THE ICTSI Philippine Kiteboarding Association Tour kicks off its four-leg fourth season next week with organizers confident of producing the next batch of talents who could represent the country in various international competitions.
PKA president Jay Ortiz said since the sport is now part of the 2018 World Youth Olympics in Argentina and with a possibility of its inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, they’re stepping up their effort to discover and tap potential talents.
“PKA is also aimed at building the next generation of kiteboarding superstars by developing grassroots program for kids,” said Ortiz in yesterday’s launch of the annual event at the Mango Tree at the BGC in Taguig City.
“Now that the sport is in the 2018 Youth Olympics and hopefully in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this competition will be a perfect staging ground in discovering fresh new talents,” he said.
Cuyo Island in Palawan will stage the first leg on Nov. 24-26 with a huge international field expected to see action. The second stage will be held in Bantayan Island, Cebu from Jan. 13-15, 2017 with Boracay hosting the third stop on Feb. 3-5 before the tour winds up in Cagbalete Island in Quezon on March 3-5.
Ortiz said they expect not only the best and the brightest kiteboarders in the country but also a slew of foreign participants, who have graced the first three staging of the event sponsored by ICTSI and backed by Cabrinha, Greenyard Boracay, Cobra Energy Drink, Drew Kettle Beer, and LGUs of Cuyo Island, Sta. Fe, Bantayan Cebu, Boracay, Aklan Province and Mauban, Quezon.
“We expect a lot of foreign entries just like last season so we’re really excited about this year,” said Ortiz.
The competition features three events—race, freestyle and hangtime – and divided into different levels—kids, novice, men’s, women’s and Masters class. Over the past four years, the PKA has organized more than 16 competitions on some of the country’s top surfing destinations. Their recent 2015-16 season drew more than 160 participants across 20 countries from Europe, America and Asia.
“This tour likewise helps further promote local tourism since we also help feature some of the top kitesurfing destinations in our social media page which foreigners not only from Asia Pacific, but also from the US and Europe would love to visit. With more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines has a lot of great kitesurfing spots to offer,” said Philippine Windsport president Manny Cabili.
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