Local, foreign paddlers to join Maharlika Ocean Cup

CEBU, Philippines — Close to 40 paddlers from different countries will be seeing action in the first ever ocean canoe race in the country dubbed as “1st Maharlika Ocean Cup” presented by Island Buzz Philippines this weekend in Mactan Island.

Aside from Cebu, the participants are coming from Luzon, Siargao, Singapore and Japan among others.

The two-day event features the six-man ocean canoe (OC6) race and stand up paddleboard (SUP) race.

The OC6 race will have the 3K and 7K mix categories while the SUP Race will have the 300-meter sprint for men and women.

The winners in each category will be awarded with a trophy, medal, cash prize and giveaways.

Island Buzz Philippines president Buzzy Budlong said the event aims to promote ocean canoe paddling in the country particularly in Cebu.

“Cebu has a huge potential to be a venue for paddle training and racing of ocean canoes. Through the Maharlika Ocean Cup, Filipinos hopefully will gain better appreciation in ocean canoe paddling, develop skills and be able to compete in international races. With this, we also aim to promote eco-tourism in the country,” said Budlong, the forerunner of SUP races in Cebu.

Island Buzz in partnership with Oceana Philippines will also conduct a paddle tour, which they call the “Historic Mactan Paddle Tour” on the last day of the event on July 7.

“We will be doing a sustainable tour where we will be taking the participants to mangrove sanctuaries and give them a brief lecture on eco-tourism along with clean-up activity.”

Interested parties may contact Island Buzz Philippines at 0917-1440503 and 0917-8857515 or e-mail at [email protected]. (FREEMAN)