On any given afternoon, the iconic Cloud 9 boardwalk is crowded with the young boys and girls of Siargao. They sit on the rails, watching the waves and dreaming of the day they can turn like the pros.
When the elite World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour arrives on their shores this coming end of October for the Philippines Pro, these kids won't just watch from the sidelines.
More Than Just Spectators
Through the Rising Tides program, young local boys and girls will have the unique opportunity to meet, learn from, and surf alongside the world's absolute best professional athletes. Local kids will also be directly involved in the event's operations.
"At the event, we're going to have a Rising Tides program for young boys and girls that have the opportunity to actually meet the surfers and spend time with the surfers, [and] surf with them," said WSL Asia-Pacific President Andrew Stark. "We'll have young kids that will be the board caddies and carry their boards out along the walkway."
Walking in the Footsteps of Giants
For a young surfer, carrying a world champion's board down the famous wooden walkway makes a distant dream feel real.
“Like you see in other sports, we want to make sure we involve local community and local kids, and there's a real aspiration," Stark said.
'Just Let the Kids Play'
For his part, Chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission Patrick Gregorio believes bringing this caliber of competition to home soil directly fulfills a mandate to elevate grassroots sports.
"We want to see more events and more Filipino athletes excelling in the international arena," Gregorio said, recalling a directive from the President. "He told me, 'I just want you to make sure that you let the kids play.' And for them to emulate and see what world-level competition is, we have to bring these kinds of events here." (Dave Achondo, Editorial Associate)
