7 March 2022, Kuta-Bali: The Asian Surf Cooperative is excited to team up with the ground-breaking Bali-based environmental group Sungai Watch during the up-coming Vans Bali Pro presented by East Ventures and Liga Surfing Indonesia surfing events that are taking place at Kuta Beach from 8-9 and 11-13 March, aiming to help reduce the amount of one-time-use plastics, clean up the rivers and oceans, and educate communities on the importance of proper disposal of plastic and other product packaging.
Before the surfing gets started, the Sungai Watch team together with the Liga Surfing Indonesia club members will do an event site beach cleanup the afternoon of March 7 to ensure that things are ready to go for the start of the competition the next morning.
Sungai Watch branded trash bins will be spread around the event location so there will be no excuse for any trash items to be thrown anywhere else, and there will also be a cleanup at the end of the competition period on Sunday the 13th after the event concludes, then on the 12th and 13th, Sungai Watch will set up a tent booth at the beach with examples of their recycled products with volunteers standing by to explain and answer any questions.
And don’t miss the Rooftop Party at Mamaka by Ovolo on the evening of March 9th, where Sungai Watch will be auctioning off a surfboard donated by Earth Island and some shoes donated by Vans to help raise money for their ongoing efforts, and the finalists for the Vans Bali Pro presented by East Ventures will receive trophies made from recycled wood. Mamaka is on Jalan Pantai Kuta nearby Halfways, Kuta Beach.
“We’re really excited to be partnering up with the ASC for these two great surfing events” said Gary Bencheghib, who together with his siblings Kelly and Sam founded Sungai Watch in 2020. “This beach activation gives us a great opportunity to showcase what we are doing in our mission to protect every wave in Bali, and hopefully we’ll gain a lot more support from the surfers, the entire Bali community, and beyond.”
Echoing Gary’s enthusiasm, ASC’s Tipi Jabrik added, “The ASC has always supported environmental efforts especially where it involves the oceans and beaches, so this is a great opportunity to help educate the community and assist an important environmental organization in gaining more support towards our mutual common goal of reducing waste and cleaning up our planet.”
About Sungai Watch
Founded in 2020 by Gary, Kelly and Sam Bencheghib in Bali, Indonesia, Sungai Watch is now a team of 55 passionate river warriors, working every day to create solutions to stop the flow of plastic pollution from going into the ocean. By designing simple trash barriers and operating a collection, sorting and up-cycling system, we have created a scalable approach to tackling plastic pollution. We are on a mission to install 1,000 barriers by 2023.
See more at https://sungai.watch/pages/about-us
About the Asian Surf Cooperative
The Asian Surf Cooperative is a professional surfing organization with 16 years of experience in the organizing, managing and supporting surfing events around the Asian region, from local boardriders club competitions to WSL World Championship Tour events.
The ASC provides event management, live scoring, ISA certified judges, contest directors, digital photography and videography, event media packages, rankings, media coverage and distribution, and also assists the ISA in organizing Surf and SUP Instructor and International Judging courses.
From local grassroots boardriders and grommet (junior) events to specialty and World Surf League events, the ASC’s purpose and goal remains the same: To grow the sport of surfing in the Asian region by offering reliable and consistent resources and assistance to both small and large organizations who are helping to make Asia’s surfing athlete’s dreams come true.
