Red Bull Ride My Wave brings surfing communities and enthusiasts across the country together again

Red Bull Ride My Wave is the pinnacle of open surfing competitions in Sri Lanka with top seeded athletes taking part for the title of King or Queen of the wave. The event running for the fifth consecutive year, is now poised to take on the larger task of bringing together surfers from around the island and the world, to surf in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka, find your moves in the water and find your soul. 

The tournament also now sets its sights on becoming the springboard for young and talented surfers to be discovered and trained to take on the international stage. This professional competition is managed and judged by the Association of Surfing Professionals in Sri Lanka. 

Red Bull has been actively involved in surfing events for several years, hosting competitions on every continent around the world. Red Bull Ride My Wave was launched with the aim of fostering the sport, helping local tourism, and promoting the bond of surf culture with its own twist. It also has provided a platform for enthusiastic female surfers as the event hosts a women’s surfing competition as well. 

Indeed, Red Bull Ride My Wave has succeeded in helping create a thriving surfing culture within Sri Lanka, attracting more potential surfing enthusiasts than ever before. The ultimate objective of Red Bull Ride My Wave is to create a surfing culture in Sri Lanka. Inspire young generation to take up the sport professionally and make it a lifestyle sport to any sport enthusiasts around the island. Aligning with the local tourism initiative Red Bull Ride My Wave is the only surfing competition which allows both locals and foreigners to compete together. 

Participants are judged on their ability to perform radical controlled manoeuvres in the critical sections of a wave with speed, power, and flow. Innovative/progressive surfing as well as the combination and variety of repertoire (of major manoeuvres) were further taken into consideration when rewarding points for a surfer’s performance.

Overall, 77 participants registered for the event and the main highlight was that 26 participants are from 13 different countries (Australia, Cheque Republic, Estonia, Spain, France, The United Kingdom, Latvia, French Polynesia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, The United States, South Africa).

This year Red Bull Ride My Wave hosted 18 heats with 69 male participants. Men’s qualifying round 2 had 9 heats with 34 participants. Round 3 comprised 6 heats with 18 participants, and 12 participants were in round 4. Men’s semi-finals had 2 heats with eight participants. Sachin Tharaka, Suranga Pradeep, Tom Leray and Praneeth Sandaruwan are the four finalists and the King of the Wave 2021 is Sachin Tharaka.

It is remarkable to have the women’s surfing category see the participation of over 12 participants and also seeing our first Sri Lankan lady in the water for Red Bull Ride My Wave. “We are glad to support the community of surfers in Sri Lanka to definitely prove that Big Girls Can, and take on the sport in the true spirit of competing. This year the title Queen of the Wave 2021 was taken by Nikita Robb who has won two times consecutively in Red Bull Ride My Wave. We encourage and look forward to having more of our local ladies in the water to take on the surf in the coming years.”

Red Bull Ride My Wave brings together surfing communities and enthusiasts across the country on the Southern Coast, working to firmly establish surfing as a sport in Sri Lanka.