4 June 2009, Bali-Indonesia:  The first event of the inaugural Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series 2009, named the Monsoon Riders, will kick off at Kalim Beach in Phuket Thailand on June 12 for three days of competition surfing with four divisions; Shortboard, Longboard, Women’s and Juniors.

Over 100 surfers from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hawaii, USA, France, the Philippines, the UK, and Japan have already registered to participate in the three day event that will start off on Friday morning the 11th of June with on-site registration and an opening ceremony before getting right into the competitive surfing.  Saturday and Sunday will be full days of competition and the event will wrap up with an awards party on Sunday night from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm at the Jungceylon Shopping Center in Patong. The evening’s agenda will include a live band, Thai dancing, dinner, the awards presentation and a fashion show.  Trophies, cash and non-cash prizes will be awarded to the top four finalists in each division.

Organized and presented by the Phuket Boardriders Club, the Monsoon Riders event at Kalim Beach is the first of the three international surfing competitions that will be held this year in the Phuket area of Thailand.  The second event, named The King of the Jungle will be held at Kamala Beach from 14-16 August, and the third and final event will be the Island Crown at Kata Beach from 4-6 September.

Kalim Beach is located at the curve of the coastline on the northern end on Patong Beach, a beautiful strip of white sandy beach that at low tide reveals a mass of coral right off shore. The northern half of the beach is exposed to the monsoon winds, and from June to September large storms in the Indian Ocean can generate enough swell to create surfable waves up to 6 feet in height.  According to Phuket Boardriders President Chanin “Joob” Aiyarak, “Already this early in the season we’ve had some very good days of surf, and so we are very confident that over this three day period we’ll have waves that will give the competitors in all divisions great conditions in which to compete.”

The Quilksilver Thailand Surf Series is the first Asian Surfing Championship tour event to be held in South East Asia, and is the first major surfing event in Thailand to be presented by a large international surfing brand.  Quiksilver SE Asia CEO Paul Hutson was delighted to be selected as the presenting sponsor and instantly committed to a three-year deal.  “From our point of view there is great potential here, so we’d like to assist in both the development of surfing in Thailand and to promote issues that are important to us as a company, namely keeping the beaches and water in pristine condition so we as surfers can enjoy them for years to come.”

Attending the event is ex pro surfer Jake Paterson, Quiksilver’s Sports Marketing Manager based in Bali.  He will be joined by Quiksilver Pro Surfer and Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour (ISC) CEO Tipi Jabrik, founder of the Asian Championship Tour, along with ISC/ASC Media Director Tim Hain.  Together they will assist the Phuket Boardriders Club in running the event according to ASC contest guidelines.

The Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series is hosted and supported by the following:  Quiksilver SEA, Phuket Provincial Office, Thailand Tourism and Sport Department, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Patong Municipality, Kamala OBT, and the Karon Municipality, with media Sponsors Phuket Gazette, PG TV, Blue Wave 90.5FM, B95FM, Phuket Bulletin, MTV, and the Phuket Neo Photo Club, as well as Jim Beam, Nok Air, Coca-Cola, Kingfisher, the Jungceylon Shopping Center, and the Patong Paragon Hotel.

For more information about the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series and how to register for each event, please see www.thaisurfseries.com

About the Phuket Boardriders Club

The Phuket Boardriders Club is a non-profit organization formed in 2002 to strengthen local surfing talent and create camaraderie and friendship between local and visiting surfers. The management of the club consists of Thai office bearers and local expatriate volunteers, and over the past 7 surf seasons the Boardriders have held numerous surf contests in Phuket including the Kalim Surfing Contest, The Kamala Surfing Contest, and the Kata/Karon surfing competition (also known as The Phuket Surfing Contest).  For more information, see www.phuketboardriders.com.

Media Contact Thailand:

Chanin “Joob” Aiyarak

Email:  joob@phuketboardriders.com

Media Contact – ASC

Tim Hain

Email:  tim@isctour.com

Map of Phuket

Map of Kalim beach

Kalim line up

Kalim wave

Friday 12 June 2009

0700-0800 Registration
0800-0900 Opening Ceremony
0900-1130 Shortboard 1st round (heat 1-10)
1130-1230 Break
1230-1430 Longboard 1st round (heat 1-8)
1430-1700 Shortboard 1st round (heat 11-20)

Saturday 13 June 2009

0900-1130 Shortboard 2nd round (heat 1-10)
1130-1230 Groms 1st round (heat 1-4)
1230-1330 Break
1330-1430 Women 1st round (heat 1-4)
1430-1630 Shortboard 3rd round (heat 1-8)

Sunday 14 June 2009
0900-1000 Shortboard quarter-final (heat 1-4)
1000-1100 Longboard quarter-final (heat 1-4)
1100-1200 Break
1200-1240 Shortboard semi-final (heat 1-2)
1240-1320 Women semi-final (heat 1-2)
1320-1400 Grom semi-final (heat 1-2)
1400-1440 Longboard semi final (heat 1-2)
1440-1540 Break
1540-1600 Women Final
1600-1620 Grom Final
1620-1640 Longboard Final
1640-1700 Shortboard Final

1900-2300 Award Party

Note: Schedule is approximate and may change with surf and weather conditions.