22 September 2023, Kuta, Bali: The Qualification Round for Indonesia’s National Sports Week (PON) 2024 ended yesterday evening at Kuta Beach after a two full days of exciting competition, with the 74 surfing athletes from 14 regions around Indonesia taking to the perfect 2-4 foot waves of Halfways and showing off their amazing performances to both the audience on the beach as well as to the world wide audience via a live stream broadcast.
The purpose of this Qualification Round was to determine the top surfers from the participating regions who will go on to compete in the National Sports Week (PON) 2024, which will be held in the Aceh Province of North Sumatra from 5–19 September 2024.
The National Sports Week (Indonesian: Pekan Olahraga Nasional, abbreviated as PON) is a multi-sport event held every four years in Indonesia. The participants of this event are athletes from all provinces of Indonesia, and it is organized by the National Sports Committee of Indonesia (KONI). Next year will be the 21st running of PON, and the first time that the sport of surfing has been included.
The selection process for the athletes started with them competing in local events in their regions, and then the top performers were invited to attend a training camp to prepare them for the Qualification Round in Bali.
There are five divisions of competition, and after this Qualification Round a total of 50 will be participating in PON 23: 18 in Men’s Shortboard, 10 in Men’s Aerial, 12 in Women’s Shortboard, 12 in Men’s Longboard, and 8 in Women’s Longboard (Men’s Aerial competitors are from the Men’s Shortboard).
In addition, the top placing competitors in the Qualification Round received medals for their outstanding performances in an awarding presentation after the competition on Kuta Beach.
The provinces of Bali and DKI Jakarta each netted the most medals, but West Java netted the most Gold medals:
Bali (4 Medals)
Women’s Shortboard: Taina Angel Izquierdo (GOLD)
Men’s Shortboard: Made Darmayasa (BRONZE), I Made Raditya Rondi (BRONZE)
Women’s Longboard: Ficka Dirgantari ( BRONZE)
DKI Jakarta (4 Medals)
Men’s Shortboard: Varun Tandjung ( SILVER)
Women’s Shortboard: Jasmine Studer (SILVER)
Men’s Longboard: Dhimas Shabil ( SILVER)
Women’s Longboard: Flora Christin Butar Butar ( SILVER)
Jawa Barat (2 Medals)
Men’s Longboard: Tedi Kurniadi (GOLD)
Women’s Longboard: Rini Andini (GOLD)
Here is a complete list of the medal winners by division:
Men’s Shortboard
1. Febri Ansyah – Jawa Timur – GOLD
2. Varun Tandjung – DKI Jakarta – SILVER
3. I Made Darmayasa – Bali – BRONZE
3. I Made Raditya Rondi – Bali – BRONZE
Women’s Shortboard
1. Taina Angel Izquierdo – Bali – GOLD
2. Jasmine Studer – DKI Jakarta – SILVER
3. Salini Rengganis – Jawa Timur – BRONZE
4. Kya Jo Heuer – Sumatra Barat – BRONZE
Men’s Longboard
1. Tedi Kurniadi – Jawa Barat – GOLD
2. Dhimas Shabil – DKI Jakarta – SILVER
3. Dean Permana – Jawa Barat – BRONZE
4. I Gede Arya Eka Wira Dharma – Bali – BRONZE
Women’s Longboard
1. Rini Andini – Jawa Barat – GOLD
2. Flora Christin Butar Butar – DKI Jakarta – SILVER
3. Ficka Dirgantari – Bali – BRONZE
3. Aura Zeflin – Sumatra Barat – BRONZE
PSOI (Indonesian Surfing Federation) Secretary General Tipi Jabrik was very pleased with the results and delighted with the performances of the surfing athletes over the two day competition, saying, “The qualification went really great, as we reached the quota of competitors that we needed, and it was a great chance for the surfers from all over Indonesia to come to Bali and showcase their surfing skills. The quality of the waves we had really allowed the athletes to push their limits, so a lot of good surfers made it into the finals, but there were some surprises also, which was great. There were lots of excellent scores and lots of crowd participation, so it was an amazing event. Hopefully this will help surfing to become more nationally accepted, as PON can be a great stepping stone for the sport and help get more funding from the government. Thanks to all the provinces that brought their teams here, and thanks to the head of PSOI for continually pushing the sport here in Indonesia.”
Previous PSOI President Arya Subyakto, who has been advocating tirelessly for many years to gain support for surfing as a legitimate professional sport, added, “This inclusion of surfing in next year’s PON is really significant for both the sport of surfing and for the growth of provinces that have waves and a surfing community. Imagine even a small province sending their surfers and coming home from PON with a gold medal…that would make such an impact and open the eyes of the government to how surfing isn’t just a beach boy activity, but a legitimate sport that will bring great benefits to their regions if cultivated and supported. Thankfully, surfing is an Olympic sport already, which is such a big boost, and we need to keep developing our surfers so they can be gold medalists one day.”
Below is a list of all the PON 24 Surfing Participants:
Shortboard Men Qualifiers:
1. Febriansyah – Jawa Timur
2. Varun Tandjung – DKI Jakarta
3. I Made Darma Yasa – Bali
4. I Made Raditya Rondi – Bali
5. Rizky Eka – Jawa Timur
6. Jeren Kiring – Nusa Teggara Barat
7. Westen Hirst – DKI Jakarta
8. Dede Suryana – Jawa Barat
9. Gilang Edward – Jawa Tengah
10. Made Joi Satriawan – Lampung
11. Pito Wardana – Jawa Barat
12. Dylan Wilcoxen – Sumatra Barat
13. I Made Dera Diki Mahendra – Lampung
14. Raju Sena Seran – Nusa Tenggara Timur
15. Khairil Anwar – Nusa Tenggara Barat
16. Asep Setiawan – Bengkulu
17. Izrel Sababalat – Sumatra Barat
18. M. Rifai – Papua
Shortboard Women Qualifiers:
1. Taina Angel Izquierdo – Bali
2. Jasmine Michelle Studer – DKI Jakarta
3. Kyo Jo Heur – Sumatera Barat
4. Salini Renggais – Jawa Timur
5. Hanasuri Jabrik – Jawa Timur
6. Lidia KatoHanasuri Jabrik – Jawa Timur – Bali
7. Janiati Love Hansel – DKI Jakarta
8. Iis Trisnawati – Jawa Barat
9. Aura Zeflin – Sumatra Barat
10. Nala W. Rabik – Banten
11. Mae Marie Seureau Darmawan – DIY
12. Melani – Jawa Barat
Longboard Men Qualifiers:
1. Tedi Kurniadi – Jawa Barat
2. Dhimas Shabil – DKI Jakarta
3. I Gede Arya Eka Dharma – Bali
4. Dean Permana – Jawa Barat
5. Dede Gilang – Banten
6. Ivan Krisnadewa Sudena – Bali
7. Riki Suratman – Jawa Timur
8. Robertus Yono Fredi – Nusa Tenggara Timur
9. Ridho Saputra – Lampung Riki Suratman – Jawa Tengah
10. M. Yudi Satriawan – Nusa Tenggara Barat
11. Erwin Tambuni – Papua Barat
12. Setiawan Rian Pratama – Jawa Timur
Longboard Women Qualifiers:
1. Reni Andini – Jawa Barat
2. Flora Christin Butar Butar – DKI Jakarta
3. Aura Zeflin – Sumatra Barat
4. Ficka Dirgantari – Bali
5. Safira Theresia Den Hoedt – Lampung
6. Mae Marie Seureau Darmawan – DIY
7. Salini Rengganis – Jawa Timur
8. Anita – Banten
Aerial Qualifiers:
1. Febriansyah – Jawa Timur
2. Varun Tandjung – DKI Jakarta
3. I Made Darma Yasa – Bali
4. Jeren Kiring – Nusa Teggara Barat
5. Dede Suryana – Jawa Barat
6. Gilang Edward – Jawa Tengah
7. Raju Sena Seran – Nusa Tenggara Timur
8. Made Joi Satriawan – Lampung
9. Dylan Wilcoxen – Sumatra Barat
10. Asep Setiawan – Bengkulu