun sudah Pantai Pulau Merah tak menggelar kompetisi surfing. This beautiful beach in the south of the city of Banyuwangi last held an International Surfing Competition in 2015 then.
Reported from detik.com, This year, Red Island Beach Banyuwangi again holds the Gandrung Surf Competition 2019. Surfers from the archipelago and abroad are taking part in this event.
Gandrung Surf Competition 2019 this is followed by more than 80 participants from within and outside the country, like Australia and Japan.
In this event, the participants are divided into several categories, among others Open Classes, Under 16, Under 12, Women dan Long Board. They will compete for two days, Saturday and Sunday (6-7/72019).
The participants look like they are dancing on the water with their surfboards moving on the big waves. Many participants managed to conquer the high waves of the beach which is known to be beautiful at sunset.
They were given a few minutes, to show the jury his skill in conquering the waves. Assessment is done several times, until the surfer shows his best talent in this competition.
This event itself is held by the surrounding community or the Red Island Beach Pokmaswas.
“Ini merupakan kebangkitan masyarakat setempat untuk menggelar ajang surfing tanpa ada campur tangan EO dari daerah lain. This is purely our event,” ujar Suyitno, The head of the Gandrung Surf Competition event organizer, Saturday (6/7/2019).
“Kami ditantang oleh Bupati Anas untuk bikin acara dari kami sendiri. Without any EO from outside and it turns out we can,” he added.
Even though it's vacuum for 3 year, Suyitno continued, but the enthusiasm of surfers from the archipelago and abroad is very high. Proven, from online registration there 140 participants who register.
“Tapi yang fixed datang hari ini sekitar 80-an peserta yang datang. Tomorrow will be more,” he added.
Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas admitted that he was happy with the inaugural event held by the community around the Red Island Beach of Banyuwangi. This shows that the Banyuwangi Festival activities foster the enthusiasm of the community to package tourist destinations well.
“Terbukti event ini bisa jalan meski penduduk lokal yang mengemas. More and more domestic and foreign tourists are coming to Banyuwangi,” ujarnya saat menyapa undangan melalui aplikasi Facetime.
Red Island Beach, according to Regent Anas, is a favorite tourist destination for tourists. During Eid holidays and school holidays, This beach is the most visited place compared to other tourist destinations after Ijen Crater TWA.
“Data dari Disbudpar Banyuwangi terbanyak kunjungan di Pulau Merah, TWA Ijen Crater and other destinations," he concluded.
One of the participants from Jogjakarta's Parangtritis Beach, Oyoaki Iko, admitted that the waves on the Red Island beach in Banyuwangi are very consistent. This is what she likes the most because it will support her to look good. But the wind on this beach is very strong. This is a challenge for him to become a champion in this event.
“Anginnya kencang. But this is a challenge for me. Hope you can be a winner,” ujar Iko.
