The 2026 Sarawak Regatta runs from October 30 to November 1

KUCHING, 1 Oct: The Sarawak Regatta-Cuching Binge Festival 2026 which runs from 23 October to 1 November will see the summit of the Sarawak Regatta on 30 October to 1 November.

Sarawak's Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneurship Development, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the highlight of the event was the Raja Sungai Cup match scheduled to take place on November 1.

According to him, the event will be attended by the oldest of Sarawak State, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar along with his wife, Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Fauziah Mohd Sanusi and Sarawak Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Brother Johari Tun Openg.

According to him, this year's edition featured 18 races divided into two categories, namely local and open with each offering nine events.

"A total of 18 corridors will be available for the field boat race, while 10 corridors will be available for the canoe races.

"Two new events introduced in 2025 involving the 300 metres distance, namely Men's 10 Kayak Boat (Local) for Agency/Javatan Personnel and Women's 10 Kayak Boat (Local) for Agency/Javatan Personnel, are maintained for competition this year", he said.

He said this at the Media Conference of the Sarawak Regatta and Supervisory Cheque Submission Committee in Kuching, today.

Meanwhile, Abdul Karim stressed that wearing a safety jacket is mandatory for all racing participants, including the officers and security trustees involved.

He said the team manager was also responsible for ensuring that orders were followed for the safety of all parties.

"The Sarawak Rivers Board can cancel the participation if there are teams that fail to comply with the safety jacket rules", he said.

The winner of Raja Sungai for the Regional Category will take home a round-robin trophy and RM30,000 in cash, while the total prize pool for Sarawak Regatta 2026 is worth RM378,400 including trophies and cash.

For the Local Category, nine events were contested are Bidar Boat 10 Men's Mixed Crew (eight men, two women), Bidar Boat 15 Men's Crew, Bidar Boat 20 Men's Crew, Bidar Boat 25 Men's Crew, Bidar Boat 30 Men's Crew (King of the River - TYT Cup), Bidar Boat 20 Men's Crew (Intermediate Division), Kenyalang Boat 20 Men's Crew (Ministry/Agencies/GLC/Swasta), 10 Men's Boat and 10 Women's Boat.

Meanwhile, the Open Category also featured nine events, namely Bidar Boat 15 Men's Kayaks, Bidar Boat 20 Men's Kayaks, Bidar Boat 25 Men's Kayaks, Bidar Boat 30 Men's Kayaks (Borneo International Cup), Vip Boat 20 Men's Kayaks (VIP), Mixed Boat 20 Men's Kayaks (15 men, five women), The boats are 20 Mixed Cruisers (15 men, five women) IPTA/IPTS and the Bidar Boat 30 Men's International Marathon 3KM.

In total, the Sarawak Regatta 2026 features 43 racing events, including 25 filters and 18 final events.

Participation forms were opened from 1 September 2026 through the Sarawak Rivers Board website, while registration for participation was opened on 1 October and closed on 15 October 2026, at 12 noon.

The team manager's briefing and draw of the race corridor is scheduled to take place on 20 October 2026, at 9am at Cultural Heritage Innovation Centre, Sarawak Multimedia Authority.-TVS