Indonesia is hosting the first Riverboarding World Championship with some 40 participants from 10 countries competing at the Citarum River in West Java
ndonesia is hosting the first Riverboarding World Championship with some 40 participants from 10 countries competing at the Citarum River in West Java.
'The athletes will start competing on Thursday after the opening ceremony and practice session on Wednesday,' said organizing committee chairman Rahim Asyik Budi Santoso in Bantar Carining, West Bandung Regency.
'They will compete in a section of the most polluted river in the world. We must conserve the remaining usable part of Citarum.'
The theme of the competition is 'Save The Future of Citarum'.
The participants in the competition include 2012 French Downriver Champion Adeline Hachet, 2013 French Downriver Champion Gaultier le Begue, 2013 French Slalom Champion Bob Lataste and 2013 Indonesian Riverboarding Champion Edi Buaya who hails from Probolinggo, East Java.
Other competitors from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States are also taking part.
The inaugural world championship for riverboarding, also known as hydrospeed in Europe, is organized by the Indonesian Riverboarding Association and Face Level Industries, Rahim said.
He said that the participants would compete downstream from Saguling hydropower plant.
The sport has been around for about three decades.
Face Level owner Josh Galt said he had played the sport along the Citarum River and did not suffer any skin problems afterward.
'After a safety test that was verified by Health Ministry the river was deemed safe for recreational use,' Galt said.
Citarum River and the entire island of Kalimantan have been listed among the world's 10 most polluted places along with Chernobyl in Ukraine in annual report by Green Cross Switzerland and Blacksmith Institute.
Rahim said the organizing committee had taken water samples on Oct. 26-27 and had them tested at a laboratory in Jakarta. Taken from four spots, the samples were tested for physical, chemical and microbiological properties.
'The results showed that the river is safe,' Rahim said.
He added that in addition to the police, the organizing committee also cooperated with the Marine Corps to safeguard the event.
'The Marine Corps also sent its own athletes to the event,' he said.
The Marines are from the amphibious reconnaissance battalion (Yon Taifib).
Galt said that riverboarding could be the catalyst for residents to realize the potential of the rivers around them.
'Riverboarding or hydrospeed can create tourism. They can make money, jobs for the communities and help protect the river,' he said.
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