Zambales multi-sport fest on at Candelaria

CANDELARIA, Zambales, Philippines  - The Zambales Multi-Sport Festival, a three-day, seven-sport event designed to boost government efforts to turn this province into a tourist haven, fires off today with the country’s top triathletes and foreign bets seeing action.

Jun Omar Ebdane, Zambales provincial administrator and overall festival chairman, said the event ending Sunday also features top and rising athletes from as far as Pampanga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Manila and Camarines Sur.

Reigning Filipino elite Ironman champion Niel Catiil, Canadian triathlete Matt O’Halloran, American runner Chris Aerosmith, Asian junior cycling bronze medalist Rustom Lim of Nueva Ecija, and rising Zambales triathlete John Chicano, who is just 19 years old.

The Black Sands Ultimate Frisbee competition also drew 12 teams, including Sexual Chocolate, the team of actor-athlete Derek Ramsey.

Side events like the Zamba Black Sands Bikini Open, a musical concert featuring the band Sidhi, and a photo competition are also expected to boost the sports festival and attract a diversified crowd.

“We’re lucky to have tapped a broad sector of the market, especially the more well-known sports centers and teams in the country,” Ebdane said. “I hope this will be a successful coming out party for Zambales sports tourism, as we’re banking on this festival to help us make a name for our province in the field of sports tourism.”

Ebdane also said the sports festival is designed not only to develop sports tourism in the province, and promote the area as an ideal sports competition venue, but also to showcase the talent of athletes from other parts of the country.

“In triathlon alone, we’ll have some of the best teams in the country,” Ebdane said, ticking off names like the national team, the CamSur TriTeam, TriClark from Pampanga, and LakanTri from Bulacan.

The events here are more challenging, Ebdane added, pointing out for example that the bike and run legs of the triathlon would be 50 kms, instead of the usual 40 kms.

Moreover, the events would be set against a backdrop of scenic terrain and clean, unpolluted environment.

Meanwhile, Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said the development of the province’s sports tourism industry is a major thrust of his administration, as Zambales has many tourist spots that could double as venue for sports events.