The Gold Coast SUN newspaper
wrote:
"Duranbah to host
international event"
Surf
Challenge....organize Alex Teixeira, Dane Jordan from Surfing Australia, Alain
Ruthenberg, organizer, with competitors Kris Maric, of Switzerland, Daiane
Arnzolim and Rodrigo De Lima, both from Brazil (picture).
UNI STUDENTS TO TEST
WAVE SKILLS
"Local surfers will be i
the minority at an international university surfing competition on the Gold
Coast-Tweed border next month.
Organizers of the
International Student Surf Challenge expect more than 100 competitors fot the
two-day surf-off at Duranbah.
The challenge started
three years ago to provide`"another language"to the 300.000 international
students studying at Australian universities every year and this year has more
than $10,000 worth in prizes on offer.
The inaugural event
proved so popular as a male-only competition, it attracted the attention of the
Australian and female international students.
Organizers were happy to
bow to their requests to be part of it.
It was a timely move
which brought instant rewards with mojor sponsorship from the Queensland College
of English at Surfers Paradise and recognition from Surfing Australia at
Casuarina on the Tweed Coast, which touted it a "real breeding ground"for future
champions.
The third Challenge at
Duranbah Beach on December 15 and 16 will be dominated again by Brazilian
surfers studying English on the Gold Coast and at the Tweed Heads campus of the
Southern Cross University.
Japanese surfers are
tipped to be the next biggest force and organisers are hoping Australia will be
the third dominating country.
"We expect it to get a
lot bigger after this year"said Alain Ruthenberg, whose Gold Coast based
Australia GO company directs international students to universities all over
Australia.
"The event was started
to give back to international students what they bring to
Australia."
"In a way surfing is an
interantional language and is a means of using the sport to educate overseas
students."
Dane Jordan of Surfing
Australia said the group was invited to be part of the series three years ago,
but had decided to "sit back and see how it developed".
"What we've seen since
is impressive,"he said.
"We 're here to develop
all varieties of surf competitions, especially if they are a stepping stone to
professional and real-world experiences."
He said the challenge
was "quick to put its foot in the door"after 17 years old Brazilian Alex Chacon
won the inaugural event and went on to take up a pro-junior
career.
SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS,
ORGANIZED BY AUSTRALIA GO AND EMOCEANS FOR THE
THIRD TIME, CREATES A NEW PHEONOMENON. MAJOR AUSTRALIAN SURFING WEB SITES
PROMOTE THE EVENT!!!