Aga Muhlach's 1st Wakeboard Championship makes waves

The tranquil and picturesque environment of Calatagan, Batangas would be ideally suitable for city-dwellers who just want to get away from the congested and polluted life of the conurbation. Situated just 155 kms South West of Manila and just over two hours from Makati, one may already feel refreshed at the sight of the South China Sea's rolling waves, the curvaceous green hills, and the revitalizing fresh air of Tagaytay en route to Calatagan. The peace there was momentarily broken last October 20 at the Lago de Oro resort where showbiz personalities and the general public gathered to share a widespread interest and enjoy and compete in one of the rising sports in the Philippines today: cable wakeboarding. For those who aren't familiar with wakeboarding, it is a surface water sport where it involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a speedboat. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding, and surfing techniques. Wakeboards are buoyant material with the core usually made up of foam or honeycomb mixed with resin and coated with fiberglass. Metal screws are inserted to attach bindings and fins. Cable wakeboarding, on the other hand, breaks away from the traditional speedboat persona and instead, uses an overhead cable to pull wakeboarders into the water. If you find the information on wakeboarding stimulating, then you and actor Aga Muhlach may already have something in common as the That's My Doc! star became automatically hooked to the sport. So hooked that even his wife Charlene Gonzalez-Muhlach had to try it too. Although both are still new to the wakeboarding, it became apparent that Aga and Charlene have neat new tricks to show and share, and that's what prompted them to host the 1st Aga Muhlach National Wakeboarding Championship in Lago de Oro. The place became automatically jampacked with participants, celebs, media, and curious onlookers as the event unfolded to the music of Embassy's top DJs followed by exhibitions from the country's pro wakeboarders. The weather seemed to play its part on the event as well as it sun-kissed and provided everyone with cool tans. The relaxed atmosphere may have also helped cool the nerves of the participants as they were being readied to hit the waves and show the crowd what they were made of. Before the contest commenced, personalities like Marc Nelson, Boy Abunda, Bayani Agbayani, sister Jackie and Dyan Castillejo wished the celeb couple good luck. The contest started off with the beginner's heat as Aga himself and eight others competed to escape the elimination round. The look on Aga's face showed how confident he was with himself that he successfully pulled off neat tricks like the Backside Lipside (skimming over an A-ramp then switching front to back), and Surface 180s (switching which foot is forward), and a handful of air grabs. Sure enough, those tricks earned him a place in the finals, thus making it in finals—to his ultimate surprise. Charlene, on the other hand, wasn't too lucky under the women's beginner division as her Board Switches and ramp jumps sometimes ended in wipeouts. Although she lost, the smile on her face was impossible to wipe out as she gamely waded back to shore and was kissed by Aga for a nice performance. The contest progressed well in the afternoon after the beginner's division as the intermediate and master's divisions wowed the crowd with their near-pro moves and complicated aerial maneuvers and stunts. As the sun went down, people gathered to take part at the awarding of winners. As the names were called, Aga passed out the plaques and prizes, oblivious to the fact that he earned second place. When his name was called, he was shocked thinking that it was joke but gamely stood up at the podium. Only then did he realize that he was first runner-up when he was handed the plaque and prize. As the awarding ceremonies ended, the night suddenly became alive with music, food, and beer. Participants and guests alike danced to the beat as they looked forward in doing it again at the next Aga Muhlach Wakeboarding Championship. - Philippine Entertainment Portal