With the shared passion of growing the sport of surfing in the Philippines, the Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT), arrives at the shores of Guiuan for the second leg of the national tour.
“The place might have changed, but waves and the friendliness of the locals remain the same,” says Guiuan municipal mayor Annaliza Kwan during the opening ceremony of the 9th Guiuan Odyssey Waves in ABCD Beach, Calicoan Island.
Six years after super typhoon Yolanda (international name ‘Haiyan’) ravaged eastern Samar, professional surfing returns to Calicoan Island today. With 160 of the Philippines’ best surfers from 13 different provinces travelled to compete in both shortboard and longboard categories open to both men’s, women’s and juniors.
“We’re very excited that the PSCT is here in Guiuan!” exclaims Mayor Kwan. “Guiuan is known as the surfing capital of the Visayas, and it’s been a while since we had a national surfing competition. There’s immense potential in Guiuan for surfing, and we’re so happy that we’re back!” Mayor Kwan adds.
Calicoan Island is known for its beautiful, dreamy sets of left-hander waves that every surfer, goofy or regular would dream of surfing. The waves, once feared by the locals, are now viewed with greater respect and interest because of surfing.
“It’s so great to see such talent and number of surfers here for the competition. We started surfing here since 2005, and we’ve been through a lot especially since Typhoon Haiyan,” shares Junjun Balansay, one of the first local surfers from Calicoan Island.
“We hope the tour continues every year and I want to see the tour every year. I have nothing but gratitude and respect for everybody who came, and I hope we all enjoy,” Balansay adds.
The Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT) is the premier professional surfing competition where top surfers from all over the Philippines compete in multiple locations around the country, vying for a spot in the national surfing team.
Already on its third year, PSCT celebrates Filipino surfers, passionate fans, and dedicated partners that together grow the Philippine surfing community to what it is today.
“We’re grateful for the trust of the local government unit, the Eastern Samar and Guiuan lokals to have PSCT here in Calicoan. We’re expecting good swell to come to the island this week, and we’re greatly excited for what’s ahead,” says PSCT president Luke Landrigan.
The forecast looks promising for the rest of the week. The contest proper begins tomorrow, October 16, with the call time of 6:00 am.
The 9th Guiuan Odyssey Waves is made possible by the local government unit of Guiuan thru Mayor Annaliza P. Gonzales-Kwan, Vice Mayor Veronica Cabacaba- Ramirez, the Sangguniang Bayan Members and the Department of Tourism Region 8. With the support of the Philippine Sports Commission, Guiuan Water District, Gwapitos, Kudo Surf, Cebu Pacific, Fat Lips Surf Shop, ABS-CBN Sports and Action, CNN Philippines, ANCx, Inquirer.net, Metro Channel, Inq Pop, Fluidsurf, My Life on Board, PAGCOR, VANS Philippines, Maui and Sons, Be Siargao Magazine, DWIZ, Balay Pafico, ABCD Surf, and Calicoan Classics.
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