“Manoy” is a term of endearment for an elder brother. That’s what my 2 younger brothers and the other young kids in the neighbourhood used to call me. Some still do. That’s probably why I was drawn to his story. Manoy is not unlike many other Boronganon kids. Born to fish vendor parents, he is the eldest in a brood of six. He had to drop out of school after 1 year in college due to financial constraints. He was able to obtain a vocational skills certificate in Housekeeping but employment opportunities never came. Raised in the seaside village of Sabang, Manoy knew that eventually he had to depend on the sea for a living. But as it turned out, not in a way that he even dreamed of. The sea was Manoy’s playground. He chased and rolled with the waves and swam and dived into the depths. It was no wonder that Manoy would get hooked to skim boarding the moment he was introduced to it. It was just for fun at first. It was just play time. But as he kept playing, Manoy found himself in a groove with his skim board. He found something he can be really good at. It was not long before he realized, every time he rode the waves, he can get better. Not too long he was playing to excel. In no time, Manoy was soaring high above the waves, above the competition. When Borongan crowned its first ever skim board king in 2005, nobody was surprised when Manoy claimed the title. It was just the beginning. By 2011, Manoy had become a local star in skim boarding with podium finishes in nearly every competition he entered all over the Philippines. And by July of the same year, Manoy made his mark in the international stage when he captured the top prize in Singapore’s Go Skimboarding Day. Manoy’s time has come. But oddly enough, nobody noticed. Nobody that mattered noticed. Filipino skim boarders were bringing home gold medals from international competition yet nobody noticed. Ever the competitive spirit, nothing dampens a champion’s resolve. Manoy resorted to shaping skim boards and teaching the sport. He relocated to Zambales which has slowly evolved to be a water board sport mecca. He found friends in upstart Filipino companies Tribu Outdoors and Fluidsurf which helped him join more international competitions. Manoy has since wowed the skim boarding community with a 3rd place finish in Penang, Malaysia’s International Skimboarding Competition in September 2012 and 2nd runner-up in the Palm Beach Skim Competition in Lantau Island, Hongkong in December of the same year. Still nobody noticed. 2013 might be a make-or-break year for Manoy. He got invited to the 2013 Exile Skimboards Taiwan Tour in Kenting, Taiwan. Manoy got to ride the waves with the royalties of skim boarding. And Manoy again made his mark. When the waves had calmed and the sands of the beach parties had settled, Manoy stood tall, silver medal in hand, booking a slot to the final leg of the 2013 United Skim Tour in Newport Beach, California USA on October 5 and 6, representing the Philippines. Manoy is Roderick Bazar. A pure blooded Boronganon. A Sabangnon. A world class champion. Manoy though may not make it to the competition. He may not even get to board a plane. Because with barely 2 weeks left before the competitions, he still doesn’t have a plane ticket. Though the royalties of skim boarding noticed, sadly, back home, nobody did. It had been a long and hard and wild ride for Manoy. Yet he has gone far to where nobody else has gone before. Sadly, most of the time, he was on his own. This Boronganon champion still has a long road ahead of him. He is still far from going home. But this time, let’s make sure that this Borongan champ will not be alone. I ask you to join and support Manoy’s journey. Let’s soar high with Manoy. Let’s get him his roundtrip plane ticket. by Dr. Carlos Alido youtube/watch?v=hI4eT92cxp4
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 02:45:57 +0000
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