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)