KITE fliers and bike racers will converge at Don Joaquin F. Enriquez Jr. Memorial Sports Complex Friday to vie for domination in two competitions that will take place in Zamboanga City simultaneously.

Kites of various sizes, forms and colors will adorn the skies as they vie for the title in the city's annual kite-flying competition.

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Mayor Celso Lobregat said the contest is divided into the traditional or flat and the figure kite categories.

Traditional kites are two-dimensional that may come in various shapes, while figure kites are three-dimensional with a theme.

Kites shall be adjudged according to the following criteria: design (artistry - 15 percent; uniqueness - 15 percent); ease of flight/take-off - 35 percent; and gracefulness - 35 percent.

Top three placers in both categories will receive P5,000 (1st place), P3,000 (2nd place) and P2,000 (3rd place).

First prize winners will also take home a trophy.

The following special awards with corresponding cash prizes will also be given away: Kite del Pueblo (for Favorite of the Crowd), Chikiting Kite (for the smallest flying kite), Jumbo Kite (biggest flying kite) and Most Amazing Flying Kite (for the kite with the most exceptional flying performance).

Kites must be flown within the five-minute launch period with assistance from marshals.

In case of entanglement, kites may be flown again but only after securing clearance from organizers.

Meanwhile, bikers will outdo each other in a road race from the sports complex to the village of Labuan, 30 kilometers west of Zamboanga City and back for the 2nd Carrera de Zamboanga.

The race will be divided into the Junior Category (35 years and below), Senior Category (36 years and above) and Open Category.

The first three racers in the Junior and Senior categories to cross the finish line will get a cash prize of P4,000, P2,500 and P1,500. Their counterparts in the Open category will collect P5,000, P3,000 and P2,000.

Each would also receive a trophy.

A consolation prize of P400 plus a medallion will also be given to the fourth up to tenth placers in all categories.

The Zamboanga City Open Kite-Flying Competition and the 2nd Carrera de Zamboanga Mountain Bike Road Race form part of the Zamboanga Summer Festival which the City Government, through the City Tourism Division under the Office of the Mayor, organizes annually. (Claudine Uniana/PR)