White-water rafting competition begins today

White-water rafting competition begins today

By Primastuti Handayani

JAKARTA (JP): As part of its drive to popularize white-water
rafting locally, and particularly among youth, The Indonesian
Whitewater Rafting Federation opens today the first national
championships on the Serayu, Central Java's longest river.

The association's spokesman, Nurul Yakin Setyabudi, told The
Jakarta Post Friday that 40 amateur and 18 professional teams
would compete in the championships through Nov. 28.

Teams are from Jakarta, West Java, Yogyakarta, East Java,
North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Jambi, Lampung, North Sulawesi,
Southeast Sulawesi and South Sulawesi.

He said the Serayu was selected because it was the most
"neutral" location, as no single team was especially familiar
with its waterways.

The championships has been delayed on several occasions due to
financial and permit problems.

These were overcome when the association's patron board
chairman and Marine Corps Commander, Maj. Gen. Suharto, included
the championship in the commemoration of the 52nd anniversary of
his institution.

The championships will feature speed, slalom and rescue
classes.

Slalom qualifying rounds will be held today and tomorrow.

Starting from Tuesday, participants will compete in the main
draw of rescue, down-river racing and slalom events.

Of the 58 teams, the strongest candidate in the championships
is the Jakarta-based Arus Liar team, which is sponsored by the
Post.

The team, commanded by Lody Korua, finished in the top 10 in
the 1994 national championship in Bali, before the association
was founded.

Other strong candidates in the professional division are
Waranai from North Sulawesi and Indosela of South Sulawesi.

In the amateur division, the University of Indonesia Mapala
team is tipped as a favorite. It finished third in the 1994
national championship.

Rafting

White-water rafting has gained in popularity among Indonesians
after many operators began positioning the sport as an ideal way
for young people to relieve stress and exercise.

Rafting was popularized by U.S. scientist John Wisley in the
1860s. He introduced the use of wooden rafts while leading a
scientific expedition along the Colorado River, well-known for
its rapids.

The modern version of rafting was introduced in Indonesia in
1975, when people cast their rafts onto the Alas River in Aceh.

The benefits of the water sport was long recognized by several
Indonesian tribes in Irian Jaya and Kalimantan, who use water as
their primary means of transportation.

With its use of natural settings, white-water rafting is not a
competitive sport and serves to bring out a person's sense of
adventure.

Participants do not need specific skills to go white-water
rafting. They must be healthy and aged between 10 and 65 years.

There are six classes of rafting. The easiest is flat water,
followed in descending order of difficulty by the easy rapid,
hard rapid, difficult rapid, extreme rapid and unrunnable rapid.

Beginners or amateurs can enjoy the flat water, easy rapid and
hard rapid.

Professional rafters usually opt for the tougher disciplines.
However, they still have to observe the river and its stream in
making their attempts.

In the extreme and unrunnable rapids, the rafters must be
experts because there is high risk of injury or death.

As the sport becomes more popular, white-water rafting fans do
not have to go far out of Jakarta to enjoy the sport.

The nearest rivers are Citarik and Citatih, about a three-hour
drive from the capital.

Rafting operators at both rivers usually allow participants to
enjoy the sport, until the stream reaches the first to the third
class, or the flat water to the hard rapid only.

Each raft, which accommodates five to six people, is escorted
by a river guide. The guide, who has from three months to a
year's experience, explains the procedures and what to do in an
emergency.

There are some important points rafters must heed. During a
trip, guides give commands such as "forward", "backward", "over
left" or "over right" to control the raft.

They also yell out "boom", meaning all people should sit and
hold the rope along the raft in a demanding situation.

When a rafter falls overboard, others must stay calm and react
quickly. They have to row faster to grab the person.

The person overboard should try not to panic, but float on his
back with his head above water. When the raft gets close to the
person, a fellow rafter extends a paddle to allow him or her to
grab it.

When the raft reaches a calm part of the river, all aboard can
paddle slowly and enjoy the views of nature on the riverbanks.

When approaching a waterfall, the river flow becomes quicker.
Passing through pin-ball rapids needs solid teamwork, because all
rafters must coordinate and paddle hard and fast before reaching
the lower part of the river.

Besides West Java, rafting is also found in Bali, Magelang,
Central Java and Padang, West Sumatra.