Rafting c'ship to move to C. Java

Rafting c'ship to move to C. Java

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Whitewater Rafting Federation
plans to stage a national championship in March on the Serayu
river, Central Java's longest.

Amalia Yunita, the federation's chairwoman, told The Jakarta
Post yesterday that the organizers will limit the number of teams
to 30, each comprising five people.

"We picked the Serayu because it's the most neutral place. In
the 1994 championship, in Bali, participants protested the jury
when a team from Bali won," she said.

"The Serayu is safe enough for a competition and it's not
influenced by the seasons," she added.

The championships will feature three classes: speed, slalom
and rescue.

"They all have to compete in the three classes, otherwise
they'll be penalized," Yunita said.

Yunita said that the championship is one way to attract young
people to the sport.

"The federation's main program for its first year, is to
arrange and distribute safety codes, start coaching and
consolidate commercial and non-commercial clubs," she said. The
federation was established in March last year.

The federation has five branches; in North Sulawesi, South
Sulawesi, South Kalimantan, Jambi and West Sumatra.

East Java, West Java, Bali and North Sumatra have also
proposed to set up branches.

"But it's difficult to set up a branch in Jakarta because all
the local whitewater-rafting activists are involved in the
national federation," she said. (yan)