KUCHING: The inaugural Borneo Outdoor Festival will be held from October 28 to 29 at Camp Belia Pueh in Sematan, Lundu.
Organised by Draco Action Sports and supported by the Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Ministry (MTCP), the event will coincide with the seventh edition of the annual Sarawak Adventure Challenge (SAC) on October 29 at the coastal setting of Sematan.
Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the festival promises an array of attractions, including product displays, entertainment, enlightening workshops led by experts, and various outdoor activities for participants to enjoy.
“Eighteen outdoor industry and activity partners will be on hand to demonstrate and provide information about the latest in outdoor equipment, activities and skills.
“The festival is open to the general public free of charge and features a programme of workshops covering topics such as equipment maintenance, camping skills, outdoor photography, nutrition, training and new sports.
“There will also be demonstration areas for 4WD camping, outdoor equipment displays, wall climbing, drone skills session and much more,” he said.
He said this during a press conference at Wisma Chinese Chambers here today (Oct 16).
“BOF will also feature a 5km run or 15km fun ride as it is a leisure activity suitable for friends and family.
“It will also include dinner and a beach bonfire for those attending,” he added.
As for SAC, Abdul Karim explained that it’s a one-day multi-sport event, encompassing mountain biking and trail running.
“This year’s race will provide ample challenge to test the endurance of the athletes with Pueh mountain as the backdrop.
“Starting and finishing at Camp Belia Pueh, the trail passes through a variety of terrain and includes several river crossings for both mountain bike and trail run.
“The competitors will also experience several local communities as sections of the trail pass through these with local residents involved as course marshals and officials,” he added.
He also stated that competitors for SAC will be vying for attractive cash prizes and “bragging rights” across a number of mountain biking trail running race formats and categories.
“The feature race will be the full Duathlon where competitors are required to complete a 50km mountain bike section followed by a 12km trail running section,” he added.
Some 1,000 participants are expected to join both BOF and SAC, with SAC receiving 300 entries from countries such as Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.
For BOF, it will be mostly a local affair with hopes of 100 Indonesian visitors from across the border.
Registration for SAC is currently closed, however for BOF, the registration is open to all at https://sarawakchallenge.com/bof2023/ .
Deputy Minister I for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Sebastian Ting, Tanjung Datu assemblyman Azizul Annuar Adenan and Opar assemblyman Billy Sujang were among those present during the press conference.
