GENERAL LUNA, Siargao Island (MindaNews / 23 Sept) – The Surfing Capital of the Philippines will be busy this week as two simultaneous international surfing events take place in this municipality.
Contest proper for the 19th Annual Siargao International Surfing Cup, which is offering a total of $10,000 in prize money, is expected to start Wednesday.
The Siargao Girls Surfing Cup, meanwhile, will start Tuesday although participants are now busy practicing at the Cloud 9 here today.
It has a total prize money of P200,000.
Both competitions will end on Sept. 29.
The girls’ competition, which had already been cancelled twice, will have 12 surfers from different countries, according to Gerry Deagan, the contest director.
General Luna Mayor Jaime P. Rusillon said that this is the first time the women’s competition will be held in September. “We usually hold it every summer. But because of some circumstances, we opted to hold it this month,” he said, adding that it is now surfing season.
He said this event is sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championships (ASC).
Deagan said ASC made Siargao as part of its 2013 Tour Season.
He said ASC brings the best surfers from Australia, Indonesia, Japan and other places for this competition
Effie Vrakas, a surfer from Greece, expressed her excitement for this competition. “I will try my best. I know I’m not the best compared to others surfers who are really great surfers,” she told MindaNews.
Nilbie Blancada, a surfer from General Luna, said she is ready for the competition. “I practiced a lot because my compatriot expects so much from me,” she said.
Blancada has won several competitions in and outside the country. She bested other Asian surfers during last year’s competition in Cimaja, Indonesia.
“I can’t say that I would get the crown. I will just do all my best for this competition,” she told MindaNews early morning today after her final practice at Cloud Nine.
La Union surfer Daisy Valdez, who has consistently been in the top five in competitions she joined, will also be in Cloud Nine.