Nat’l Surfing Challenge starts

The country’s best surfers see action in Daet, Camarines Norte today up to Sunday in the Ultimate National Surfing Challenge at Bagasbas Beach. The event will also hold skim boarding, beach tattooing contests, dance showdown and surfing clinics in a bid to promote surfing as a major tourist attraction of the province. A beachfront reggae victory party will mark the end of the three-day event on Sunday. Bagasbas hosted the first all-Filipino surfing championship in 1979. According to Gov. Edgar Tallado, Bagasbas is endowed with kilometers of fine sand beaches, the most number of beach breaks, reefs, and river mouth breaks,  making it an ideal surfing haven even for beginners. Aside from surfing, Bagasbas is also home to the Daet International Kiteboarding Competition, Bagasbas International Eco-Arts Festival and various multi-sports events. It will also be the venue of a kayaking marathon of the Philippine Kayaking Association in Feb. 2011.