Local participants of Surf in the City 2022 who will join the cleanup drive on Nov. 19-20 will get free entry to the national surfing competition, the city government of Borongan announced on Friday.

Local athletes interested to take part in the sports event will only have to collect one sack of non-biodegradable trash at their local surf spot as part of a clean-up drive to get one free entry for any division at the competition, said city information officer Rupert Ambil II.

The registration fee is PHP600 for each participant both for the shortboard and longboard categories.

“We launched this effort in previous runs of the national surfing event. This year, it was adopted more broadly in line with Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda’s priority of environmental protection. A staunch advocate of environmental protection and conservation, the mayor reiterated that this unique registration system will recruit more champions of the environment,” Ambil said in a statement.

To make sure that every surfer from Eastern Samar province can avail of this free registration mechanism, the city government has asked for the assistance of provincial tourism officer Neil Alejandro Pinarok and Board Member PJ Evardone to help with the coordination of the clean-up drive in Eastern Samar towns where there are surf communities.

Ambil said their respective tourism officers will lead the clean-up drive in their localities and submit a list of athletes to the provincial tourism officer after the activity.

“The hosting of this national event provides easier access to local surfers who dream of becoming national athletes without spending so much to compete. With this type of registration system, local athletes can focus solely on winning and not worrying about raising money to participate,” Ambil said.

Agda said the city government is stepping up its preparation to earn recognition as one of the best host cities to the national event and producer of champion surfers.

“Since the inception of the surfing nationals, we are yet to bring home a championship. Maybe this year will be different because of all our efforts to develop our athletes’ skills and with free registration efforts like this. I know our local surfers will bring the city pride,” Agda said.

The city is giving out PHP1.1 million in prizes, the biggest cash prize in the country’s surfing competition history.

The top prize for both the longboard and shortboard categories is set at PHP80,000 for the 1st placer, PHP50,000 for the 2nd placer, and PHP25,000 each for two 3rd placers.

Additionally, four 5th placers and eight 9th placers will receive PHP10,000 and PHP5,000, respectively.

In the groms (young surfer) division, a surfing category for those aged 18 years and below, winners will receive PHP20,000 for the 1st placer, PHP15,000 for the 2nd placer, and PHP8,000 each for two 3rd placers.

Surf in the City, which will run from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3, 2022 is presented by the Borongan city government, Eastern Samar provincial government, and the lone legislative district of Eastern Samar.

The 3rd leg of the National Surfing Competition is sanctioned by the United Philippine Surfing Association and co-organized by the local surf organization. (PNA)