Rexona challenge series launched

As part of its commitment to encourage the youth to get involved in sports, Unilever Philippines, makers of Rexona deodorant sticks, has launched the "Rexona Ultimate Challenge Series" (RUCS).

RUCS is made up of four major sporting events: the RUCS Fiesta Bisekleta, RUCS Beach Football Open, RUCS Basketball Games and Clinics and the RUCS Aerobics Marathon.

The event was launched yesterday in elaborate rites with the heads of the various dis-ciplines vowing their support to the undertaking at the Manila Hotel.

The bikefest, a provincial cross-country race co-organized by Radio Mindanao Network (RMN), is open to both amateur and professional cycling aficionados who will tackle a 180-kilometer race. To date, the RUCS Fiesta Bisekleta has already staged races in Iloilo, General Santos and Dumaguete.

Another 150-km race, which will start and finish in Dagupan’s Tondaligan (Bonuan) beach, will be held Sunday as part of Dagupan’s Pista‘y Dayat festival.

RUCS Fiesta Bisekleta will culminate in the "Tour of Luzon" in December wherein winners in the individual and team categories from each leg will vie for top honors in a 1,047-kilomter race from Baguio to Manila.

Although now on its sixth year, this is the first time Rexona will be sponsoring the "RUCS Beach Football Open." The sport was first introduced to the country five years ago through the Beach Football Association of the Philippines (BFAP).

It already kicked off its series of events in Subic and Boracay and will stage the Luzon Cup, on May 5 and 6, also in Subic, Olongapo.

Meanwhile, the RUCS Basketball Games and Cage Clinics will be participated in by professional players from both the MBA and the PBA. Dubbed as the "Rexona RP Team," the MBA players have been conducting tune-up games and cage clinics in the provinces. They will also represent the country in the Southeast Asian Games in August.

PBA players, on the other hand, will be conducting campus tours nationwide throughout the year, and will compete against the school’s varsity teams.

Finally, the "RUCS Aerobics Marathon" is an activity which aims to promote physical exercise as a form of maintaining a strong and healthy body. Organized by the Philippine Army, the marathon is open to all aerobics enthusiasts. The first leg of the marathon was recently held at Fort Bonifacio in Makati City with the Philippine Army personnel and Air Force soldiers as participants.