Chennai, TN – TT Group and EarthSync in association with the Asian Surfing Championship and the Surfing Federation of India present the third annual Covelong Point Classic Surf and Music Festival this September 18th – 20h , 2015 in Covelong village near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The festival will be the first ever Asian Surfing Championship to take place in India, with cricketing legend Jonty Rhodes attending the festival as the official surf ambassador.
Chennai, TN – TT Group and EarthSync in association with the Asian Surfing Championship and the Surfing Federation of India present the third annual Covelong Point Classic Surf and Music Festival this September 18th – 20h , 2015 in Covelong village near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The festival will be the first ever Asian Surfing Championship to take place in India, with cricketing legend Jonty Rhodes attending the festival as the official surf ambassador. It features a national and international level surf competition, a yoga and meditation festival, a diverse music line-up with three stages, evening film screenings, and a vast variety of beach side activities.
Surfing Covelong Point
What started as a dream has now become a three day international event – fisherman turned surfer Murthy Megavan always dreamed of starting his own surf school, and today that dream stands tall as a beautiful reality as the Covelong Point Social Surf School in Covelong – India’s first surfing village. The primary aim of the school and of the Covelong Point Classic Surf and Music Festival is to use surfing as a catalyst for positive change and rehabilitation in the tsunami afflicted South Indian village, simultaneously encouraging economic growth by providing tourism and business opportunities for local vendors. In 2013, the TT Group and EarthSync tied up with the Surfing Federation of India – the national governing body for surfing in India – and together, they created the festival. This year the festival expands to host a national surf competition on September 17th – 18th, and the first ever Asian Surfing Championship from September 19th – 20th, with participants from around India and the globe competing in an exhilarating display of raw surfing talent. Jonty Rhodes will also attend the festival, and an exclusive Meet and Greet with the Press will be organized on Sunday, September 20th.
Global Music Line-Up
The music festival this year expands to include three stages – the Beach Stage, The Yoga Stage, and the IndiEarth Open Stage, each with its own exclusively designed festival atmosphere. Musicians from around India and the world hailing from a variety of genres will be performing with a focus on world, roots and alternative music – including acts like T.M. Krishna presented by the TT Vasu Foundation, Skrat, Mahesh Vinayakram, Dualist Inquiry, Swarathma, Mounawar, Oikyotaan, The Nagore Boys and more. The Yoga Stage is a concept unique to the festival, bringing different spiritual music traditions, ambient meditation music, and acoustic artists together with yoga and meditation workshops. The IndiEarth Open Stage was designed to offer an all-inclusive space for musicians looking to perform at the festival, providing an open platform for new sounds and fresh artists as well as established names.
Yoga Shala
As a lifestyle festival with a holistic approach, this year’s edition will also include a Yoga Shala – an ethereal space dedicated to a diverse variety of yoga and meditation workshops introducing festival goers to different branches of yoga, meditation techniques, massage sessions, healing music therapies and more. The Yoga Shala will also feature the Yoga Stage – featuring artists performing spiritually uplifting music designed to bring the mind, body and soul together in divine union and harmony. More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1664347297112786/
The festival this year has partnered with Kalyan Jewellers, LMW, DJ Design, TTDC, Videum, SDAT, AVS and The Outdoor Journal. Other partners also include Enfield, Parry’s, Gatsby, Wild Water, ITUS, Coastal Security Group, Sea La Vie, Nippo, and RipCurl.
To register for the competition, visit: www.covelongpoint.com
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1646016862336575/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CovelongPoint
Full Event Schedule: http://www.covelongpoint.com/2015/index.php/event-info/event-info
Highlights
* India hosts the Asian Surfing Championship for the first time
* India’s first surfing, music and yoga festival
* Meet and Greet with Jonty Rhodes – Sunday, September 20th, 9:30am
Venue:
Kovalam aka (Covelong Point), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Schedule:
Friday, 18 September 2015 to Sunday, 20 September 2015
Final Wrap Up Of The Covelong Point Classic Surf Contest 2015
Chennai, TN – The TT Group and EarthSync in association with the Asian Surfing Championship and the Surfing Federation of India just wrapped up the third annual Covelong Point Classic Surf and Music Festival this September 18th – 20th, 2015 in Covelong village near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This marked the first ever Asian Surfing Championship in India, and the event as a whole saw a footfall of over 13 500 people over the weekend. With music performances by acts like TM Krishna, Dualist Inquiry, and Mounawar (Reunion Island), yoga, meditation and dance workshops, celebrities Jonty Rhodes and Arya present as ambassadors to the festival, the best surfers from across Asia competing for glory – the event marked a milestone for surfing in India, and showcased a unique new festival concept in Chennai.
Surf Champions of the South
In an exhilarating and nail biting final, Indonesia’s goofy footer Raditya Rondi (Bali) won the Men’s Open Division to take home $3, 000 USD, by coming from behind to overtake regular footer Dede Suryana in the final 45 seconds, who then needed to find a 6.5 wave scoring opportunity to regain the lead. 17 year old Pua Johnson (Bali) won the ASC Women’s Division victory to earn her $1, 500 USD, and in an emotional moment said “I feel really lucky to win – and super happy! It’s my first ASC women’s win, so it’s something I will always remember. And to have it happen here in India, a place I never expected to ever visit let alone surf and compete, it was really awesome. Thanks to all the people and the sponsors here for making such a great event.” In the National Surf Competition, it was Perceval Fayon who won the under 16, Surya who won the Juniors, Dharani Selvakumar who won the Seniors, Mukesh Panjanthan who won the Masters, and Sinchana Gowda who won the Female category.
“We’ve seen so much growth in the three years of organizing this festival, and that’s the most exciting part. The whole concept of bringing surfing together with music and yoga is to bring the things we’re most passionate about together into one space, and to attract like minded people to the festival – all to be able to empower the Kovalam community through this initiative, who we’ve been working with for years now”. -Yotam Agam, Founder, Covelong Point Classic Surf & Music Festival
It’s exciting to see Tamil Nadu and Covelong Point quickly emerging as the surfing meccas of India! What we want to keep doing here in the village – both with the festival and also with the Covelong Point Social Surf School – is encourage the sport of surfing, while also providing business opportunities for the local community, to help the community develop and grow. Surf tourism that can bring about positive change – that should be the direction that surf tourism takes in India. – Arun Vasu, Founder, Covelong Point Classic Surf & Music Festival
The third edition of Covelong Point Classic Surf Contest was a huge success this year and we can confidently say that it is the biggest surfing event organized in the country so far, it is certainly on its way of becoming one of the most unique & diverse festivals in India. Surfing Federation of India is happy to see the progress the surfers have made in a short time and bringing an event like Asian Surfing Championships to India, having top Indian surfers compete against some of the best is a dream come true for us. -Rammohan Paranjape, Surfing Federation of India
“I have to say it’s amazing seeing how each year, the surfing just gets better and better here in India. The TT Group, EarthSync and the SFI have been doing so much for the sport in the country, and if you come down and you see these young surfers in action in the ocean – well it’s a powerful force! The whole community gets involved, and that’s what’s beautiful – seeing how the organizers have been using surfing as a way to empower the community economically, and spread messages of positivity in Covelong village. It’s an experience that shouldn’t be missed”. – Jonty Rhodes, Surf Ambassador, Covelong Point Classic Surfing and Music Festival
WINNERS:
Groms: Under 16
1st Perceval Fayon
2nd Mahiran Coy Borg
3rd Manikandan
Juniors: 17-22
1st Surya
2nd Satish. S
3rd Ragul Govind
Seniors: 23-28
1st Dharani Selvakumar
2nd Sekar Pachi
3rd Vicky. V
Masters: Above 28
1st Mukesh Panjanathan
2nd Murthy Megavan
3rd Velu Murugan
Women:
1st Sinchana Gowda
2nd Suhasini Damian
3rd Aneesha Nayak
Viva La Musica!
With over 13 500 people in attendance, the music festival had a massive turnout with the audience filling up the beach. Chennai alt rockers Skrat kicked off the main stage with a power packed energetic performance, getting the audience up on their feet. Bands like Mounawar (Reunion Island) had the crowd in a frenzy, dancing to their zealous blend of Afro, Funk, and spirited African rhythms, while acts like Oxygen and Abhijeet Tambe on the IndiEarth Open Stage played to an excited audience. On the Yoga Stage, Colleena Shakti had her audience mesmerized with a classical Odissi performance, The Nagore Brothers led a session of spiritual Sufi chanting, Yotam Agam’s live electronica yoga session was a unique sonic experience bringing yoga, breathing and music together into one act, while artists like Classical Carnatic violinist Padma Shankar and Vasuda Sharma’s Krishna bhajans were deeply moving for listeners.
Breathe Deep: Yoga Shala
The Yoga Shala witnessed yoga teachers showcasing a diverse selection of yoga and meditation techniques – from Acro Yoga to Power, Ashtanga, Hatha and Flow yoga; Rajasthani dance workshops; art workshops with Wellpaper Auroville creating crafts with recycled material; dance and fitness workshops and more!
The festival this year partnered with Kalyan Jewellers, LMW, DJ Academy of Design, TTDC, Vidiem, SDAT, AVS and The Outdoor Journal. Other partners also include Enfield, Parry’s, Gatsby, Wild Water, ITUS, Coastal Security Group, Sea La Vie, Nippo, GoPro, IOMMA, European Union, Chola, Chennai Live 104.8, MyProptree, Isuzu, Track & Trail, Insider and RipCurl.