GUIUAN, Eastern Samar – One-hundred sixty-five surfers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are competing in the second leg of the 2023 NextGen Pilipinas Surfing National Tour in Calicoan Island here from September 15 to 21. 

The competition sanctioned by the United Philippine Surfing Association aims to relaunch the historic municipality's tourism program, said Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan.

"This will promote tourism and surfing is one of the activities that will boost our tourism aside from our history. It will invite surfers who will tell everyone about our place," Kwan said of the event that intends to raise the level of surfing and upskill national athletes. 

Coach John Carby of UPSA said the competition was endorsed by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission. He said they were entrusted to select athletes that will represent the country in surfing longboard and shortboard contests abroad.

"The more competitions and the more people who have joined the sport through pleasure and enjoyment, the more people and communities that benefit," he said, adding that the sport is ideal for provinces like Eastern Samar which hosts two national surfing competitions.

Lawyer Philip Evardone Jr., on behalf of the provincial government of Eastern Samar, reiterated their commitment to support the surfing community.

"We have been giving our full support to surf events such as this. It is only here in Eastern Samar that the prizes for both men's and women's divisions for surfing are equal," he said.

Evardone added that they are in the process of updating their tourism and environment code to position themselves to make Eastern Samar the “Surfing Capital of the Visayas.”

"That is something that we don't want to claim for ourselves. We want others to see it. Hopefully in the future, when people in the Visayas, in Region 8 think of surfing, they won't think of Siargao first, they will think of going to Eastern Samar, they will think of surfing in Calicoan, Guiuan."