Page 288 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

280 WATERSPORTS
THE SARAWAK REGATTA
Kuching Resident’s Office (Organiser)
Level 7, Sarawak Islamic Complex Lorong P. Ramlee 5
93400 Kuching, Sarawak
T (082) 507 051
W regatta.sarawaktourism.com
IN BRIEF
One of the oldest sports events in Malaysia, the Sarawak Regatta is a popular longboat racing competition of great historical and cultural significance.
DATE
Held annually, late October or early November
MAIN FEATURES
The Sarawak Regatta was inaugurated by Rajah Sir Charles Brooke as an outlet for rival tribes’ competitive instincts and has been held annually since 1872. So important was the regatta during the Brooke era that
a launch was sent to outlying districts to bring government officers to Kuching.
The early regattas were restricted to traditional longboats
LOCATION / ROUTE
Sarawak River, facing the Kuching Waterfront.
HOW TO GET THERE
Taxi/ride hailing from Kuching International Airport. Kuching Waterfront is a short walk from city centre hotels.
Ancient rivalries are re-enacted in a friendly, sporting spirit at the Sarawak Regatta, as the crowd cheers the racers on from the Darul Hana Bridge.
and war canoes, but nowadays the programme includes power boats, water skiers and jet skis. There is even a “Tourist Race” for visitors unafraid to get their feet wet.
The Sarawak Regatta
has now been joined by
the Sarawak International Dragon Boat Regatta, held over the preceding weekend,
to form the 10-day Kuching Waterfront Festival, with accompanying trade fair, food fair, concerts and dance performances.
The regatta is very well- attended; come early to get
a good vantage point on the Kuching Waterfront, the Darul Hana pedestrian bridge or the boardwalk on the river’s north bank.
Landas team manager Abdullah Julaihi receives the 2019 “King of the River” trophy as (from left) Sarawak’s Youth & Sports Minister, Chief Minister and Governor look on.