top of page

Surfing Competitions in Patong and Khao Lak Set for September

Sep 7
2 min read

The Surfing Federation of Thailand and Kalim Reef Surfers have announced the dates for this year's surfing competitions in Patong. The event is one of three major competitions on Phuket's surfing calendar, alongside contests at Kata and Surin beaches. This year's Kalim Patong Surfing Contest will take place from September 18 to 20, followed immediately by the youth Grom Patrol competition in Khao Lak, in neighbouring Phang Nga Province.



Patong Municipality is currently completing preparations for the Kalim Patong Surfing Contest 2026. A full-scale festival does not appear to be planned this year, as the Kalim area has limited space for such an event. The sporting programme, however, will feature seven divisions for adult and junior surfers.


Kalim Patong Surfing Contest 2026

Shortboard

  • Open Men

  • Open Women

  • Open Men Master 40+

  • Groms Under 12

  • Groms Under 16 Men


Longboard

  • Open Men

  • Open Women


The organisers publish all current announcements on the Kalim Reef Surfers Facebook page, which also contains registration links. Photos and videos from the competition will be available there during the event.


The Patong contest will continue Phuket's surfing season, although the major events only got underway recently. The competition at Kata Beach was held about a month earlier, on August 15–16. There is currently no confirmed information about a surfing event at Surin, while the dates for the Grom Patrol Thailand 2026–2027 competition in Phang Nga have been announced.


The Khao Lak event is scheduled for September 25–26 at Memories Surf Village on Pakarang Beach. As in Kata, the competition is expected to combine sport with a full festival programme. The event will feature a total prize pool of 200,000 baht and more than a dozen divisions for different age groups.


Grom Patrol Thailand 2026–2027

Shortboard

  • U10 Open

  • U12 Open

  • U14 Boys, Girls separately

  • U16 Boys, Girls separately

  • U18 Boys, Girls separately


Longboard

  • U18 Boys


The Khao Lak competition is part of the international Grom Patrol youth surfing series. Thai surfers regularly make it through to the final rounds and have also won at the series' concluding events, earning points toward the global junior rankings.


At the same time, some of Thailand's strongest young surfers often miss competitions on the Andaman coast because world championships are held elsewhere at the same time. The ISA World Junior Surfing Championship 2026, for example, opened in El Salvador last week.


The championship brings together 420 athletes from 56 countries, including two Thai competitors. Sixteen-year-old Gwinth Yandke from Khao Lak is competing in the U16 and U18 boys' divisions, while 13-year-old Jirapat Chulasukontha from Phuket is taking part in the U16 and U18 girls' divisions.


For Yandke, this year's event is his first appearance at the ISA World Juniors. Chulasukontha, meanwhile, has previously won the Rip Curl Grom competition in Bali.


Before the start of the championship, both Thai athletes took part in the traditional Sands of the World ceremony. Representatives of each national team bring sand from their home beaches and pour it into a shared vessel as a symbol of unity among surfers from around the world.


This year, therefore, a small part of Thailand's Andaman coastline has also travelled to El Salvador alongside the Thai flag.

Comments

bottom of page