Philippines faces uphill battle in 2012 Wakeboard World Championship

Filipino wakeboarders and wakeskaters will be facing an uphill battle when they compete in the 2012 Cable Wakeboard World Championship. “The competition will be tough,” Samantha Bermudez, a wakeboard bronze medalist during the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, admitted during the press launching of the event held at a restaurant in Makati City, indicating that Filipinos will be competing to gain experience instead of earning podium finishes. “But we will try to win,” she added, referring to the competition set for November 6 to 11 at the Deca Wakeboard Park in Clark Field, Pampanga. Bermudez noted that elite wakeboarders and wakeskaters from 30 countries, like Australia’s Angelika Schriber and Germany’s Dominik Guhrs, will make the competition a challenging prospect for all participants. Also competing are Germany's Steffen Vollert and Frédéric "Freddy" von Osten, Great Britain’s Nick Davies, Israel’s Lior Sofer, and the Netherlands’ Denise de Haan. Among the Filipino competitors are Carlo Dela Torre and Mark Griffin, who will see action in the open men’s wakeboard, while Moe Gomez will compete in the open men’s wakeskate. Wakeboard and Waterski Association of the Philippines president JV Borromeo added that more than the world titles at stake, as the competition will be held under the scrutiny of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which will be sending a team to evaluate the competitions. According to Philippine Olympic Committee secretary general Steve Hontiveros, the IOC sent an evaluation team because wakeboarding was among the shortlist of sports considered for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics. "So this is not for the medal alone, we want to see the sport included in the 2020 Olympics," said Borromeo. - AMD, GMA News