PKA to tap young kiteboarders

MANILA, Philippines - The search for Filipino kiteboarding heroes continues as ICTSI and the Philippine Kiteboarding Association team up in presenting the fourth installment of their kiteboarding competition starting Nov. 24 in Cuyo Island, Palawan.

Since the sport is now part of the 2018 World Youth Olympics in Argentina, PKA president Jay Ortiz said they’re stepping up their efforts to find potential talents.

“PKA is also aimed at building the next generation of kiteboarding superstars by developing grassroots programs for kids,” said Ortiz in yesterday’s event launch at the Mango Tree at the BGC in Taguig City.

“Now that the sport is in the 2018 Youth Olympics and hopefully in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this competition will be a perfect staging ground in discovering fresh talents,” he added.

Ortiz said they’re not only expecting the best and the brightest kiteboarders in the country but also foreign participants as well.

“We expect a lot of foreign entries just like last season so we’re really excited about this year,” he said.

The competition features three events – race, freestyle and hangtime – divided into different levels: kids, novice, men’s, women’s and masters class, with the top five finishers from each category receiving a total prize of P40,000.

The Cuyo stage is slated Nov. 24-26 and will be followed by stops in Bantayan Island, Cebu from Jan. 13-15 next year, Boracay Feb. 3-5 and Cagbalete Island in Quezon March 3-5.