The event will take place in mid-October of 2015, from the 12th to the 19th. The water will be class III and IV, and the races will be considerably more difficult in every way – bigger rapids, longer sections of river, and a lot more elite-level riverboarders from nearly twice as many countries!

All the details will be posted in the coming days, but the dates are solidified for the 12th-19th of October. Athletes must plan to arrive no later than the 12th if competing.

We will be redoing the website as well, so for the most up-to-date information and info out of Guate, please join the RWC on facebook.

Stay tuned for more soon!

While riverboarding (known as hydrospeed in Europe) has been in existence for 3 decades, the sport has only seen a modern resurgence thanks to technology and global inter-connectivity, and it has been driven in large part during the past decade by the two entities who are organizing this World Championship, Face Level Industries and the Indonesian Riverboarding Association.

Indonesia was chosen also because it is a perfect fit for an international event, with it’s warm climate, friendly people, and exotic appeal as a tourism destination to international athletes.

Says Face Level’s Josh Galt, “I have been talking with riverboarders around the world about international competition for many years, but it took a visit to Indonesia to set the wheels in motion to finally make it happen – and the response from athletes around the world has been fantastic.”

Some 42 athletes are scheduled to be in Indonesia representing 10 different countries, including France, the USA, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Indonesia. Categories will include Men and Women, along with a Juniors category for young Indonesian athletes.

The Riverboarding World Championship will feature competition in 4 distinct riverboarding disciplines, including Slalom, Boardercross, Freestyle Surfing, and Endurocross.

Two of those events – Boardercross and Endurocross – are head-to-head, full-contact races, while Slalom follows the technical skill display of olympic kayaking slalom, and Freestyle Surfing borrows from the spins, flips, and rolls of ocean bodyboarding.

Nightly presentations by the most famous names in the sport are planned as well, to inspire the younger generation of athletes as they set out to make their mark on the riverboarding world.

The location on the Citarum river is also important as the event will seek to draw attention to the plight of the pollution in other areas of the Citarum drainage, and the environmental and social benefits that come with improved river stewardship.

Headline sponsors for the event include Indonesia Power, Eiger Adventure, Cita Citarum, BBWS Citarum, and the Ministry of Youth & Sports, among many other regional and international sponsors.

More information can be found at the event website, http://RiverboardingWorldChampionship.com, or by following along with the coverage provided by the event’s exclusive media partner in Indonesia, Pikiran Rakyat, who will be distributing written content along with radio and TV coverage.

Riverboarding is best described as a combination of ocean bodyboarding, swimming, and whitewater kayaking. The 2013 Riverboarding World Championship is produced by Face Level Industries and the Indonesian Riverboarding Association, two of the most well-known brands in the sport.

Contact:
Josh Galt
Email: Josh@FaceLevel.com
Phone: +1-818-239-4747

###

The location for the Riverboarding World Championship is incredibly photogenic on its own, but the more the buzz begins to build and the more riverboarders are in the water, the more fun the atmosphere becomes.

As we are working on the placement of sponsor banners, the location of the gates, multimedia shooter positions, and more, the vision for the Citarum is coming into clear view and I think you are going to be very, very impressed with the final result.

But let’s talk about a few logistical details quickly before I give an overview of the course.

1. Transportation

I’ve been in contact with most of the athletes regarding their arrival, and some of you have been concerned about how you will get from Jakarta or Bandung airport, to the Citarum. Fret not! It’s worked out.

We will have representatives to meet you at the airport at a time we confirm (I’m still working this out with you on a case-by-case basis, since many of you will be arriving with other athletes and / or waiting for other athletes, so I want it to be as efficient as possible).

They will help you get situated with the shuttle which will take you to either Bandung – where we will take you to the Valore hotel for the night ($30 for a nice standard room, if you are arriving early, which most people are) – or directly to the Citarum by private shuttle.

Eiger is helping us out with larger shuttle vans so we now have a variety of methods to transport you and your gear. By the end of this week all should be confirmed with each of your for your schedule and shuttle.

2. Media coverage

We have teamed up with Pikiran Rakyat to be our exclusive media (newspaper, radio, TV) liaison for the event.

This means that in addition to the media we will be producing for the RWC website and social media, the event will be covered thoroughly in Indonesian national media.

So bring your best sound bytes and be ready to represent your country and the sport of riverboarding!

We will also be conducting an opening press conference which is being coordinated with Eiger for November 3rd.

It is really cool to see the doors open for this event and to see people excited about riverboarding and an event of this caliber, and I think for riverboarders from around the world who are used to a different scene, you are going to really enjoy everything about how this event is presented. It is a huge event for our sport, and hopefully the beginning of great things.

3. Lodging

Our lodging options have changed a few times in recent weeks and I apologize for the lack of clear communication on this – I have not had a confirmed solution to share with you, so rather than give misinformation, I have waited to say anything.

While discussions and planning has been ongoing for a year, Indonesia is (for me) a lot like Costa Rica, in the sense of how laid-back everyone is. So it is now, as we come down to the wire, that things are really getting finalized.

So a few things have changed, and this is what we have for a solution:

Indonesia Power Houses – we have been given permission to use 2 of the Indonesia Power houses located about 10 minutes away from the Citarum (by driving – too far to walk). We will provide shuttle in the morning and evening for athletes who are staying here. These houses have multiple rooms with multiple beds, a kitchen, really nice bathrooms, and even AC!

However, they will only accommodate about 10-12 people in each one, and for sleeping that means that some people will be sleeping on extra mattresses that we bring in, and the housing space will be shared.

So, for those of you who were wanting private rooms – this is the only bad news that I have regarding logistics / the event / etc, and that is that there is not going to be private “hotel style” rooms. There are no hotels within 2 hours of the Citarum either, unfortunately.

But the Indonesia Power Houses are very nice, in a quiet location on their office grounds, and should be comfortable for those of you who were wanting that level of comfort at night.

Event site military tents – Along with the Indonesia Power Houses we will have large military-style tents set up at the event center next to the river, with folding cots. For those who planned to camp, this will be camping in style, as you will certainly not be sleeping in the dirt!

The event center will be our central point for meals, medal ceremonies, and evening presentations / discussions as well, so I encourage you to consider staying here if you are willing to be flexible, as we may not have enough room at the Indonesia Power Houses for everyone who wanted to sleep in a bed.

We had other options which ended up not panning out because of security concerns, but I will admit that I had underestimated how many athletes would opt to sleep in a bed. I have never attended any whitewater event where athletes did anything other than camping, so if you have complaints, please voice them to me and I will do what I can to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.

I apologize on this issue as we should have only offered camping and then over-delivered with a few rooms in the Power Housing, instead of doing the opposite. However, one of the trademarks of a whitewater athlete is adaptability, so I hope that you will be able to flow with us on this issue.

At the same time, I understand if you had your heart set on a 5-star sleeping experience, so we’ll do what we can to give you as close to that as we can.

So there may be some negotiating and auction-style bidding for the approximately 24 spaces we have at the Power Houses. If you are willing to stay at the event site in large military-style tents with sleeping cots, please let me know as right now we have about 30 people signed up to stay at an “indoor” facility, and only realistically space for about 24.

We will be providing the hotel rooms (for athletes) on the night of the 10th after the closing ceremony as well, and that is a nice hotel with a gym, pool, spa, etc.

4. Guest registration

All guests who will be staying and eating during the week need to register on the morning of November 6th during athlete check-in, and pay $150 for lodging / food. Guests who are not registered will be able to attend the event as spectators (for example, you have a friend who will come for only 1 day), and if they wish to eat at mealtimes they will simply need to pay for the meal, which will be Rph. 50,000 ($5 USD).

5. The racecourse

This is the best part, the river! I think you will find it friendly water and simultaneously challenging for racing, which for this year was the balance we wanted.

In the future, perhaps we’ll up the “extreme” level of the racecourse, but that remains to be seen based on your feedback and the group discussions that we’ll have about the future of the sport. I have taken flak over the years for promoting the extreme side too much, so the goal of this event was challenging for the top athletes, but fun for all levels, and I think we got that.

For this year, the river is fun class III with numerous challenging moves which over the length of this section, will leave you totally exhausted. That’s a good racecourse.

We are working on a video and map of the course, and the gates will be hung before you arrive. This is not a secret course by any means, and I want you to be able to practice (you’ll need it to make a few of the moves!). However, the water level is only guaranteed to be at the proper level starting on the 6th, so keep that in mind if you arrive early to practice the 4th or 5th.

Catching air while crossing through the waves to make the eddy at UPstream gate 10

The course is as follows:
Start from the river right by jumping from a platform approximately 1 meter above the water, into fast moving current. You will immediately be crossing the width of the river, which means you will start most likely aimed upstream, ferrying across to the river left side and gate 1, an UPstream gate in an easy eddy.

From there you will peel back into the current swimming hard to reach gate 2 (DOWNstream), continuing to cross the flow from left to right between small boulders to gate 3 (DOWNstream).

Immediately after reaching gate 3 you will need to change direction and swim all the way back to river left for possibly the most challenging eddy on the course, gate 4 (UPstream). This eddy is only about 1 meter wide, although it is about 5 meters long. There’s a good chance you will get pushed up against the rocks in catching this eddy, but once in it, it’s fairly quick to get back upstream to the gate and immediately back into the current. It’s catching the eddy in the first place that is the hard part.

While in the fast-moving current you will have two quick gates, 5 and 6 (both DOWNstream) before needing to make a quick exit from the main flow to catch the eddy behind a large boulder on river left for gate 7 (UPstream).

Working back into the current after UPstream gate 7 (behind the big boulder just to his river left)

From there you’ll work back out into the main flow (pictured above) which at this point is building in speed and wave size, making it difficult to see the next eddy and requiring a lot of effort to get gates 8 and 9 (DOWNstream) and stay on course for the big eddy at gate 10 (UPstream). This eddy is huge and will be the longest upstream swim, maybe 4 or 5 seconds from entering the eddy to exiting after getting the gate.

Navigating a downstream portion of the course

Upon re-entering the current you will swim through a handful of larger waves moving in different directions, while lining up for the trickiest move on the course, gate 11 (DOWNstream) which drops you off the left shoulder of a pourover into the backwash eddy, where you will need to cross from left to right behind the pourover in order to get gate 12 (UPstream) and re-enter the main flow.

That will take you 10m downstream to gate 13 (DOWNstream) which will drop you into the biggest hole on the course, a hole that likes to throw riverboarders around upon exit. And as you exit, you’ll need to keep your bearings because it’s a hard sprint to the finish line of about 30 meters, crossing the current from left to right in order to reach the finish-line gate.

Crossing back toward the finish (the gates in the picture will not be there, but are hanging approximately at the finish)

Sound exciting? Challenging? It is both! My goal was to create the best possible course with the features and water that we have to work with, and I believe this will accomplish that goal. Technical slalom purists may complain that it is not technical enough, while athletes who are not used to a lot of slalom may find the course very difficult.

But the goal was to make it realistic, to test the technical skills of riverboarders in areas that are tested with normal river-running. Cross-current ferries, small, difficult eddies, punching holes, and using pourover eddies to change your line, are all a huge part of the sport.

Punching through meter-high waves while keeping lined up for the next move

So from a competition perspective, the course is meant to require challenging moves in a way that levels the playing field. It is not overly technical nor extreme, but it will mean the most efficient and strongest racers likely come out on top. Which, in the sense of “fairness”, is the most fair racecourse we could have.

It doesn’t cater to any one style of board or fins, it will simply be up to the strength and speed of the athlete in the river. Keep in mind also this is the course and level for Slalom and Boardercross, but Freestyle will have its own level ideal for the wave, and Endurocross will be a high-water run with several km of big and fast waves. More on both of those events later.

The kids from Citarum having fun watching the crazy riverboarders

There is so much more happening and I will post a few more updates this week – just know that this will be the biggest riverboarding event ever and many of the most experienced and winningest athletes from the past 20+ years will be in attendance.

It’s going to be an incredible week for the sport of riverboarding.

A special word of thanks also to the large team of volunteers here in Indonesia who are helping to put this together. This is a massive team effort and I am extremely grateful for each and every one of these people, as well as the sponsors who have stepped up and are helping out in big ways. I appreciate everything you are each doing. Terima kasih!

~ Josh

He has played a big role behind the scenes in the planning and organizing of the event, and along with being a member of our internet broadcast team, he is also heading up the nightly presentations and discussion forums.

These hour-long nightly sessions are going to provide a powerful meeting-of-the-minds with riverboarders from all over the world gathering to discuss topics relevant to boarders and to the positive (and meaningful!) growth of the sport.

In preparation for the event just a few short weeks away, we asked him to say hello to everyone, and he provided this great video greeting. Salam Sejajar!

WATER LEVELS

1. Indonesia Power and the governing bodies which control the dam releases have graciously agreed to work with us on obtaining the perfect water level. This is a HUGE blessing and the biggest concern I had about the entire event, and also one of the reasons we chose the Citarum since it is dam released.

After getting their approval yesterday at their October meeting, we’ll be observing the water levels today to get a visual on different release levels and to test the channels in order to select the ideal level for slalom, boardercross, and surfing. More on this soon, but this is a key item in our planning and we have their full support, so I am thrilled about it.

I’ve seen the river at 3 different levels already, but this will give me a chance to get in the water and really get a feel for what will be the most exciting and challenging course.

CLOSING CEREMONY & HOTEL ROOMS

2. The closing ceremony will be a semi-formal, dress-to-impress event, so bring one nice change of clothes! We have received sponsorship from a gorgeous hotel facility close to Bandung and will be having the final awards ceremony, event recap, and celebration dinner at the hotel.

They have also agreed to an amazing deal for rooms before the event and after at only $30 USD. The hotel has a pool and a nice gym as well, for those of you who arrive and spend a night in Bandung and want to stretch out after a long flight. More details soon but this will allow for a grand and memorable celebration to close the event.

For those of you who will want to go party afterwards, it’s only about 7 minutes to Bandung from the hotel.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE – OCTOBER 18th

3. DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION – because of needing to order merchandise, race bibs, and book hotel rooms, the deadline for registration is going to be next Friday, October 18th. I know there are a number of you who plan to come who have not registered, so please do as soon as you can!

If the payment is an issue right now, please register by filling out the form and clicking Continue, and then just email me about payment and we’ll accept it up to November 6th. We’ll receive the form when you click continue, even without payment.

Currently we are at around 53 competitors once we get all the Indonesian and Malaysian athletes registered and posted, and many of them are current or former Champions from France, the USA, and Indonesia! This will definitely be an exciting and competitive event.

Much more to come as we’re in the midst of a flurry of activity, but thanks to the work of so many people on the ground here in Indonesia this is shaping up to be the Riverboarding World Championship that we’ve talked about wistfully for years.

We are learning to be adaptable in this process, as many things change and need to be adjusted, but riverboarders are used to that. I am confident that this will be an event we’ll be proud to have produced and that you will enjoy and look back on fondly. Hopefully we can exceed expectations.

Thanks for your participation, and remember, if you’re coming and have not registered, the deadline is next Friday, October 18th!

~ Josh Galt

How’d I do it?

Well, it’s a simple concept that is easier said than done, but if you can pull it off you’ll arrive in pretty good shape after getting 1 good night’s rest here in Indo.

The method is this:

When you get on the plane – and one day earlier, if possible – immediately begin to act as though you are on Indonesia time.

It doesn’t matter if it’s 10AM where you are when your flight leaves, if it’s 10PM in Jakarta, that means it’s time to sleep. So sleep. By the same reasoning, if your flight leaves at midnight but it’s 2PM in Jakarta, well, don’t sleep. Stay awake for at least 8 hours and then sleep.

Your success with this method will vary of course depending on how easily you can sleep on flights, how many connections you have to make etc. But give it a shot.

And one more thing – do NOT use sleeping pills because they tend to have an adverse affect on the natural body clock for long after you wake up.

We’re one month away! The team here in Indo met all day yesterday and we have a very full schedule this coming week, so I will be posting short, regular updates in the days to come as we get closer to the event.

Remember, registration is open and if you have any questions or suggestions please email me directly.

~ Josh Galt

Today is exactly 2 months until the official start of the first ever Riverboarding World Championship, and after more than a year of thought and planning, that is both very exciting and very nerve-wracking!

As I stand here writing this (yes, I stand up when I’m on the computer – it’s healthier!) it’s a cloudy, rainy day in Costa Rica. Blah.

Sunset over the Citarum

But I am feeling motivated because the memories of the sun setting over the rice paddies on the banks of the Citarum River are clear in my mind, calling me back.

I’m heading up and over the north pole very shortly and I can’t wait to get back to Indonesia to finish up the final preparations for the event.

There’s so much to be done, but the closer we get the more I am hearing from each of you who are coming, and it excites me and inspires me more than maybe anything I’ve done in the riverboarding world to date.

This is going to be a gathering of the best riverboarders and hydrospeeders on the planet, from the youngest up-and-coming stars to the most seasoned veterans who’ve traveled the world and boarded epic whitewater, including some people who were there in the very beginning of the sport’s existence!

We’re going to have expedition leaders, product designers and manufacturers, innovative riders, a handful of riverboarding / hydrospeed “hall of famers” and more than a few larger-than-life personalities. (Any guesses who they are?) I’m sure we’ll find a few more too!

Maybe most exciting, we’re going to have a chance to swap ideas about riding styles, boards and gear, and what can be done to ensure a strong foundation for the future of the sport as we move forward.

I’m coming up on 20 years of history (!!!) with “whitewater at face level” and it’s hard to believe that A) nearly 2 decades have gone by so fast and B) we’ve never had an international event like this before!

Thank technology – including the often-evil twins Google and Facebook – and thank the riverboarders in Indonesia, whose passion and love for the river and the sport of riverboarding persuaded me that this event needed to happen, and now.

So along with them and others who have been helping out, I jumped in.

And now, to hear the excitement and travel plans of so many riverboarders and hydrospeeders from all around the world, I’m more stoked about this than I believed I could be.

The pressure is definitely on now for those of us who are organizing the event to push through these final couple of months and ensure that you have the riverboarding experience of your lifetime (thus far!). I am confident that will be the case.

A FEW MINOR DETAILS…

and then a lot of great information from the guys at the Indonesian Riverboarding Association about hotels, lodging, and activities:

1. We are going to have a $10,000 USD purse prize for the event winners, along with individual event awards and prizes. So for the ultra-competitive among us, keep training hard because it will pay off in more ways than one.

2. The event page on facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/events/521531144557063/ )has been the de-facto online “home” for the Riverboarding World Championship, and will continue to be a central source of information. It seems that we all share the common ground of facebook, and my thinking has been if it’s not broke don’t fix it. However…

3. In order to more easily reach the casual observer (media, sponsors, friends & family back home) as we get closer to the event and especially DURING the event, we are moving the event website to https://riverboardingworldchampionship.com . That will be the world’s portal to information on the athletes competing, the event schedule, the event results, and the awesome daily video broadcasts that we have planned.

4. Registration will be online shortly, my apologies that it is not up yet but don’t worry! You are going to be able to come and compete, nobody is secretly cutting in line and getting registered ahead of you. We will likely have slightly separate registration for native French-speakers and athletes in Indonesia / Malaysia, with most everyone else being able to register online. If for some reason that is not a possibility from wherever you are, there will be an option for you to contact us directly and we’ll get it taken care of.

5. Did I mention I am really excited about this event? If you’re still undecided about whether or not to come, just book your ticket to Jakarta already!

If you love riverboarding / hydrospeed, this is an event that you will want to look back on someday and say you were a part of.

ANSWERS TO TRAVEL & LODGING QUESTIONS

Huge thanks to Randi, Rahim, and the other volunteers working behind the scenes in Indonesia to put these logistics together.

LODGING (SLEEPING) OPTIONS

Accommodation DURING the event: You can camp at the event site next to the river for free (included in registration cost, as is your food November 6th – 10th). Please bring your own tent / camping gear.

For those who are bringing guests and want a more comfortable sleeping arrangement, indoor accommodation at the Indonesia Power Company housing, and the military barracks of Pussenif (Pussenif = Pusat Kesenjataan Infanteri) can be used for an additional $20 or $30 dollars (for the 6th through the 10th).

In the event that this proves to be insufficient, we are also negotiating with some hotels who are invited to be sponsors to provide special discounts to all participants who took part in this event. This will be especially helpful for people needing comfortable lodging before and after the event.

List of hotels in Bandung (rate of hotel from $30 – $120 USD):

1. http://www.booking.com/city/id/bandung.id.html?aid=331508;label=bandung-kr9iFl89Brp65BpstAaYXAS19367831353:pl:ta:p1175:p2260,000:ac:ap1t2:neg;ws=&gclid=CI2D7bnlzbgCFZGH4god_WYAUQ

2. http://puri-sawo-manila.blogspot.com/2012/08/daftar-hotel-bintang-2-3-4-di-pasteur.html

If you want to stay in Bandung before or after the event: we can help you get a clean hotel with a rate from $30 – $80 USD or we will help you to find some rental houses at rate of $150 (4-6 persons), $250 (10-20 persons) close to downtown Bandung. (Bandung is famous for culinary and shopping.)

JAKARTA TO BANDUNG TRANSPORTATION

The Riverboarding World Championship will cover transportation from Jakarta to Bandung with one liason officer in Jakarta. Arrival in Jakarta should be confirmed BEFORE the date of 5 November 2013. You will be asked for your travel plans during registration, so if you do not have them yet, we will follow up with you in October to confirm.

For group participants (20+ people) transportation will be provided directly to the location with the bus. But for individual participants who arrive in Bandung either using a public shuttle from the airport or other means, the Riverboarding World Championship will provide a minivan ride to the base camp location on the Citarum River.

TRAVEL AFTER THE EVENT

HOW TO GO TO BOROBUDUR OR BALI
Tickets and the scheduled departure from Bandung to Bali or Bandung to Yogyakarta you can find here:

http://www.utiket.com/id/tiket-pesawat/bandung-bdo-denpasar_bali-dps.html

1. (Air Asia Airline)
Bandung-Denpasar Bali 7:30 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) – 17.00 (every day) —-> Go to Bali

2. (Merpati Airline)
BDG-Surabaya – Denpasar Bali 6:05 (Every day) —-> Go to Bali
Bandung -Yogya 13:50 (every day) —-> Go to Borobudur Temple

THE BEST DIVING SPOTS IN INDONESIA

http://diving-indonesia.net
http://divezone.net/diving/bali

Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia

GEAR STORAGE WHEN TRAVELING TO OTHER AREAS AFTER THE EVENT

There is a luggage locker facility in the the Jakarta Airport (Cengkareng-Soekarno Hatta) which is located in the following locations:
1.Terminal 2D, Gate 1 – Internasional Arrival area.
2.Terminal 1A – Domestic Arrival area.
3.Terminal 1B – Domestik Arrival area.

These facilities open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.

The luggage keeping fees schedules are:
1.Small luggage ( 0 -10kg) : Rp 25.000
2.Medium luggage (11 – 20kg) : Rp 35.000
3.Big luggage (21-30kg) : Rp 45.000
4.Extra bug luggage 31 – 50kg) : Rp 55.000

If you hold a Garuda Airlines airfare, you might entitle for a free luggage keeping service. You will need to confirm with the Garuda airlines.
here the link: http://www.fesindo.com/enter/lb1.php

Or, you can rent one room from a friend of the event organizers in Bandung if you prefer, the rent is about $70/month.

PLANNING A POST-EVENT TRIP?

Please share your plans on the facebook Riverboarding World Championship 2013 event page (if you want to invite other people)!

Current options being discussed are:
+ Visit New Zealand (Huw Miles will be leading a Riverboarding / Hydrospeed Guide Certification workshop)
+ Also in New Zealand the 2 weeks after our event is the Rafting World Championships, on the Kaituna
+ Visit Bali
+ Visit Borobudur Temple
+ Go bodyrafting in the beautiful Green Canyon
+ Swim other rivers in Java, from class III and up including the mystical Pekalen
+ A potentially more extreme riverboarding mission the 11th – 13th (possibly the Asahan)
+ Other destinations in Asia or Australia are easily within reach on a fairly short flight, and Air Asia is a great airline with very affordable rates

Still have questions?

Send me an email and I’ll get you the answer as quickly as I can.

Once again, thanks for sharing your joy and love for the river with me – I’m looking forward to meeting so many new whitewater friends and once again seeing those of you that I’ve had the privilege to hit the river with already.

Updates will be much more regular now as we’re in the final stretch here, but for the most part questions have been regarding lodging and travel before / after the event. So updates will be more about the details of the event itself and our presentation of it.

Nothing has changed regarding the event format itself however.

Here’s the schedule in case you have not yet seen it:

MONDAY (November 4th) THROUGH WEDNESDAY (November 6th) – Practice days (if you arrive earlier, you can hit the river on your own – but most people will be arriving over the weekend)
WEDNESDAY NIGHT – Opening Ceremony
THURSDAY (7th) – Slalom
FRIDAY (8th) – Boardercross
SATURDAY (9th) – Freestyle Surfing
SUNDAY (10th) – Endurocross and potentially a relay if there’s enough interest
SUNDAY AFTERNOON – Closing Ceremony

More details will be posted regarding nightly entertainment, awards ceremonies, the point system, etc as we get closer to the event.

Only 2 months away! The first ever Riverboarding World Championship. Indonesia, here we come!

~ Josh Galt

Citarum River, Java Indonesia

NEW RIVER LOCATION – CITARUM, WEST JAVA

After much deliberation, we decided to move the location of the  from the previously reported Serayu to the Citarum River in West Java, just a short trip from Jakarta and an hour and a half from Bandung.

The reason is primarily the water – while the Serayu is likely to have good flow, it’s also rain dependent, which means there’s a possibility it wouldn’t. It probably would. But…who knows?

The Citarum, however, is dam controlled a ways upstream and after meeting with Indonesia Power they have graciously agreed to give us the water levels that we need during the riverboarding world championship week.

While the facilities on the other river were very nice I just am not willing to take the risk of not having the ideal flow for this event.

The Citarum river though is such a beautiful setting, along with being great water for this type of riverboarding competition, and I am very happy with the change and confident that this will be the best location for the first riverboarding world championship.

The Citarum River, site of the 2013 Riverboarding World Championship

The Citarum is a quite wide river and the section we’ll be using is mostly big wave class III, however I intend to make sure the course (slalom gates) is set at a class V challenge level. Going with the current won’t get you down through the course, in other words.

Our section of water is also visible from start to finish (for Slalom, Boardercross, and Freestyle, and the last 400m of the Endurocross) from both sides of the river and from the start and finish lines. Which is awesome for spectators and multimedia coverage alike.

TRAVEL PLANS

If you’ve already planned your travel to Yogyakarta, don’t worry! We’ll get you transferred from there to Bandung and then to the Citarum river. Please contact me directly as soon as possible so I have an idea of what kind of transportation we need to arrange.

However, if your plans included local transportation from Jakarta to Yogyakarta but you have not purchased tickets, please don’t! Your best bet will be to take the airport shuttle from Jakarta to Bandung (it’s about $8 USD and takes 2 hours on a nice bus direct from the Jakarta airport), but we may have transportation arranged from there to the river site directly as it’s on the way. More info on that when we have transportation sorted.

So, if you are still making travel plans but have not solidified them just yet – travel to Jakarta or Bandung, both of which are very accessible from a variety of airline hubs in Asia and Australia. From there we will have transportation arranged to get you to the river.

REGISTRATION

We will have online registration opening at some point in August, and early registrations will get a discount on the cost. Additionally, because this is a non-qualifying event and open to riverboarders from all over, we have to cap the number of participants in the various categories (owing to time and resource constraints) so signing up early will ensure that you’ve got a slot!

This is going to be a really incredible riverboarding event with riverboarders coming from all over the world and I encourage you to sign up early and make your Asia travel plans right away.

If you have questions please contact me, and more details will be posted soon – stay in the know on Facebook, Twitter, or this site’s RSS feed.

I’ll be heading back to Indonesia in September for the remaining time leading up to the event as well, in order to ensure that every little detail is as amazing as it can possibly be!

~ Josh

So I wanted to get an update posted so that everyone knows where things are at with the 1st Riverboarding World Championship in Indonesia from November 6th to 10th, and the credit for putting the logistics on the ground together thus far goes to the Indonesian Riverboarding Association, who have really taken ownership of this event!

I saw the way they run events last September and I’m excited to be working with them over the next 6 months to streamline and perfect this event.

More details will be posted soon – stay in the know on Facebook, Twitter, or this site’s RSS feed.

THE 1ST RIVERBOARDING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ~ INDONESIA 2013

presented by Face Level Industries

Date: November 7th – 10th, 2013
Location: Citarum River, Central Java Province (*changed from originally reported river)
Organizer: Indonesian Riverboarding Association (IRA) and Face Level Industries
Organizing Committee Chairman: Josh Galt
Committee Advisors: Randi Roswenda, Huw Miles, Raphael Besson, Charl van Rensburg
Race Director: Rahim Asyik Budhi Santoso
Categories: Men / Women / Juniors

Events:
– Endurocross (mass-start long distance race)
– Slalom (solo timed race using gates)
– Boardercross (head to head sprint race)
– Freestyle (surfing or downriver freestyle depending on features)

More information here.

The River:

UPDATE – The event will take place at the Citarum river an hour and a half outside of Bandung. Please see Update 2 for more information.

Serayu River is a high volume river with flows of 50 – 100m3/sec. The water level is determined naturally by rainfall, and the rapids become more challenging during rainy season from November to April.

Like rivers in any other tropical area, the water temperature is between 20 – 22 degrees Celsius and the air temperature is between 25 – 30 degrees Celsius. Athletes may or may not want to use a wetsuit, and wetsuits will be left up to the competitor’s choice.

The Serayu has both class III and IV rapids which may be IV+ during rainy season.

Official Sanctioning:
This event is presented by Face Level and the Indonesian Riverboarding Association as the first ever official Riverboarding World Championship, and race formats and freestyle judging criteria will be governed by the FLRC riverboarding / hydrospeed competition rules.

Entry Fee:
USD $100 per athlete
This fee includes transportation from and to the airport, accommodation, all meals, transport to and from the river during the event, and a trip to Borobudur Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and often included as one of the Seven Wonders of the World).

Riverboards / Hydrospeeds and other gear rules:
Details can be found on the FLRC rules page here

Transportation:
For all competitors who will arrive by plane, the event organizer will provide transport free of charge from the airport Adi Soetjipto / Jogjakarta, to the place of accommodation. Additionally, transportation will be provided to the Progo River and back, along with all other transports to the competition area.

For international competitors who fly directly to Jakarta, there are many flights from there (the Soekarno Hatta International Airport) which fly to Jogjakarta, or competitors may choose to travel from there by train.

There are also some flights to Jogjakarta from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia and Garuda Indonesia).

Travel time is 2.5 hours from Jogjakarta to Wonosobo.

Accommodation:
Organizer will provide accommodation free of charge for all competitors and participants registered during competition on the Serayu River (from the 7th to the 10th of November, 2013).

For athletes who arrive before the event, there are options for alternate accommodation and those will be posted in the coming days.

Meals:
Organizer will provide three meals per day plus a snack free of charge for all competitors and registered participants during competition and transportation, beginning with dinner on the 6th of November through breakfast on the 11th of November, 2013.

When registering, please include special food instructions, i.e. Moslem or vegetarian.

Media Coverage:
The event will be televised by Indonesian national television and Asian print media will be invited as well. It will also be covered with daily updates and live streaming by a professional media company, and we’ll have more announcement on this soon!

Sponsorship:
There are sponsorship opportunities available, please contact josh@facelevel.com for more info.

Registration:
Online registration will be available soon!

Please share this info with your friends who are interested in coming, we have had interest now from more than 12 countries, which is exciting!

~ Josh Galt

Get outside and FLI!