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First national wakeboarding tournament in Camsur |
Aired December 09, 2006 |
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Camarines Sur is now officially on the global map as one of the best wakeboarding cable parks in Asia and the world. Governor L-Ray Villafuerte was pioneer in the sports and has an insatiable passion for wakeboarding. This cable park at the Camsur Watersports Complex was built to spoil the wake boarder. The water here is fresh water and friendly to the eyes. The water is relatively warm all year round and at the bottom, you will find sand as opposed to rocks in other beaches. The cable park is open at night so you can wakeboard long after the sun has gone down.
There are international wake boarders who stay in Camarines Sur for up to six months at a time to escape the harsh winter season in their respective countries and continue to wake board in ideal tropical temperatures. Cable wakeboarding is similar to wakeboarding from behind the boat except for a few things. First, obviously instead of being pulled by a boat, you are pulled by a cable system. Second, in cable wakeboarding, you don’t have to deal with water conditions since you are in open water. In wakeboarding by boat, you start on water while in cable wakeboarding, you jump into the water to start.
The boys division was very much anticipated by Gov. L-Ray because both his sons, Luigi and Julio, were competing. He may be the governor but when it comes to his sons, he is just like any other dad. Luigi and Julio spend almost all of their free time at the cable park. The skills of these young boys really impressed the crowd and the judges. They made wakeboarding look so easy. You can learn wakeboarding as young as three years old.
The Camsur Watersports Complex is located within the provincial complex. It’s an impressive six-hectare park with a six-point cable system from Germany that is built on a 4.5 hectare lake. Next to the girls, it was the ladies turn to compete. It was an exciting day for all of them because finally, after all the weekends of practice, it was time to come down on the park. These ladies finally knew were they rank in Philippine wakeboarding. My partner Marc and Gov. L-Ray shed a little light saying, "Hey Dyan, if you join this national tournament, whatever place you finish, that’s your national ranking." At least I could keep the rank until the next national. But it’s almost a done deal because the number of lady participants will double, if not triple, in the next tournament.
My good friend Jeena Lopez, the better half of another good friend of mine, Ernie Lopez, showed the crowd including her husband that she was a serious contender, though she is a newcomer to the sport. Jeena grabbed an impressive third place. Second place went to Karen Amoranto. Like everyone predicted, Margarita King totally nailed it and brought home the championship trophy. The Junior Men’s Division came after the ladies open. The guys were looking cool, calm and collected. For some reason, the better you are in the wakeboarding, the less you talk when out of water. Once you’re in it-- jumping the kickers, twisting and turning while hanging on with one hand is equivalent to shouting and bragging out loud. Raymond Tosio shouted enough to land third place. Ricky Ortilla was louder at second place. Miguel Villafuerte took home the top prize in the Junior Men’s Division.
When it came to the Master Men’s Division, everyone suddenly drew nearer to the lake and chose a nice spot to see some action. Other participants focused their attention on the division. There were 17 participants in the Men’s Masters Division including Sports Unlimited's good friend Governor Leandro Verseles of Catanduanes. Governor Lee did not bring home the trophy but he definitely brought down the house with his fan club. The competition was fierce and fabulous during the Open Men’s Division. There were 29 participants. |
By DYAN CASTILLEJO-GARCIA
The best wake boarders from all over the world were personally invited by Gov. L-Ray during the opening of this cable park. They were instantly impressed and it did not take long for talks on its beauty to spread. Soon after the opening, this Camsur Watersports Complex won the bid to host the 2008 World Wakeboarding Cable Championships.
The Philippine Cable Wakeboard Nationals was the first tournament that determined the rankings of the best cable wake boarders in the Philippines. This event also showcased some of the world’s best wake boarders including those from the United States and Australia. Aside from being judges for the tournament, these people also displayed different wakeboarding exhibitions. The competition was organized by the provincial government of Camarines Sur and the Philippine Water Ski and Wakeboard Federation.
The girls were not overshadowed by the boys. They too went all out during the competition. They were fearless just like the boys. Gov. L-Ray told me that more and more yound people are engaging in wakeboarding on weekends.
After thinking about it, I realized I practically have nothing to lose. On the contrary, I would be guaranteed a rank. To cut the story short, I was a last minute entry to the Ladies Open Division.
Wakeboarding is more than just a sport, it is a lifestyle. It 's all about bonding and learning from one another. Being happy when someone achieves a new goal is what makes this sport very endearing.