The Maldives Bodyboarding Association (MBBA) team that took part in the Jeff Wilcox Memorial 2013 competition held in Australia last weekend received a warm welcome back to the Maldives last night (August 28).
Around 25 friends and family, as well as the Minister of State for Human Resources, Youth and Sports – Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon – and local media, greeted the team with flowers, cheers, and well-wishes in the VIP lounge of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.
The MBBA sent their top three bodyboarders to the Australian competition – Ali ‘Kuda Ayya’ Khushruwan, Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu, and Ali ‘JD’ Javid – who had taken 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, respectively in the Burunu Shikaaru Bodyboarding Challenge held in Male’ this May. Team official and MBBA Vice President Mohamed Khushruwan Ahmed also traveled with the team.
The Maldivian competitors stood out as “some of the best in the event”, with 17 year-old bodyboarder Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu winning first place in the competition’s Junior Division, Jeff Wilcox Memorial Event Director Aaron Dodds previously told Minivan News.
The returning team lauded the competition’s organisers, the Forster Tuncurry Bodyboard Association (FTBA), for holding a quality competition and offering their support to develop the sport in the Maldives.
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