Bali Wind Surfing Open 2003

Pengcab (Pengurus Cabang - branch organizer) of Porlasi (Persatuan Olahraga Air -Water Sports Association) Denpasar and Yayasan Selancar Angin Bali (Bali Wind Surfing Foundation) held the Wind Surfing and Kite Surfing and also Jukung Traditional (Balinese Traditional Boat) Competition at Sanur Beach on Friday 20th June. The event was held in front of the Sanur Beach Hotel. The Indonesian Tourism Minister, I Gde Ardika, inaugurated the championship. All members of Muspida (Musyawarah Pimpinan Daerah or District Provincial Council) attended. These were the Governor, Territorial Military Commander, Head of the Provincial Police, Head of Bali Attorney and Head of the Bali Assembly. Also present were KONI also villagers from Sanur and the surrounding area. For the participants, this event is was the trial and comparison study for the preparation and participation in the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece 2004.
On the first day of the competition, Friday 20th June, according to the organizers, Oka Sulaksana and Edy Koheng, there were two types of competition - Wind Surfing and Jukung or Balinese Traditional Boat. “ The Kite Surfing competition had proceeded before with 36 participants from many countries,” said Oka Sulaksana, the Wind Surfing athlete who has won the gold medal in several national and international events.
In hot weather, the viewers were enthusiastic to watch the water-sport competition. They seemed unwilling to leave the arena before the games were over. Besides the Balinese, the tourists also delighted in watching the competition.
Forty participants entered the Wind Surfing Championship with competitions including mistral one design, race board, slalom open, long distance (marathon) and over-all. For the Wind Surfing category, the winners were I Gst. Oka Sulaksana in first place, Gede Bangli’s (Subagiasa) in second and I Gst. Artana in third. For the Jukung tradisional (Balinese Traditional Boat), thirty participants from 5 fisherman groups from the Sanur Beach area took part. The entrants were judged on the speed and the attractiveness of the jukung (boat). After sailing for about 30 minutes, I Nyoman Sudiana from the group 2 came out in first place, followed by Wayan Tingkih form group 5 in second and Nyoman Wentra from group 5 in third. (BTN/015)

Waterbom Park & Spa

Waterbom is one of Kuta’s tourist attractions, standing on 3.5 ha in Tuban, South Kuta Sub District, Badung Regency. While enjoying yourself you can also learn about different kinds of plants. “There are two interesting things here. First, you can use several water attractions, and secondly, you can also learn about the plants that exist in this area,” said Harry Tanjung, Director of Sales & Marketing at Waterbom while adding that there are at least 110 species of plants here.

Since last year’s bombing tragedy, the number of visitors has declined by up to 40%. Before the tragedy, Waterbom’s visitors were mostly foreign tourists, but since the bombing, the US-Iraq conflict and SARS issue, the park has been aiming to attract more domestic tourists. The number of domestic visitors has increased from 20% to 40%. “Now we turn our wheel and are expecting domestic visitors,” he added.
Waterbom with its 160 employees starts the school approach. Visitors who show their student card ID will be charged Rp. 30.000, cheaper than the normal ticket price of Rp. 110.000 for adults and Rp. 60.000 for children. With this entry ticket, you can make use of all the facilities for one full day (09.00-18.00).
Presently, most foreign visitors are from Asian countries such as Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, plus a few from Australia and Europe. The average age is 16-38 years old. Mostly, domestic tourists spend around 3 hours having fun in the park whereas foreigners usually spend the entire day enjoying Waterbom’s facilities. “Besides the 15 games, Waterbom also has a number of art-shops with artists. Doctors and nurses are available at the clinic, as well as an ambulance car and an insurance guarantee of $25.000 for anybody who has an accident,” said Harry Tanjung.
Waterbom Park & Spa has water slides spread over 1km with beautiful tropical forest scenery. The fifteen facilities are:
PLEASURE POOL - with pool volleyball. BOOGIE RIDE - headfirst leap down through a two –lane thriller.
JUNGLE RIDE - slide through the jungle above the trees, then splash into a pool. MACARONI TUBE, fast turns and sharp drops that take you through 360 degrees and down 17 meters through a tube.
SMASH DOWN - the biggest thrill with the fastest descent in Bali, hurtle down at a speed of up to 70 km per hour
RAFT RIVER - a perfect sensation of hurtling back to back curves and spinning wildly. RACE TRACK - one for the brave at heart, with action all the way to the finish by riding the bumps and gasp in amazement as you take to the air on this high speed thriller.
LAZY RIVER - an easy ride all the way around, following the current through the garden.
KIDDY PARK - let your kids enjoying the safe and supervised mini slide.
PUMP HOUSE SHOP & CAFÉ - the place for choosing souvenirs and enjoying the food from several café’s.
EUROBUNGY - feel the safe leap of Euro Bungy.
SPA - for the ultimate in relaxation and massage for a healthy and perfect body. (BTN/015)