by Rungtip Hongjakpet Izmen

The 10th Anniversary Phuket International Rugby Tens

Phuket Rugby Tens

Date: May 31 and June 1, 2008
Venue: Karon Municipal Stadium
Contact: Patrick Cotter, phuketrugby@gmail.com

A full roster of 24 teams have already confirmed they will compete for the Clive Williamson Memorial Trophy in this year’s Phuket Tens, and 15 more teams have signed up to battle it out in the Coffin Dodgers competition for over-the-hill players.

Teams will come from all over the world, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, the UK, the Middle East and China. Phuket’s own Vagabonds RFC will compete in both competitions.

More information, see www.phuketvagabondsrfc.com

Turtle Fun Run and Education Day

"Endangered leatherback turtle..."

Date: June 1, 2008
Venue: Mai Khao
Contact: Michelle Mouille on Tel + 66 (0) 81 893 601 or info@maikhaoturtlefoundation.com

The JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa and the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation will hold a Turtle Fun Run and Educational Day on June 1, 2008, to raise funds and increase awareness of the plight of the critically endangered leatherback turtle.

The event will take place at Pru Jeh Sun Lake, near Mai Khao village in the north of Phuket. Registration for the Fun Run will be at 07.30, and will be followed with stretching and warm-up exercises. The Fun Run will start at 08.15 for professionals and 08.20 for amateurs, the distances being 7 kilometers and 3.5 kilometers respectively. Every 350 metres around the lake will be a Turtle Fun Run Rally stop with points awarded for answering questions about turtles and the environment.

This is a great event for the whole family, for schools, for groups of friends and for visitors to Phuket. Attractive prizes will be on offer, including stays at Marriott hotels in Thailand, various Phuket tours and many others.

Tickets to enter cost 200 baht for adults in the professional race, 100 baht for adults in the amateur race, and 50 baht for children in either race. The price includes a commemorative medal and a chance to win the lucky draw. All proceeds will be donated to the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation. Tickets will be on sale at the front desk of the JW Marriott from April, 2008.

Koh Samui International Regatta 2008

Koh Samui International Regatta

Date: June 1-7, 2008
Venue: Samui Island
Contact: kohsamuiregatta@gmial.com

With one month to go, the Koh Samui International Regatta organisation team is moving into top gear to ensure another great event on the island June 1-7, 2008. The entry list is taking shape with an outstanding number of hot yachts already confirmed. There’s a growing air of anticipation that we will see a fitting finale at this, the season-end Regatta of the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championships.

Regularly attracting 35 to 40 yachts, this Regatta has a truly international feel and features upwards of 300 participants from all points of the globe. Last year’s number of boat registrants on the first race day is a dusty record as there appears to be an increase of over 20% in yachts and boats signing on early - with skippers & crews ready to roll.

Callum Laing, the new owner of the Koh Samui Regatta and MobyElite MD, is quick to point out his plans to take the Tropical Island Regatta to new heights, whilst maintaining the same ‘laid-back’ island style of years gone by. “We really appreciate the huge effort the many international participants make to attend the Samui Regatta year after year and to guarantee another great event in 2008”, Laing was noted as saying.

Among the event supporters is the Samui Yacht Club which will stage, for the first time, the Samui Youth Sailing Kid’s Regatta during the event’s ‘rest day’, June 5th.

For further details check out the official web site www.samuiregatta.com or email kohsamuiregatta@gmail.com

Dance performance by Phuket Dance Academy

Phuket Dance Academy

Date: June 7, 2008
Venue: Royal Phuket City Hotel, Phuket City
Contact:
Linda Cumming at Tel: +66 (0) 81 8937749,
email: linda@lindacumming.com

The Phuket Dance Academy will present its third annual show on June 7, 2008. Following the success of the previous two shows, the academy’s 50 dancers – who range in age from three years to “Guess” – will this year perform dances around the theme “Show Biz”.

The students have been practicing hard for 12 months to polish the 40 dance sets, some with singing involved. Dance styles vary from ballet to jazz, from hip hop to tap. The selection of music, naturally, is equally mixed, from Broadway to Kiley Minogue to rap. All the costumes were designed specifically for the show and made in Bangkok. This combination of music, dance and glittering costumes promises to make for a spectacular show.

The Dance Academy is run by Karen MacIver, who herself has been dancing since she was two, and who used to have a dance school in Sydney. She told Phuket.com, “We want to show how hard we have worked. The children are great and very talented. There has never been entertainment like this before in Phuket. We want to show the island what it’s all about.”

The doors open at 17:00. Tickets are 250 baht for children under 12, and 500 baht for others. This is a popular event, so to inquire about buying tickets in advance, contact Linda Cumming.

ACYC Race Series 2008

Racing in the Chalong Bay

Date: March to November 2008
Venue: Around Chalong Bay
Contact: Tony Knight at +66 (0) 81 7470074
or visit www.acycphuket.com

The Ao Chalong Yacht Club’s annual Image Asia Keelboat and Multihull Race Series kicks off this year on March 16.

Other dates in the series are March 30, April 27, May 11, May 25, June 15, June 29, July 12-13, August 10, August 24, September 7, September 21, October 12, November 2, November 16 and November 28.

Anyone looking to pull a few ropes – even those who have never done it before – can call the club’s Commodore, Tony Knight (above), who can usually find a space for them on one of the boats.

Race 3 of 4 TriBallistic Malaiwana Triathlon Series

TriBallistic Malaiwana Triathlon

Date: June 22, 2008
Venue: Indigo Pearl Resort, Nai Yang
Contact: Shaun Boulter, Tel: +66 (0) 89 5902014, email: tri@triballisticclub.com

The third of the four races in the current TriBallistic Malaiwan Triathlon Series
takes place at the five-star Indigo Pearl Resort on June 22, 2008.

For grown-ups the Adult Sprint will consist of a 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike race and 5km run. For kids, the Junior Sprint will consist of a 200m swim, 6km bike race and 1.5km run. There will also be a Splash ’n’ Dash – 50m swim, 3km bike race and 750m run. Entry costs 1,500 baht for teams, 1,000 baht for juniors and 1,200 baht for seniors. Race-day sign-in will be at 06:00 and the gun for the first race will be at 07:00. All races will be completed by midday.
The event is organized by Tri Ballistic Club, a triathlon club and event organizer based on Phuket. For more information and to register, please visit the club’s website at www.triballisticclub.com

2008 Laguna Phuket International Marathon

Am I on the right path?

Date: June 13-15, 2008
Venue: Laguna Phuket, Bangtao Beach
Contact: Nattira Anakasiri
at email: nattiraa@lagunaphuket.com

This year’s Laguna Phuket International Marathon, the third, is expected to attract some 4,000 competitors, of whom 1,500 will be coming from 40 countries overseas.

Events surrounding the race will start on Friday, June 13, with a two-day exhibition featuring sponsor booths and a variety of activities. Race day on June 15 will see competitors vying for honours in the 42-kilometre marathon, a 21-kilometre half-marathon, a 10.5-kilometre race, a 2-kilometre kids’ run and a 5-kilometre walk.

Japanese “eco-marathoner” Hajime Nishi, who has already competed twice in the event, will be returning. Nishi uses marathons as a way to promote environmental awareness, stopping along the way to chat with people and have his photo taken. The slower his time, the more successful he considers he has been. Despite this, he was the first person to run marathons in all seven continents – including Antarctica.

Online registration is now open and will remain open until June 5, 2008, with the “early bird” discount period ending on March 31. For further information about the event or to register, visit www.phuketmarathon.com

Kalim Surf Contest

Date: 18-20 July 2008
Venue: Kalim Beach
Contact: Chanin Aiyarak at joob@phuketboardriders.com

The annual Kalim Surf Contest, organized by members of the Phuket Board Rider Club, will take place at Kalim Beach in 18-20 July 2008. For more information contact Chanin Aiyarak (details above).

Six Senses Phuket Raceweek registration opens

In the race

Date: July 23 – 27, 2008
Venue: Phang Nga bay
Contact: www.phuketraceweek.com

Online registration is now open for Six Senses Phuket Raceweek 2008, with a reduced entry fee offered for those who early register early. Phuket’s ‘Green Season’ regatta, now in its fifth year, sees a mixed fleet of yachts race in the southwest monsoon breezes off Phuket’s south coast every summer, this year from July 23 to 27.

The originators and organisers of the event, Image Asia, have announced that this year’s regatta will incorporate an event-within-an-event, the inaugural NRG Cup, open exclusively to members of the oil and gas industry from around the region. Entrants in this competition will also still race in the main event against all-comers.

“Our industry is competitive, fearless and spirited, and this first edition of the NRG Cup should be no different,” said Benjamin Dupal, chief executive of NRG Engineering, who conceived the idea of the new cup.

Attracted by excellent sailing in mostly reliable breezes of 15 knots upwards, along with a full-on social scene, entries are expected to top previous years, although organisers Image Asia are not yet predicting numbers.

For the first time, races will be broadcast on international television, including CNN Mainsail, Eurosport, Star Sports, the European Sailing Channel and more – a total potential audience of 140 million households worldwide.

For more information on Phuket Raceweek, or to register, visit www.phuketraceweek.com. For more on the NRG Cup, send email to info@nrgcup2008.com

Kamala Go Surfing Contest

Surfing contest in Kamala Beach

Date: August 2008
Venue: Kamala Beach
Contact: Chanin Aiyarak by email to joob@phuketboardriders.com

K. Chanin is also the organiser of the sixth Kamala Go Surfing Contest, scheduled to take place in August.

The precise date for the event, which takes place in the surf at the northern end of Kamala Beach, has yet to be announced.

Phuket Surfing Contest

Surfing contest in Kata Beach

Date: August, 2008
Venue: Kata Beach
Contact: Wallop Nadon, Tel: 086-9521393,
email : wallopsurfshopkatabeach@hotmail.com

The Phuket Surfing Contest, at Kata Beach, is organized by the Kata-Karon Surfing Club. Now in its seventh year, it is the longest-running surfing event in Phuket, and carries cash prizes totaling more than 100,000 baht. It usually takes place in mid-September, although last year it began in late August, ending in September. As with the Kalim competition, the date for this year’s event has yet to be announced. For more information, contact the event organizer Wallop Nadon (details above).

Phuket Thailand Open 2008

Date: November 4-9, 2008
Venue: Karon Beach, Phuket
Contact: www.fivb.org

Phuket is now a regular venue – this is the third year – for a round in the Swatch FIVB Women’s Beach Volley World Tour, currently the biggest beach volley tournament in Asia. The event features all the world’s top women players vying for a purse of $100,000. Played in a purpose-built stadium on the beach, it’s great fun to watch and, better yet, spectating is free. For more information, visit the website above.

Phuket Soccer 7s

Date: November 2008
Venue: Karon stadium
Contact: www.reperages-thailand.com

The annual Phuket Soccer 7s tournament is a fast and furious – and highly popular – event. This year, the fourth, will see 40 teams from 10 countries battling through 14-minute games, then reliving the glory of the day in nearby watering holes. Boasting zero prize money and none of that offside nonsense, this is guaranteed to be a fun day for players and spectators.

Phuket King’s Cup Regatta

Phuket King's Cup regatta

Date: November 29 - December 6, 2008
Venue: Phuket
Contact: Regatta Office Tel/Fax: +66 (0) 7627 3380
Email: info@kingscup.com

The most exciting event in the island’s marine sporting calendar, the King’s Cup Regatta attracts around 100 yachts from all over the world to compete in races in the waters off Phuket and among the neighbouring islands. The after-race parties (there are tickets for sale) have a reputation for being among the biggest and best on Phuket. This year is the 21st time the regatta has been staged.

Laguna Phuket Triathlon

Date: December 7, 2008
Venue: Laguna Phuket
Contact: www.lagunaphukettriathlon.com

The annual Laguna Phuket Triathlon is an exciting event that attracts top athletes from all over the world. The race starts with a 1.8km swim, followed by a 55km bicycle course, and ends with a 12km run. There are also shorter events. For more details of the event or to register, visit the website above.