48 surfers expected in Cloud 9 for 2008 Billabong Surfing Championship

Surigao del Norte (18 September) — Some 48 confirmed participants are set to arrive in Gen. Luna, Siargao Island, in this province for the 2008 Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational Surfing Championships that will run on September 20-26, 2008.

As reported by billabong.com, leading the charge in the prestigious tournament includes the defending event champion Australian surfing star Wade Goodall (Caloundra) and some of the world’s most prolific tube riders, including 2006 Pipeline Master Jamie O’Brien (Hawaii) and professional big wave rider Makua Rothman (Hawaii), as well as fearless Australian chargers Laurie Towner (Yamba, NSW, Aus) and Dylan Longbottom (Coolangatta, Qld, Aus).

This desirable event with a special cash prize of $20,000 will commence at 10:00 am on Saturday, September 20 at Cloud 9, Gen. Luna, Siargao island, followed by a welcome lunch for guests and international competitors.

The tournament contest location is in ‘Cloud 9’, a powerful hollow right-hander that has been hailed as one of the ten best waves in the world and has been frequently compared to the renowned surf of Hawaii and Indonesia.

The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational is supported by the Provincial Government of Surigao Del Norte with the support from the Department of Tourism. (PIA-Surigao del Norte)

Australian Wade Goodall Gunning For Consecutive Crowns At 2008 Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational

AUSTRALIAN surfer Wade Goodall (Caloundra, Qld, Aus) will be gunning for back-to-back Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational crowns when the second annual tournament gets underway at the remote, island jewel of Siargao in the Philippines this weekend.

The Sunshine Coast ace rode barrel after faultless barrel to topple a talented-stacked field following three days of absolute perfection during the inaugural tournament in 2007.

Cloud 9, once nominated as one of the ten best waves in the world, will once again set the scene for a tube-riding showdown with an international field of surfers confirmed to compete in the world’s premier tube-riding tournament scheduled for September 20-26, 2008.

Reigning title holder Goodall, who beat Gold Coast goofy-footer Nick Vasicek in ideal 1.5-2-metre tubes, is excited about the prospect of again surfing perfect barrels in this year’s tournament.

“Cloud 9’s tubes were the best waves I have ever had in a contest and just to have the opportunity to go there again is a real treat,” said Goodall.

“The place is really special to me. I turned 21 on the barge on the way over to the inaugural tournament and the last three days of competition were just full of perfect barrels. Hopefully, we’ll get similar conditions for this year’s event.”
An ultra perfect right hander located on the southeast coast of the Philippines, the Cloud 9 event has attracted confirmation from some of the world’s most prolific tube riders, including 2006 Pipeline Master Jamie O’Brien (Hawaii) and professional big wave rider Makua Rothman (Hawaii), as well as fearless Australian chargers Laurie Towner (Yamba, NSW, Aus) and Dylan Longbottom (Coolangatta, Qld, Aus).
48 surfers from Hawaii , Japan , Australia , Indonesia , Israel and 12 local wildcards will compete in a specialised format, which culminates in man on man heats. What separates the Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational from standard competitive surfing is that invited contestants are involved in deciding what conditions they will surf in.

With only two full days required to finalise the competition and a seven-day competition window, organisers have the luxury to wait for ideal conditions in which to run the event during Cloud 9’s prime swell period.
Bolstering to the tournament’s already premier line-up of surfers is the inclusion of 2006 event champion Ryan Hipwood (Mermaid Beach, Qld, Aus) and renowned aerialist Dave Reardon-Smith (Yaroomba, Qld, Aus), along with a host of Hawaiians including Jason Shibata, TJ Barron, Dustin Cuizon, Charlie Carroll, Granger Larsen and Mikala Jones.
Renowned Balinese surfers Rahtu Suargita, Lee Wilson, Marlon Gerber, Wyan ‘Kopling’ Wirtima, Made ‘Raditya’ Rhondi, Mustofa Jeksen and Tipi Jabrik will also travel to the neighbouring Philippines to contest the specialty event and will no doubt push the performance levels of the international field.

Due to Siargao’s proximity to the Philippines , big swells from the Pacific Ocean roll in from the second deepest stretch of water in the world to create flawlessly hollow waves.

The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational is proudly supported by the Provincial Government of Surigao Del Norte with support from the Department of Tourism Philippines .

Official Entry List:

1) Ryan Hipwood (Aus)
2) Made ‘Raditya’ Rhondi ( Bali )
3) Wyan ‘Kopling’ Wirtima ( Bali )
4) Steven Walsh (Aus)
5) TJ Barron (Haw)
6) Dave Reardon-Smith (Aus)
7) Jason Shibata (Haw)
8) Lee Wilson ( Bali )
9) Tipi Jabrik ( Bali )
10) Wade Goodall (Aus)
11) Damien Wills (Aus)
12) Dustin Cuizon (Haw)
13) Makua Rothman (Haw)
14) Jamie O’Brien (Haw)
15) Charlie Carroll (Haw)
16) Dylan Longbottom (Aus)
17) Michael Brennan (Aus)
18) Laurie Towner (Aus)
19) Mikala Jones (Haw)
20) Made Adi ‘Bol’ Putra ( Bali )
21) Marlon Gerber ( Bali )
22) Shinpei Horguchi ( Japan )
23) Granger Larson (Haw)
24) Michael Hopkins (Aus)
25) Mark Visser (Aus)
26) Yonatan Klein ( Israel )
27) Gil Zilkha ( Israel )
28) Rahtu Suargita ( Bali )
29) Mustofa Jeksen ( Bali )
30) Adam Bennetts (Aus)
+ 6 riders TBC
+12 Philippines Wildcards

Coop office sa Surigao Norte misuporta sa trade fair exhibit sa sa General Luna

Ubos sa programa ni Gov. Ace Barbers sa pagpausbaw sa panginabuhian sa katawhan pinaagi sa pagpaila sa mga nagkadaiyang produkto sa atong probinsya, ang Provincial Cooperative Office miawhag sa mga nagkalain-laing mga coop members sa pagsalmut sa Trade Fair and Exhibit sa General Luna atol sa ika 14th International Surfing Cup, sugod September 14-27, 2008.

Ang mga kooperatiba nga misalmot naglakip na sa Nickel Island Women Multi-Purpose Cooperative nga nagbaligya sa mga fashion accessories, Mabua Fish Vendors & Housekeepers Multi-purpose Cooperative-Bamboo Craft, Gigaquit Agra Multi-Purpose Cooperative-Gigaquit Rum, Cabugao Fish Farmers Agra Consumers MPC-Vinegar, Provincial Jail Inmates-Souvenir Items, Rural Improvement Club of Mabua-Banana & Cassava Chips ug ang Western Coconut Producers & Marketing Cooperative (WESCOPROMACO), Malimono-Fashion Accessories, Coco Coir ug Orchid Bell.

Dako ang pasalamat sa mga kooperatiba sa higayon nga gihatag kanila ni Gov. Barbers, diin makapakita ug makabaligya sila sa ilang mga nagkadaiyang produkto. Sila nagpadayag nga dako kayo kini ug tabang para sa kalamboan sa ilang tagsa-tagsa nga trabaho ug panginabuhian.

Samtang gisugdan usab ang Agro-Fair nga gihimo gihapon sa General Luna niadtong Sept. 1-15, 2008. (PGO-Media Affairs)

MAJOR PHILIPPINE LAKE THREATENED BY ILLEGAL LOGGING & POLLUTION: Continued log poaching, kaingin causing slow deterioration of Lake Mainit

Continued timber poaching or log smuggling, unabated cutting of trees and kaingin within watershed areas of Lake Mainit is slowly causing Mindanao’s second biggest lake and the country’s fourth largest to deteriorate.

Mindanao’s largest lake is Lake Lanao which is the source of hydroelectric power for Agus I to IV, situated in Lanao del Norte and Iligan City, the source of electricity in almost all parts of Mindanao. Lake Lanao or Ranaw ranks second to Laguna Lake, the country’s biggest lake. Taal lake is the country’s third largest.

The lake which has a total area of 17,060 hectares and total lakeshore length of 62.10 kilometers is situated in between provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte whose total area is divided almost equally between the two provinces.

There are eight municipalities surrounding or located near the proximity of the lake. These are the towns of Jabonga, Kitcharao, Santiago and Tubay in Agusan del Norte and Mainit, Alegria, Tubod and Sison, in Surigao del Norte with 31 lakeshore barangays surrounding the historic Lake Mainit.

Results of the series of symposia, meetings, studies and consultations for the Lake Mainit convergence comprehensive development plan, initiated by the Lake Mainit Development Alliance (LMDA) through funding of PACAP or the Philippine-Australia Community Assistance Program, showed that aside from kaingin and log poaching, rising settlement along lakeshore cause the further deterioration of the lake.

The lake got its name from Visayan word ‘Mainit’ which means ‘hot’ after early settlers near lakeshore and riverbank settlements discovered a ‘hot spring’ in the upstream portion of Kalinawan River near Santiago town. A lumad touched the water of the spring and shouted ‘mapaso’ which means in local dialect ‘hot’.

Various studies made recently on the condition of Lake Mainit showed improper solid waste disposal caused water pollution of the lake due to contamination of chemicals from thrown paint cans, bottles, fertilizers and others and settlement in lakeshore increased over the years.

The pollution caused fish kills, waterborne diseases and death to some beneficial lake micro-organisms.

Lake Mainit is reported to be the habitat of rare fish species, the puyo or perch and gabot. These species have become rare due to the introduction of new fish species.

On the other hand, continued illegal logging, timber poaching and kaingin at the watershed areas of the lake due to increasing settlement have caused unquantifiable destruction of terrestrial flora and fauna, including its habitat.

The massive soil erosion and fast denudation of the watershed areas of Lake Mainit caused landslides in the area where felled trees are dragged causing massive siltation or huge build up of sediment or mud deposits that caused flashfloods to low lying areas surrounding the lake.

The huge build up of sediment mud due siltation at the Kalinawan River, the only exit point of the waters of Lake Mainit to Tubay Bay, caused thousand of hectares of rice lands who had no irrigation or flood control canals extremely submerged into floodwaters during rainy season.

Study showed this rendered thousand of hectares rice lands unproductive which caused food or rice shortage in the provinces of Agsuan del Norte and Surigao del Norte.

The onslaught of mining activities whether it be large or small scale mining now gravely threatened ecology in the areas surrounding the lakes and Lake Mainit itself.

Gold panning activities which widely used poisonous, toxic material mercury have also threatened the very survival of Lake Mainit which is an ecotourism destination area because of its beautiful sceneries.

Lake Mainit Development Alliance (LMDA) Manager Engr. Kaiser Recabo said some P10-million is needed to dredge or deepen the Kalinawan River, the only outlet of Lake Mainit. Recabo also recommends long term solution like massive reforestation of the watershed areas of Lake Mainit.(Adelaida Bulaon)

Feature: 4th Pasayan Festival evokes more smiles as ever

A feeling of festivity filled the Luneta Park here as people scrambled to pick their share of the fried pasayan or shrimps while it is still hot in the carefully lined-up frying pans.

“This is the usual atmosphere every 10th day of every year since the start of pasayan festival in reverence to the feast of Patron Saint San Nicolas de Tolentino,” said Trujillo Pepito of Provincial Agriculture Office and one of the overseers of the event.

He said, a total of 1 ton of pasayan are harvested just for this festival and once cooked, it would be freely given to the spectators as part of the tradition which never fail to evoke smiles in their faces.

“For this year, some 70 groups composed of three persons handled the frying pans that can cook at least 10 kilos of pasayan,” he added.

Pepito added that around 700-800 kilos of pasayan are cooked in the event, the rest are given to the street children, inmates and the orphanage.

He said harvesting pasayan is not costly since it is indigenous to the provincial waters and is only a by-product of their main marine products such as crabs, lobsters, and fishes.

In an earlier interview, Gov. Robert Ace Barbers said, pasayan festival that started during the administration of his brother, Robert Lyndon, is aimed at augmenting the income of marginalized local fisher folks in the province.

Meanwhile, Susil Ragas who participated in the festival for the first time said the overwhelming excitement she feels outweighs the intense heat and the laborious stirring of the pasayan she endured. (PIA-Caraga)