Varkala prepares for the second edition of International Surfing Festival starting on April 10

Three-day international surfing festival is India’s only global surfing competition. (REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE)

The second edition of the International Surfing Festival Kerala — Varkala organised by the Kerala Tourism Department and Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) is set to begin at Edava Beach in Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram, on April 10 after a successful outing last year, marking the coastal town as a surfing destination. This three-day surfing festival is also India’s only global surfing competition.

The carnival to be inaugurated by Kerala Tourism minister PA Mohammed Riyas is organised in collaboration with the District Tourism Promotion Council, Thiruvananthapuram, the Surfing Federation of India and the International Surfing Association.

Registrations are open across six categories — national open (men’s and women), national groms 16 & under (boys and girls) and international open (men’s and women’s). Registration is free for the groms category while it costs ₹1,000 and ₹2,000 for national and international open categories, respectively. 

“Currently, we have received around 47 registrations and we are open till we get 70 applications,” says Binu Kuriakose, CEO of KATPS. The competitions will begin at 6.30am and go on till noon. 

ALSO READ | Surf’s up!

“The festival also offers an opportunity for 50 people to receive surfing training for free from certified instructors from surfing schools affiliated with the Tourism Department,” says Binu. This can be done by following the Instagram handle of the department, @keralaadventuretourismp, and participating in the online competition for five categories such as general public, people in education fields, IT professionals, other working professionals and vloggers/content creators/photographers. 

“Varkala is an important destination for surfing in Kerala. We can train surfers representing India at international tournaments here. The students we find here with good skills can be given advanced training, preparing them for state and national level competitions,” says Binu.