Malaysia to host FISE World Series in 2014

By Anthony Tan | email: anthonykhtan@yahoo.co.uk
Virgin Communications

Malaysia has the honour to be one of the sixth countries in the world and the first in Asia to host the Festival International Sport Extreme (FISE) World Series from 2014 - 2016 in Melaka.
 

It won the bid to host the event with the combined efforts of Malaysia Roller Sports Association (MARS) and Malaysia Major Events, a division of Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), an agency under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

 

FISE World Series is the world’s biggest action and extreme sports festival which showcases sports disciplines such as skateboarding, BMX, mountain biking, wake-boarding and inline skating.

 

 Standing left to right: Nicole Bricq, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz,

                       Seated left to right: Herve Andre Benoit, Idroose Tambarin

The recent memorandum of understanding to bring FISE to Malaysia was signed by MARS president Idroose Tambarin and Hurricane Action Sport Company general manager Herve Andre Benoit.

 

It was witnessed by the Minister of Tourism and Culture Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and France’s Minister of Foreign Trade Nicole Bricq.
 

Mohamed Nazri said, “The synergy between sports tourism and our UNESCO heritage destination Melaka will highlight the best aspect of what Malaysia has to offer in terms of extreme sports and tourism experience.”

With Malaysia beating 18 other countries, he added, “This is truly going to be a memorable and historic occasion for us all.”

 

Melaka will host the inaugural FISE World Series 2014 from 4-7 September is targeted to bring in 10,000 attendees comprising 3,000 international participants and tourists from all over the world and generating an economic impact of RM28 million to Malaysia’s economy.

MyCEB chief executive officer Zulkefli Sharif remarked, “With years of hosting major events, Malaysia is certainly capable of bringing to life the grit, action and outdoor spectacles needed for a global action sports festival like FISE.

Mountain Biking

“The race to win this bid was tough but Malaysia’s winning mix of venues, facilities, hospitality and the value for money confidently placed the country ahead of the pack. We cannot wait to thrill sports athletes, spectators and tourists from the world over with what Malaysia can offer, especially in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 campaign.”

 

Malaysia last hosted an extreme sport event, Asian X Game, in 2006.

Idroose said, “As extreme sports enthusiasts, we are truly thrilled to be the pioneer in this region to organise the FISE World Series. The strong government support has resulted in the confidence of Hurricane, the rights owner to the FISE World Series to choose Malaysia as the host country for its 2014-2016 series. We have extreme sport talents in Malaysia and it will be a waste if we do not provide them a platform to harness their skills and show the world what we have can be of world class.”






Wakeboarding

Extreme sport is still in its infancy although the sport has been in Malaysia for about 10 years. It has been stagnant due to lack of competitions and promotion of international events in the country.

With the FISE taking place, he quipped, “We hope it will revive the interest in the extreme sports locally once again.”