Surfers ride the waves at Red Bull Ride My Wave

The sixth edition of the Red Bull Ride My Wave surfing competition, featuring pro and amateur surfers from all over the world was completed recently.

With the objective of creating a platform for this sport and position Sri Lanka as a destination for surfing, the competition was held at Hikkaduwa’s main surf point, a scenic beach situated in the Southern Province of the island nation.

The main objective of the event was to give wings for local talent to springboard into the global arena.

Over 130 athletes participated at Ride My Wave competing for the popular titles of “King/Queen of the Wave.”

This year Red Bull Ride My Wave hosted 96 heats for the Men’s Title with 81 locals and foreign male participants while the qualifying round 2 had 12 heats with 45 participants. Round 3 consisted of six heats with 18 participants, and 12 participants were qualified for quarter-finals. Six surfers participated in the semifinals and four competed for the title of “King of the Wave” in the final heat.

The women’s first qualifier round had eight heats with 23 participants, while the quarter-finals comprised four heats with 16 participants and the Semifinal had two heats with 8 participants.

Four competed for the title of “Queen of the Wave”.

This year’s event had participants from over 25 countries including Austria, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, the United States of America and South Africa.

The Men’s open was clinched by Lakshitha “Lucky” Madushan who who scored 13.8 points, while Sachin Tharaka placed second with 12.4 points. Steeve Seilly was third with 10.6 points.

Nikita Rob, with 11.5 points, won the Women’s Open and the title of “Queen of the Wave” for the third consecutive year, far ahead of second placed Cameroon Heinamann, who scored 5.6 points.

Krõõt Laesson scored 4.9 points finished third.