Community

Welcome to the ISC, the real 'Dream Tour'

Before the ISC, the only option for aspiring professional surfers in Indonesia was to try and slog it out with everyone else on the WQS. With pretty much no ASP events in their region, this meant a whole lot of travel, which was usually too expensive and often impossible because of the challenges of securing visas months in advance. There were a few sporadic events held around Bali, but nothing that could be called a professional tour, no ratings system, and no clear-cut path to earning the title of “No. 1 surfer in Indonesia.”

ISC founder Tipi Jabrik first entertained the idea of starting a professional Indonesian surfing tour back in 1999, while in Hawaii for a WQS contest with fellow Indo pros Rizal Tanjung, Pepen Hendrik, Made “Bol” Adi Putra and Wayan “Kopling” Wirtama. The QS contest was held in poor, windy waves at Turtle Bay and everyone in the Indo crew had been knocked out of the contest early.

“On the bus ride back to Waikiki, I just started thinking, 'Why are we doing this?'” recalls Jabrik. “Traveling so far and spending so much money to surf contests in bad waves, when we have the best waves in the world right in our own backyard.”

Back in Bali, Jabrik approached Quiksilver with a proposal to organize a three-event series in Indonesia, the first of its kind. By 2004, the Indonesian Surfing Championship tour was born, featuring six events. That year, Bali's Pepen Hendrik took the first-ever title of “Number One surfer in Indonesia.”

Fast forward to today. The ISC has grown from three small contests on Bali to eight events on three islands. In addition to the Professional ranks, the ISC also features divisions for Pro Jr., Juniors, Women, Masters and Longboard – all held in world-class surf. The ISC is also the governing body for the Rip Curl Cup Invitational at Padang Padang, the world's Ultimate Tuberiding Contest and the only event featuring 16 of Indonesia's best surfers vs. 16 of the best tuberiders in the world.

Jabrik credits the involvement of companies with a commitment to sporting excellence as one of the most important factors in the success of the ISC. While he notes that the support from all the major surf brands has been the backbone of the tour, Jabrik said the involvement of companies outside the traditional surf industry, such as tour sponsor Coca-Cola and Rip Curl Cup presenting sponsor Power Balance, has been crucial to growing the tour.

“Without the support of reputable sponsors, along with the surfers, surf community and our staff and officials, the ISC would never have been able to grow into the elite sporting body it is today,” says Jabrik.