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Sports丨Riding the waves

CHINADAILY · 公众号 · 时评 · 2025-03-06 11:00

正文

Waxing down his board at the beach where he grew up, Souleymane Sidibe is determined to show the judges in Cote d'Ivoire's first surfing competition that he's a future champion.

The west African country is best-known internationally for its cocoa. With its 570-kilometer (355-mile) coastline and its impressive waves, it now wants to make a name for itself as a surfer's paradise, alongside South Africa, Morocco and Senegal.

In late February, Assinie beach, 80 kilometers from Abidjan, hosted the Africa Surf Tour, a continent-wide competition.

▲ Souleymane Sidibe from Cote d'Ivoire competes during Africa Surf Tour 2025 at Assinie beach on Feb 22. With a 570-kilometer coastline on the Atlantic and sometimes impressive waves, the west African country is trying to stake its place on the African surfing map, which is dominated by South Africa, Morocco and Senegal. AFP

"Over the past few years, more and more people have taken up surfing," Sidibe said.

The 30-year-old athlete has created an NGO to open up access to the sport and started his own Souley Surf School, a new addition to the handful of surf clubs that have appeared since 2017.

Among the dozens of supporters at the competition that day were young amateur surfers draped in the national flag, who, like Sidibe, had had to teach themselves the art of the wave by imitating the most experienced board riders.

"I've come along to watch and learn stuff," said 22-year-old Kouadio Daniel Koffi, on the lookout for take-offs, rollers and other moves practiced by his hero, one of the only professionals of his generation in Cote d'Ivoire.

Oumar Seye, the Senegalese head of the African Surfing Confederation and organizer of the Assinie competition, said it was crucial to "give a boost to African surfers".

▲ A man leans on a horse as he watches surfers compete during the Africa Surf Tour 2025 at Assinie beach on Feb 22. AFP

"We have great waves and a lovely coast. We've got everything we need for the sport to take off," he said.

Sidibe said he knows he will need to travel abroad to advance his skill.

He nonetheless lauded the merits of Assinie, where the waves break close to the sea's edge, encouraging surfers to develop their technique.

There are still obstacles though, in Cote d'Ivoire as well as in neighboring Ghana and Liberia.

Making a living

"It's very hard to get visas for competitions in Europe or elsewhere because we don't have sponsors," said 29-year-old Guy Constantin Bouillaud from Cote d'Ivoire as he emerged from the water.

Carlos Watson, a 21-year-old Liberian waiting his turn nearby, nodded in agreement.

"My goal for this African tour is to put Liberia on the map," he said, " (even if) it's really difficult for a Liberian to be part of an international surfer league, to be a champion."

Everyone in Liberia, one of Africa's poorest countries, has to be "a self-supporter", he said.

The cost of the equipment is another hurdle.

In Cote d'Ivoire, The West Factory is the only company that manufactures surfboards.

▲ Eric Kouakou, a surfboard shaper at The West Factory, shapes surfboards inside his workshop in Abidjan on Feb 25. AFP

The business, which opened in 2014, is a symbol of a sport that attracts growing interest but is still one where the equipment is only accessible to the richer echelons of society.

Sports丨Riding the waves

正文

▲ A man leans on a horse as he watches surfers compete during the Africa Surf Tour 2025 at Assinie beach on Feb 22. AFP

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