Surfing in the Philippines faces bright future 

MANILA – With more foreign surfers starting to take notice of the local surf spots, the sports of surfing in the Philippines faces very bright future.
”Surfing in our country is very, very bright,” said Buji Libarnes, one of the top local male surfers.
Libarnes, an architect who designs beach resorts, and other top local surfers that include Luke Landrigan, Lorraine Lapus and Nikkie dela Paz, are preparing for the international surfing competition set Feb. 21-22 Urbiztondo beach in San Juan, La Union, reported PNA’s Jelly Musico.

Sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championship (ASC), the competition attracted competitors from Australia, Japan and Indonesia and offers P200,000 top prize.
”I expect this tournament will provide more avenue for our local surfers to be recognized not only here but abroad,” Libarnes said.
Viva Sports Management Inc., organizer of the event, is presently negotiating with a television station for the coverage of the event which is expected to draw surfers from other surf spots in the country specially from Siargao Island, the country’s surfing capital.
”We want to make this event to encourage more international competitions in our country,” VSM marketing executive Mike Ochosa said.
San Juan in La Union is considered the surfing capital of northern Philippines which has waves suitable for beginners, intermediate and advance surfers.
The Philippines has at least eight surf spots including the famous Cloud Nine in Siargao Island in Surigao del Sur.
In the 1980s, a group of travelling surfers discovered a wave of the coast of Siargao Island with a thick and hallow tube which they named ‘Cloud 9’.
Since then, Siargao became synonymous with surfing and is now well-known as “The Surfing Capital of the Philippines.”
Last year, CNN placed Siargao’s Cloud Nine at the 9th spot among the world’s 50 best surf spots.
CNN described Cloud Nine a “death ride” because “fearless surfers will experience a slice of paradise or hallucinations as waves wrap over them like a liquid cocoon.”
The country’s other surf spots are found in Baler, Aurora; Bagasbas in Camarines Norte; the Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte; Puraran Beach Resort in Baras, Catanduanes which is known as the home of “Majestic Waves”; Pundaquit in San Antonio, Zambales; and sitio Liwa-Liwa in San Felipe, Zambales.
Ochosa said surfing is one of the sports where the Filipinos can excel internationally because it does not require height like basketball.
”It only requires determination and physical stamina because you have to paddle your hands against the water current while waiting for the perfect wave,” Ochosa said.
Given enough support both from the private and government, Libarnes said surfing will provide more international recognition for the Filipino athletes.
”We have proven that Filipino athletes can excel like in the field of boxing and billiards and we can also achieve this through surfing,” Libarnes said.