Sports, tourism, environment, employment

The local government of Cavinti, Laguna is using sports tourism to spur economic growth for its constituents. They are banking on the potent combination of the province’s natural beauty and vast aquatic resources to attract more visitors and create jobs through sports training and competition. From Feb. 7 to 9, they will be holding the Cavinti Watersports Olympics at Lumot Lake. It will be a breakthrough event that will combine sports tourism with environmental awareness, the advocacy of its local chief executive.

Laguna province has the most lakes in Asia, and has been home to several major sporting events not limited to those revolving around the water. The provincial government has successfully bid for the Palarong Pambansa, and in the late 1990’s, Laguna native, businessman and sports patron Bert Lina assembled the Laguna Lakers, a proud professional basketball team in the Metropolitan Basketball Association. The Lakers played at the RECS Center, which boasts of many international standard sports facilities from track and field to swimming and other sports.

“The Municipal Government of Cavinti, Laguna is aspiring to become a first class municipality in the forthcoming years. To attain this, we are boosting our tourism industry together with the improvement of the delivery of basic needs and livelihood of our constituents,” explains Mayor Milbert Oliveros. “The new administration is exerting continuous effort to make Cavinti known by highlighting its wondrous landscape and copious economic potentials.”

In the 1990’s, resort owners from nearby man-made Lake Caliraya attempted to organize their own aquatic sports fiesta, focusing on non-motorized water sports. Needless to say, the attempt failed because of the conflicting agendas of those who were invited to participate. The event never got off the ground, and it has taken some time for similar events to push through.

The three-day celebration kicks off with the release of fingerlings into the lake to restock whatever fish may be caught during the trademark bass fishing contest to be staged there. The Philippine Kite Boarding Association will hold a  kiteboarding and windsurfing exhibition to punctuate the first morning, to be followed by canoe races in the afternoon. The second day will feature a dragonboat race all day, coupled with kayak races in the afternoon. Carabao races, native games, a photo contest and art competitions add flavor to the sporting events. Each night will feature live musical performances to encourage visitors to stay.

Perhaps of more significance, this administration is also working with government agencies like the National Power Corporation, which is steward to no less than seven nature preserves, including Caliraya. Cavinti’s sports and ecotourism efforts may become a template for the awareness and protection of watersheds around the country. If they can draw crowds to those protected areas on a regular basis, they will provide livelihood to local citizens and draw attention to maintaining our sources of clean air, drinking water and food. Oliveros told The STAR that he is hoping this event will start a snowball towards getting local and foreign tourists to see the natural wonders near Metro Manila. Some Napocor partners are studying the feasibility of using Lumot Lake for hydroelectric and wind power generation. Caliraya has been a source of hydro power since it was built by American engineers during the Marcos administration. Napocor is looking for ways to enhance the viability of its watersheds, including the vast Angat Watershed that spans a huge portion of Luzon.

The advantage of having these kinds of events is that you don’t need large infrastructure, just facilities that have a low impact on the environment. The biggest expense would, for example, be building dragonboats for permanent use on the lake, a perfectly placid area for training away from the city. Many times, our success in international competition hinges on the absence of distractions to our athletes. If the local and provincial governments work together with the education sector, the sports featured in Cavinti’s event may become part of the physical education program there, and soon be trademark sports for the province, the way our champions in lawn bowls and petanque hail mainly from Pampanga. As the movie cliché goes, if you build it, they will come.

“Cavinti has established festivals and activities that will encourage tourists to explore, experience, be enchanted by and enjoy the beauty of our town,” Oliveros continues.  “The project is aimed at promoting the lake as part of eco-tourism in Cavinti, and maintaining the natural beauty of the lake.”

Oliveros is hoping this event will serve as a catalyst and bring some of the heavy hitters in sports to his town.

* * *

Last week, ABS-CBN launched its ABS-CBN Sports+Action free TV channel, aimed at consolidating all its sports properties and catering to the growing fan base of several sports. Sports+Action will bring together local and international sports properties which the network has acquired, from the FIFA World Cup to the UFC to Nonito Donaire’s next world title fights. The channel will include the NBA’s regular season and playoffs, and introduce NBA Inside Stuff and NBA Action.

The channel will also serve as home to the movies of the late action king Fernando Poe, Jr. and hard-hitting news programs meant to satisfy the predominantly male sector of the television sports market.