Wazzup Pilipinas!
Blue Palawan International Kiteboard Open recently held it press conference or media launch to formally invite interested participants and spectators to come join them for 10 days of fun under the sun to compete, spectate, relax and join in on the good times on and off the waters of Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The media launch was held at Handle Bar in Makati on January 10, 2017 and was led by the main organizer and professional kiteboarder Paula Rosales representing the Philippines. She was also with professional kiteboarders Eric Rienstra from the USA, James Boulding of the UK and Manuela Jungo of Switzerland.
The four announced their inaugural event of the season: the 2017 Blue Palawan International Kiteboard Open. The highly anticipated and successful kiteboarding event initiated last year is back for its second run as the first event of the world renowned Kite Park League Tour. Kicking things off with a qualifying event held at Blue Palawan in beautiful Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island, Philippines on February 6th & 7th.
The qualifier is open to anyone and is your chance to compete alongside the world’s best kite boarding park riding talent at the world's most tropical kite park. The top two men and two women from the qualifier will join the invited 24 riders on Tuesday February 7th for opening celebrations and will collectively compete for their chance at the title during the main event to immediately follow the open qualifier from February 8th to 16th.
In a video interview with Paula (to be uploaded soon at our YouTube channel), she revealed that the grand prize will be a whopping USD20K plus a lot more prizes in cash and kind for all the emerging winners of the kiteboard open. She is undoubtedly so eager to hold this event accompanied by side tours of the many tourist spots of Palawan, plus added special activities they have lined up for their guests giving them the chance to experience cultural dances like "tinikling" and other similar activities that both foreign and local participants will enjoy.
Kiteboarding is somewhat an expensive sport due to the required equipment but just like any other sport there are some second-hand equipment available if you look hard enough. The sport also has no age limit or physical requirement as long as you are capable and passionate about it. If you are already good in wakeboarding then that's already half of the struggle to learn making the sport easier for you. All you have to learn now is how to control yourself on the board while in the mercy of the wind.
Since the Blue Palawan venue is said to be windy most of the time, there shouldn't be any problem for kiteboarders. This is one of the reasons why the Philippines was again chosen to be the starting event of the tour as the winds are particularly great during this time of the year from December to February.
It was also mentioned during the presscon Q&A that the other side of the island of Boracay usually hosts several kiteboarding enthusiasts. If the popular white beach area is where tourists hang out for the sand, sun and beach, the other side is where the wind is at its best for both kiteboarding enthusiasts and professionals.
More information can be found on our video coverage of the presscon to be posted soon at our YouTube channel at http://www.YouTube.com/wazzuppilipinas
For more information about getting there, accommodation, non-kiting activities and more, please visit www.bluepalawanopen.com.
Invited Riders List and Registration Information are to follow.
Invited Riders List and Registration Information are to follow.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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