Boracay tumatanggap ng entries para sa SEA Open Water C’ships

ANG tanyag na puting buhangin ng Boracay ay humihikayat ng mas maraming kalahok at bisita sa ika-4 na Southeast Asian Open Water Championships, na naka-iskedyul mula Agosto 21 hanggang 23.

Pito sa 11 miyembrong bansa ng Southeast Asian Swimming Federation ang sasali kasama ang Pilipinas — Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste at Vietnam.

Inaasahan na mga 200 manlalangoy ang makikipagkompetensya sa mga karaniwang distansya ng medalya na 5 at 10 kilometro sa men’s at women’s division na gaganapin sa loob ng 1.66-kilometrong square na kurso, sa umaga pa lang sa loob ng bay ng isla.

“But we can expect more participants in the open water festival in the 3 and 5-kilometer distances that will coincide with the regular meet so the numbers will swell, which is in keeping with PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) Chairman Patrick Gregorio’s sports tourism advocacy,” wika ni Philippine Aquatics Inc. (PAI) secretary general Eric Buhain sa news release Linggo.

“Indonesia has its Bali, Thailand has its Pattaya, and now the Philippines has Boracay to be proud of so we can anticipate even more swimmers and tourists.”

Ang National Sports Touris Inter-Agency Committee, na pinamumunuan din ni Gregorio, ay malugod na kasali sa proyekto.

“The 4th SEA Open Water Championships is another prime example where government, private stakeholders and national sports associations can pool their resources and efforts together in successfully staging an international sporting event,” sambit ni Gregorio.

Sinigurado ni Buhain, ang two-time Olympian at maraming beses nanalo ng ginto sa Southeast Asian Games, ang dagdag na pag-iingat bago at habang nagaganap ang event.

Handa na ang mga lifeguard, life raft, at mga medical at iba pang kinakailangang tauhan upang tugunan ang pangangailangan.