The whitewater village on the Umtrew River in Umtham, Ri-Bhoi, is gearing up to become India’s adventure hotspot with the focus on over 80 international and Indian athletes set to participate in the upcoming Megha Kayak Festival (MKF).
MKF, an international whitewater kayaking competition in its fifth year now, is scheduled to be held on October 13-16.
It will include a downriver time-trial event and ‘extreme slalom’ race. Amongst the list of confirmed athletes are current and past Olympians, such as Giovanni De Gennaro from Italy, Sofia Reinoso (Mexico), Vavra Hradilek (Czech Republic), extreme kayaking world champions Nouria Newman (France) and Adrian Mattern (Germany).
The list of athletes participating in the event is growing by the day and the organisers expect athletes belonging to over 20 nationalities to eventually be in the fray.
Umtham, which is hosting this event, is ready to have a large group of spectators and will even provide two kayaking workshops, with special consideration for aspiring female kayakers. The aim of this festival is to promote adventure tourism and help establish Meghalaya as one of the major water sports destinations globally.
It is being organised by the Ri Bhoi Watersports and Tourism Cooperative Society along with Goodwave Adventures, with funding and support from the Department of Tourism.
Details of the workshop will be made available soon on the festival’s official Instagram handle @meghakayakfest and the website www.meghakayakfest.com.
