CHINA: SURFING: International surfers ride a once-in-a-year tidal bore on eastern China's Qiantang river

Record ID: 852716

  • Title: CHINA: SURFING: International surfers ride a once-in-a-year tidal bore on eastern China's Qiantang river
  • Date: 2nd October 2012
  • Summary: HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA (OCTOBER 1, 2012) (REUTERS) WABSONO CALIFORNIA TEAM SURFER MARY OSBORNE PULLING SURFBOARD OUT OF SLEEVE OSBORNE TALKING TO COLLEAGUE SURFERS TALKING AND PREPARING FOR SURF VARIOUS OF MAN CLEANING SURFBOARD SURFERS WALKING WITH SURFBOARDS VARIOUS OF SURFERS LISTENING TO BRIEFING PEOPLE STANDING BY RIVER BANK SURFBOARD ON GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'WABSONO CALIFORNIA' TEAM SURFER MARY OSBORNE SAYING: "The difference between surfing in the ocean and the 'Silver Dragon' is that the ocean has many waves, so you can go out there and you wait and you just keep getting wave after wave, whereas here in China on the 'Silver Dragon', there's one wave and it's once a year. So you really have to be ready and have your team be ready and go with the flow and you just hope you get a little bit of the 'Silver Dragon'" VARIOUS OF SURFERS CARRYING SURFBOARDS DOWN TO BOATS SPECTATORS BOATS CARRYING SURFERS GOING OUT ON RIVER SPECTATORS TIDAL BORE VARIOUS OF SURFER RIDING TIDAL BORE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 27-YEAR OLD SPECTATOR LI WEIKE SAYING: "It's pretty respectable. We hardly ever get this kind of wave in the Hangzhou area because it's not by the sea. This is quite a novelty and I hope to see more of this kind of activity in the future" WAVES BREAKING ON BANK SURFER PUTTING SURFBOARD ON BANK (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'OE GREAT BARRIER REEF' TEAM SURFER PERTH STANDLICK SAYING: "I think with this event on every year, it's just going to grow and grow and surfing in China will eventually become a bigger sport and I think it's going to be good, because there are really good waves here. You've got the river, you've got waves on Hainan island -- and it's awesome waves there. So there's no reason why there shouldn't be any Chinese surfers" MARY OSBORNE GETTING OFF BOAT SURFERS STANDING BY RIVER BANK SURFERS WALKING PAST ARM CARRYING SURFBOARD
  • Embargoed: 17th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAAWM7L4ZBE8AFJ2P660VJ5K4WO
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: International surfers rode an annual tidal bore along a river in eastern China on Monday (October 1) and said they believed that the sport would become more popular in the country.
    Referred to as the 'Final Blow' in Chinese and the 'Silver Dragon' in English, the yearly wave rolls along the Qiantang River and through the city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province.
    Monday's ride involved 16 surfers from the USA, Brazil and Australia.
    California surfer Mary Osborne said: "The difference between surfing in the ocean and the 'Silver Dragon' is that the ocean has many waves, so you can go out there and you wait and you just keep getting wave after wave, whereas here in China on the 'Silver Dragon', there's one wave and it's once a year. So you really have to be ready and have your team be ready and go with the flow and you just hope you get a little bit of the 'Silver Dragon'."
    One of the Chinese spectators, 27-year old Li Weike, said it was a novel event.
    "It's pretty respectable. We hardly ever get this kind of wave in the Hangzhou area because it's not by the sea. This is quite a novelty and I hope to see more of this kind of activity in the future," he said.
    Surfing is unfamiliar to most Chinese mainlanders, but Australian participant Perth Standlick said that he was optimistic about its future in China.
    "I think with this event on every year, it's just going to grow and grow and surfing in China will eventually become a bigger sport and I think it's going to be good, because there are really good waves here. You've got the river, you've got waves on Hainan island -- and it's awesome waves there. So there's no reason why there shouldn't be any Chinese surfers," he said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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