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Lake Toba holds Toba Kayak Marathon (ITKM) 2017
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A man rowing in the vast Lake Toba, listed as a Special Economic Zone (KEK) and a priority destination. (Shutterstock/File)
Lake Toba hosted Toba Kayak Marathon (ITKM) 2017 on Nov. 25 that managed to attract 100 participants.
The starting point of the race was at Bulbul Beach, Balige. The winner of the competition was Valcay Karbrhel of the Czech Republic who finished in two hours, three minutes and 42 seconds. In the Kayak K2 category, the winners were Mohd. Azlan Ibrahim and Tuan Moh. Hidzham bin Dolagh from Malaysia who finished the race in two hours, four minutes and three seconds, meanwhile in the traditional canoe category the winner was Riko A Tambunan who finished in two hours, 49 minutes and 51 seconds.
The committee’s head Carles Simson Panjaitan said that sports tourism at Lake Toba is suitable for the European market. Here, people can do water sports all year long, something that Europeans can't do due to the continent's four seasons.
“We are considering to partner with federations such as the Czech Republic to open a winter camp in Lake Toba. There are plenty of competitions held after winter in Europe and generally, participants can’t train during winter because the lakes turn into ice,” told Carles.
The Tobasa culture and tourism department head Ultri Simangunsong added that Lake Toba really needs the support of the locals as they should also welcome visitors by keeping these traditional five principles in mind: Paias Rohamu, Paias Badanmu, Paias Bajumu, Paias Jabumu, dan Paias Halamanmu (Clean the heart, body, clothes, look, house and yard). (asw)
