BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar -- The Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT) took off the first leg of the competition in Baybay Boulevard, during the Surf in the City event held in Borongan, Eastern Samar, marking it the first destination of the successfully concluded major tour event which went on from December 6–12, 2021.
Surfers across the country, along with the Surfing champ Philmar Alipayo who participated in the same event back in 2019, gathered to compete in the successful launching of the event despite the presence of COVID-19 pandemic.
As more participants and spectators came through, a well-known national athlete from Mactan, Cebu, was set to join the fest, the Olympic skater Margielyn Didal made the locals fill with excitement through her Facebook post last December 5, 2021.
"See you Borongan", she captioned.
The City Government welcomed Didal's visit wholeheartedly, as the City Council issued a resolution declaring the skater as an "Adopted Citizen" of Borongan City to honor her humbling sportsmanship during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Astonished locals made their way to interact and get a picture with the cheerful athlete, Margielyn sampled a glimpse of her skateboarding skills around the City's Capitol Gymnasium, being playful around accompanying the skateboarders in which event was lined up alongside beach football and skimboarding.
Two days later after her arrival, the 22-year old street skateboarder together with the Multi-awarded surfer shared snaps—expressing gratitude to each other in their respective social media accounts when they met amid the event.
"PH pride! Salamat karajaw dol @margielyndidal", Philmar wrote on his instagram.
"Thank you Borongan for having me ug salamat Idol Philmar Alipayo sa pic ", posted by the Cebuana on her Facebook.
The Olympian's visit was associated with a purpose, the Surf in the City Chairman Rupert Ambil discussed the Borongan Skatepark Project to the skateboarder, sharing her insights which centered on allowing local skateboarders to have their own space, the project is expected to be established this year.
Aside from Philmar being present, other surfing athletes who bagged international medals were also present in the competition, SEA games gold medalists Nilbie Blancada and Roger Casugay, silver medalists Ikit Agudo and JR Esquivel, and bronze medalists Daisy Valdez, John Eokong and Piso Alcala.
The Surf in the City inaugural event was held in 2019, later put on a halt due to Covid-19 restriction for 2 years hence, now reinforced promoting the surfing spot hoping to be known by potential tourists.
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