Published on: Saturday, December 06, 2008 |
Kota Kinabalu: Erratic weather for the past week has forced the organiser of the Kiulu 4M Bamboo Rafting Challenge (K4MC) to postpone the event to Jan 25, next year.
Organising chairman Ariffin Gadait said they have no choice but to reschedule the traditional adventure challenge because most of the bamboo rafts have been washed away during the floods on Thursday night.
"Moreover, the water level is still too high and dangerous for the participants," he said adding that the participants' safety is top priority.
The much-awaited rafting challenge among local adventure athletes was originally slated on Sunday, Dec 7.
To date, about 220 competitors have confirmed their participation. But due to the unforeseen circumstances, Ariffin said the organisers have no choice but to postpone it.
He said they have also decided to accept registration from contestants who have not been able to register earlier but keen to take part in the annual event.
"We will also retain the names of those who have registered before the closing date," he said.
There are two categories in the K4MC namely Single and Team events and held at Pulou Kalapa in Malangang.
The Single category will feature Junior Open for boys and girls below 15-year-old while the Women Open for above 16-year-old and the Xtreme 5M Men Open for above 21-year-old.
In the Team category there are four events namely the Mixed Open, 5M Open, Press/Media, Travel Industry and Corporate & Government races.
Two participants above 18-year-old are the prerequisite for the Team events.
The '4Ms' were derived from the first letter in four events that are from KadazanDusun words manangkus (running), mamangkar (bamboo rafting), manampatau (drift/swim down river on a bamboo pole) and mamarampanau (walk/run on a bamboo stilts).
In the 5M categories, Ariffin said the participants are required to do an extra challenge, which is to build a bamboo raft before rafting down the Kiulu River.
This challenge is also required in the Corporate & Government category.
