Tanauan, Leyte - All is set for the 4th National Skimboarding Open Competition at the Skimboarding Capital, Tanauan, Leyte, which is being sponsored by the local govt of Tanauan, the Provincial Government of Leyte thru Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla and Victoria’s Skimboard, Mayor Roque A. Tiu informed.

Mayor Tiu said that the Open Competition is scheduled to be held on December 27-30 at the Bantay Dagat Area, in Barangay Sto. Nino in Tanauan. He clarified that the holding of the Competition in December is an experimental undertaking because it is believed that there are better waves in December and so the skimriders will enjoy the competition better.

It would be recalled that the previous Skimboarding Competition were conducted on Easter Sunday, Mayor Tiu said when there are many beachcombers visiting the shores of Tanauan.

Mayor Tiu said that the participants for this season’s competition, are being limited to 150 to make the competition easier to manage.

Mayor Tiu added that skimriders from Luzon have signified their intention to join the competition. In fact, several of them e-mailed PIA 8 after reading the news in the PIA website and they were referred to the LGU by PIA.

This is a welcome development, Mayor Tiu said, because in the past, the local participants were all from the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

Foreign participants in this year’s competition, include a young boy from Sweden who will be coming to the Philippines together with his entire family. Other foreign participants are the skimriders from Hongkong.

Mayor Tiu said that several foreign participants are having problems with their bookings because of the peak season but he is still hoping that they will still make it to the Competition.

Mayor Tiu added that the 4th National Skimboarding Competition will formally start on December 27 but the nightly activities at the Site will start on December 20 as the local government decided to hold the annual Kaadlawan Festival there.

Mayor Tiu said that the National Skimboarding Competition is the town’s contribution to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s thrust of making the Central Philippines Super Region as the Tourism Capital of the Philippines.
The public is invited to participate or witness the event which is becoming a tourist-attracting activity in the Region.

The 4th National Skimboarding Open Competition will be supervised by the Philippine Skim Association, the Tanauan SPAWN and the Tanauan PASAKA Jaycees. (PIA 8)