IN THE age of digital media, surfing has become a noticeable topic of interest throughout the worldwide web. More people now want to feel the sense of unadulterated elation that is popularly known throughout the surfing community as “stoke” or “froth.”
But there is a special breed of surfers who has nurtured their love for surfing in a whole different level. Surfing everyday for these individuals is not just a way to get their daily dose of stoke; it is an integral part of their lives, their bread and butter.
Surfing has become a primal drive for these wave riders that is why the country’s premiere surfing league, the Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT), was created through the efforts of former competitive athletes and now pioneers and leaders in their local surf communities- Luke Landrigan (La Union), Bjorn Pabon (Zambales and Bicol Region), Manuel Melindo (Siargao), and Mike Oida (Ilocos Norte).
These four men have seen the potential of Filipinos and shared a common vision of raising the standards of local competitions to push our athletes towards global competitiveness. Thus, they dedicated their time learning the procedures of international surf judging.
These men hold the highest level of International Surfing Association (ISA) judging certification in the country and will be the main officiating judges in the tour. PSCT is now ready to take on the daunting but highly gratifying endeavor of determining and ranking the best surfers in the Philippines through a series of national competitions while exposing them to the standards and format of the international leagues.
PSCT is the country’s first-ever and only professional surfing tournament patterned to the World Surf League. Surfers from all over the Philippines will gather and tour around different surf spots to earn points and battle for a spot in the national ranking. But more than competition, PSCT hopes to unite surfers from Luzon to Mindanao and promote a sense of “ohana” in the Filipino surfing community. Only through working together can we make the dream of making world champions a reality.
This year’s PSCT will start in the world-renowned Cloud 9 in Siargao Island sometime in September followed by Lanuza, Surigao Del Sur, then in Baler, Aurora and lastly, in the surfing capital of the north, La Union, as the final leg.*Schedule is subject to change without prior notice.
So what's to watch out for in this year's Philippine Surfing Championship Tour? Know more about it by reading this article: What to watch out for in the 2017 PSCT on our website, www.psctour.com. (PR)