Sun Soaked 2016, The Ilocos Sur Beach Festival
At 4:45am, I caught myself taking a cab to Iloilo international airport for my 7:20am flight bound for Manila. Yes, you can say that I am way too excited for this trip. It's been weeks since my last gig in Boracay, and I couldn't wait to step on to that plane and start rockin' another beach tournament. My January was all about the Sun Soaked Beach Festival month in Ilocos! It was also my first beach Ultimate tournament in Ilocos although it's my second time attending the Sun Soaked Festival. I photographed the PKA Kiteboarding exhibition, last year.
So, after a 13 hour road trip and a few cheesebuns and bags of Nagaraya peanuts, we had finally arrived at our destination - the Cabugao beach, Ilocos Sur. It was already about 10:30pm when we arrived. We were all tired from the trip, but we were welcomed by the smiling faces of Buboy Famorcan and Karen Cabrera of the Boracay Dragons, our tournament marshals Magic, Alvin, Deedee and Maven, and of course a long spread of steamed rice and yes, you guessed it right... Bagnet! The ten hungry passengers went on to grab some plates and began killing the pork! It was really good.
The Sun Soaked Beach Festival was officially opened by congressman Ronald Singson, the man behind this wonderful event. Three amazing sporting events were held in the beautiful beach of Cabugao. We witnessed the top watermen and women in the country during the Dragonboat races. There were also former college superstar athletes from the UAAP women's Volleyball who competed in the Beach volleyball tournament, and of course, our highflying speedsters of the Philippine Ultimate who dominated the hot, steamy sand during the beach Ultimate tournament. It was one heck of a beach festival, filled with action and intense competition. The best part? I got the chance to shoot them all!
Unfortunately, the Dragonboat races were called-off due to strong winds and swells that bombarded the ocean. They tried to resume the races after a couple of hours break. But, the swell conditions got worse the rest of the day. Some of the dragonboat men and women decided to watch the beach volley tourney instead, and some went inside their tents for a short R&R. On the other hand, the beach Ultimate teams went all out from the first set of games up to the last. My main focus was to cover the beach Ultimate tournament, and as expected, the participating teams were hot!
With a whopping PHP 40,000.00 championship prize, 14 teams from different parts of the country gathered together to showcase what they were made of on the beach. The weather was hot, the sand was scorching, and so were the games. That was my first Ultimate (Frisbee) tournament of the year, and it was pretty much the best way to start off a busy Ultimate season. Day 1 ended with the Dragonboat awards night. Congratulations to team Coast Guards for winning the top prize. A buffet dinner was prepared with unlimited sodas and booze, and a killer concert from a reggae band from Tacloban and the classic Pinoy rockband, Razorback, who gave us some classic tunes from the past to end the successful day 1 of the Sun Soaked Festival.
Though Day 2 was not as crowded as the first day because the Dragonboat teams went on to their merry way, the Ultimate games got more intense and exciting. All the teams had their own highlights and great plays, but I think the players who stood out all throughout the tournament were the Dragon kids from team Buboy & Friends - Justin, Kobe, Jan-Jan and AJ who did a tremendous job showing off their skills to the Ultimate community. It was their first ever beach tournament outside the island of Boracay, and they did a fantastic job. I've been saying this since the first time I saw them play on the island. These kids will soon rock the world.
As expected, Team Probinsyanos, led by Bolantoy, Nelson and April bagged the championship title beating the young & gun roster of Buboy Famorcan. Neco and friends took second runner-up. It was definitely a great way to start PUI's Ultimate season. I have a positive feeling that this season is going to be a phenomenal year!
Then, it was finally time to head back home to Iloilo city. A day's rest would be enough for another great adventure coming my way next weekend. It's time to go back to one of my favorite places... Malaybalay, Bukidnon!
Special thanks to the following people who helped make the Sun Soaked 2016 Beach Festival a huge success:
Hon. Ryan Luis Singson, Governor of Ilocos Sur
Hon. Edgardo Cobangbang, Municipal Mayor of Cabugao
Hon. Ronald Singson, Congressman of the 1st District of Ilocos Sur
Marius Cabudol, Sports Coodinator of Ilocos Sur
And, big thanks to Karen Cabrera as well for organizing the Ultimate Frisbee Tournament!
Until then... More stories to tell, more images to share - It's All About U!
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