BORONGAN CITY – As Surf in the City 2022, the biggest sporting event in Eastern Visayas opens, the Philippine National Surfing Team trained more than 60 aspiring young athletes in the Groms Grassroot Program for young surfers here from Nov. 24 to 25.
“Grom” is short for the slang term ‘’Grommet’’ which means child. In surfing lingo, grom refers to a child or an adolescent surfer.
The grassroots program of the United Philippine Surfing Association (UPSA) focuses on training youth or people under 18 and educating them on the values of surfing on the grassroots level, such as a healthy lifestyle, discipline, and techniques or the athletic side of being a surfer for the future of the Philippine National Surfing Team.
Although most of the participants did not join the competition, head coach John Carby encouraged them to become athletes through discipline, goal planning, and passion.
“Start a small plan and add discipline to your plan. Then use your passion to reach that goal. If you already reach that goal, push it a little bit higher. Let your passion be your flair,” Carby said.
He said that surfing events such as Surf in the City are a window of opportunity for aspiring surfers to hone their skills and eventually create a name in the surfing industry.
“You are the future of surfing. You have permission to dream big. You have permission to be who you want to be and to set the limit as high as you can when you want to represent your country in an international competition. You are the next generation of surfing,” Carby added.
Some athletes shared their experiences on how they were able to surf amid struggles to become award-winning international surfers.
"Ngayon ang suwerte ninyo kasi may mga ganitong grassroots (program) na (You are lucky because you have these grassroots program). Kami dati mga bali-bali ang board, tapos nagsusuntukan pa kasi nag-aagawan sa isang board (Unlike us, our surfboards are broken and we had to fight for one surfboard). Kaya work hard lang kayo, disiplina sa sarili, set ng goal, maaabot niyo rin ang nga pangarap niyo (Just work hard, have self-discipline, set goals, and you will achieve your dreams)," champion surfer Philmar Alipayo said.
Surf in the City is the third leg of the National Surfing Competition sanctioned by UPSA, the national sports association for surfing in the Philippines.
This city is hosting the event from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3 for the third time through the city government of Borongan, the provincial government of Eastern Samar, and UPSA.