Pasuruan body boarders kick up mud

It's all fun in the mud, as a boy pushes his much younger sibling on his skilot board across cracked mud.

A layer of dried, cracked mud breaks off as a body board carrying Abdullah flies over its surface, kicking at the gray muddy water. Spectators packed into the racing arena on Tuesday in Tambak Lekok village, Lekok subdistrict, Pasuruan regency scream and urge on the body boarders. Within seconds, local contestant Abdullah crosses the finish line, emerging the champion of the 2006 skilot competition.

Unlike in Sidoarjo, mud is the source of fun and laughter as thousands of residents from nearby East Java cities crowd the skilot racecourse, located about 70 kilometers from capital Surabaya. The two-hectare arena is gay with the rhythmic sounds of dangdut and the buzz of a traditional bazaar.

Skilot is unique to Pasuruan and is much like body boarding -- except racers surf on mud ponds, not ocean waves. The sport was inspired by clammers who make a living along the East Java coastline, digging for the bivalves in mud during low tides.

As the sucking quality of mud impeded their movements, the clammers used a 30 x 100 centimeter board while clamming -- and in the process, discovered a new speed game. Skilot was born.

According to local figure Abdussalam, skilot racing began in the mid-1980s: "The local government thought this cultural event had tourism potential, so they established the contest."

In the mid-1990s, owing to its huge popularity, the East Java government built a skilot racetrack in Tanah Lekok Pasuruan. The track is shaped like a horseshoe and is 100 meters long. Racers get ready on an embankment about halfway down the track, while spectators line up on the opposite bank.

Asmawi, a Lekok Pasuruan resident known as a skilot expert, said that although the sport might look easy to master, some skill was required to control a skilot board, particularly in balancing on the board.

Racers keep their bodies low over the board, grasping the board handle with both hands and supporting their weight on one knee while kicking with the other leg like an oar to propel the skilot across the mud. Breathing in this position takes some training as well.

"Frankly, strong breathing is highly crucial to skilot surfing, and if your breathing isn't strong enough, you'll get tired after only a few meters," smiled Asmawi.

No binding rules exist in skilot, and the boards are made by racers themselves. Participants draw lots to determine their starting positions, a signal is given, and they are off across the mud.

"It's a simple arrangement, but racers do get disqualified," said racing committee head Mujiyin, "particularly if racers use both legs for kicking."

This year's competition involved 44 adult racers and four child racers from Pasuruan's fishing, clamming and fish farming communities, who vied for the top three spots and a combined cash prize of Rp 1.8 million. But all racers receive a Rp 10,000 participation gift prize.

"Everyone's a winner," said Mujiyin.