11:22 PM
Henrylito Tacio
But not too many people know that Mati is also famous for its skimboarding competition. This was what my two friends – Dr. Dante Comedido and Armand Mortejo (who works for a beach resort in Samal) – discovered during their recent visit to the town that is 165 kilometers away from Davao City.
Actually, we were there for the Sambuokan Festival. But since we were there already, we decided to watch the Mati Annual Skimboarding Challenge. “Sure, I would love to see it,” said Doc Dante. Armand agreed.
The day after we arrived in Mati, it was raining. But the weather did not deter us to go to Dahican Beach, about 15 minutes away from the heart of the town. The beach is noted for its crystal clear blue waters and a 7-kilometer pure and white sand shore. You have to pass over rough roads before reaching the beach. The good thing is that there is no entrance fee and it is open to anyone – whether locals or foreigners.
Dahican Beach was the venue of the skimboarding competition. About 40 young and adult skimboarders participated in the event. There were 12 players from General Santos City, 11 from Mati (mostly from Dahican), seven from Surigao del Sur, four from Davao City, three from Leyte, two from Iligan City, and one from Tagum City.
Some of the contenders were wondering whether Dahican Beach is the Skimboarding Capital of Mindanao. “There are several reasons why it should be called as such,” says Richard L. Villacorte, the endearing municipal administrator. “For one, our sand here is white unlike others which are dark or black. For another, the water is pristine and blue crystal. But most importantly, the waves are what skimboarders are looking for – not so tall and not too short.”
Jema Flora, a skimboarder from General Santos City, agrees. “The waves here are great, compared to what we have in Sarangani, where we practice skimboarding,” he says.
The skimboarding competition had two categories: champion and advance. Although we were there only for the day’s elimination rounds, we found out later on who emerged winners. Thanks to Dashiel Indelible, Jr., the handsome municipal tourism officer who hosted out visit.
According to Indelible, Sonny Boy “Bayogyog” Aporbo, who is from Mati, took the top prize in the champion category, bringing home the P12,000 cash prize and the coveted Mayor’s cup. First runner up was Leyte’s Roberto Yanuari, Jr., while Mati’s Rodel Patawi was second runner-up and General Santos City’s Jema Flora was third runner-up.
In the advance category, Jigo Missiona from Surigao was declared winner of the P5,000 cash prize and was also given a trophy. Davao’s Glenn Donaire settled for the first runner-up. Mati’s Jaspher Consigna and Surigao’s Jesus Ortiz won the second runner-up and third runner-up, respectively.
For the information of the uninformed, skimboarding – also known as skimming or skiffle boarding – is a boardsport in which a skimboard is used to ride on an incoming wave. A sleeker version of a surfboard, a typical skimboard is made of smoothed marine plywood and fiberglass. The estimated weight is six kilograms since it does not require much buoyancy.
“Unlike surfing,” Wikipedia explains, “skimboarding begins on the beach, with the skimboarder running and dropping their board onto the thin wash of previous waves. They use their momentum to ‘skim’ out to breaking waves, which they then catch back into shore in a manner similar to surfing.”
Another aspect of skimboarding is the so-called “flatland” which involves performing tricks derived from skateboarding on the wash of waves without catching shorebreaks.
Today, this extreme water sport is already popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, China, Malaysia, Japan, and Singapore. In the Philippines, skimboarding was first introduced in Tanauan, Leyte, which has earned the title as the Skimboarding Capital of the Philippines.
As skimboarding elimination was held, Armand, Doc Dante, and myself were talking with George “Jun” Plaza. He is the man behind the Amihan Surf and Skim Team, a group of young boys that teach surfing and skimboarding to visitors or interested individuals who come to Dahican Beach.
Jun also acts as the guardian of the skimboarders and surfers, known as Amihan Boys. The word “Amihan” comes from the northeasterly winds that blow through the country from November to March. “These winds create powerful waves which are perfect for skimboarding and surfing,” Jun claims.
Jun urged us the three of us to learn how to surf. I told him I did that when I was at the Tybee Beach in Savannah, Georgia some years back. “I had enough of that already,” I told him.
Armand and Doc Dante, on the other hand, were hesitant – at first! But Jun won’t take no for an answer. So, Armand finally relented.
About twenty minutes later, Doc Dante suddenly gave his camera, car key and cellphone to me. “Where are you going?” I inquired. He replied, “I want to learn also how to surf. Since I am already here, why not take the chance?”
I was left alone – taking photos of them having fun.
“It’s addictive,” Armand points out. “Once you start, you want to learn – fast. You want to ride the waves. But it’s too hard for me to stand. I have to learn first the tricks before I can really surf.”
“Surfing is tiresome. For someone like my age,” says 37-year-old Doc Dante, “I think I have to pass this kind of sports. This is very good for the teenagers and younger generations.”
Both Armand and Doc Dante have one thing in common: they will return to Mati one of these days to enjoy the beauty of the scenic spots and mesmerizing beaches of the town.
Mati is accessible by land and sea transportation, with Davao City as the entry point. Vans for hire are readily at Villa Victoria Terminal in Bajada and commuter buses regularly leave the Ecoland Bus Terminal every 30 minutes.
0 comments:
Post a Comment