Kollam to host water sports event ‘Kerala Backwaters Challenge’ next month

Kollam: The next edition of the Kerala Backwaters Challenge (KBC) is scheduled to take place at Kollam on February 12 and 13. KBC is an environment-friendly event that aims to spread awareness about the need to protect the backwaters, which is the backbone of Kerala’s tourism sector, by attracting more people to water sports.

Organised by a group of young experts trained in water sports, KBC is also supported by Team Ind Sporty and Royal Travancore Water Sports Association. According to KBC organisers, the event offers participants an opportunity to become ambassadors of the movement to protect backwaters, which are an integral part of the lives of a large number of people in Kerala. The tagline #keralabackwaterschallenge is a collective to celebrate environment-friendly water sports and adventure tourism, they added.

KBC programmes are headed by Anoop K P, who is active as a trainer as well as an organiser of several water sports events. He has spotted and coached a number of talented youngsters in the sport. In staging KBC, Anoop is backed by a team comprising members who have received training in adventure sports and certification to conduct competitions from bodies such as National Institute of Water Sports (NIWS), Goa; Yachting Association of India (YAI), Rowing Federation of India (RFI) and Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association (IKCA). In addition, they have handled training sessions for the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.

KBC has been holding programmes for protecting the backwaters for some years now. However, it organised a multiple water sports platform event only in 2021, with the first edition of KBC being held in March. Later, another edition was organised on December 18 and 19 last year in which there were 20 participants.

Events
Kayaking, canoeing, sailing, stand-up paddle and surfing are the events available at KBC. Participants can also engage in activities such as swimming, beach games, kite-flying and fishing. In addition, they would be invited to join a beach clean-up drive carried out by KBC volunteers.

According to the organisers, after the event in February to be held at Kollam, another edition is being planned in March as part of the first anniversary which will be staged at four more venues.

For more details, contact +91-8138890242