By Gale Tamon & Chelsea C. Palmez
Currimao, Ilocos Norte—On March 16 and 17, 2019, Trisports Solutions Inc., in partnership with the municipality of Currimao, Ilocos Norte, hosted the Neptune Actives Northern Waves Open Water Swim and the 2019 chapter of Tri Ilocos Norte: The ultimate sport tourism event in the North or in short, TINMAN 7, held at Pangil Beach Resort. This year, Trisports, through their weekend events, supports the fight of Currimao against the threats of land reclamation. The local government and the organizers had the goal of promoting the municipality by bringing in sports tourism through the triathlon with the advocacy of keeping the pristine waters and surroundings of Currimao.
According to Mayor Gladys G. Cue, Currimao is one of the Marine Key Biodiversity Areas (MKBA) in the Philippines. The beaches of municipality are surrounded with coral formations and coral-reef sanctuaries. Through the event, local government was able to promote their advocacy of saying yes to rehabilitation and no to reclamation.
To further highlight this advocacy, the races were designed to showcase, not just the beauty of Currimao, but more so the rich resources and biodiversity. With the Neptune Actives Northern Waves Open Water Swim, graced by 37 swimmers, along with their supportive friends and families, Mayor Cue, and Mr. Hanson Chua of Chua Consolidated, Neptune Actives partnered with Trisports and the local government of Currimao to show off the clear, swimmable waters that the municipal has to offer and introduce and promote their advocacy. Aside from the race, there were games and raffles for the crowd, tons of giveaways from Neptune Actives, and an abundance of smiling faces. Winners of the race were given medals per age category. The top finishers were Carl Justine Arzaga of Hi-Factor TriNorth and Angela Jae Ranjo of Ilocano Sharks for the 1.9-kilometer distance, Marc Tan of Balon Dagupan and Francheska Joves of One Triathlon for the 1.5-m distance, and Jonathan Reyes and Regina Geli, both from One Triathlon.
Prior to the TINMAN, the participants enjoyed the race briefing and carbo loading with a performance from the Tan-ok 2019 dancers which take pride in their residency in Currimao. The dinner was again graced with the presence of Mayor Cue, Mr. Hanson Chua of Chua Consolidated and representatives from the event sponsors.
With a total of 268 individual participants and 14 relay teams, the gun started at 6:10 am for the 113-km race with 20-minute intervals for the standard and sprint categories. Marc Kristoffer Tan of Balon Dagupan—competing for Relay 113k—finished first for the Swim leg of the race. The bike and run courses stretched from Nipa International Beach Resort, going up to Paoay and Laoag then going back down to Currimao. This scenic route surely showcased the beauty and majesty which sets Ilocos Norte apart.
The leading individuals in the sprint category are Jonathan Reyes and Alison Ann Noble with the gun times at 1:20:06 and 1:31:40, respectively. On the standard category, Reagan Nabua and Francesca Ezzabella Joves led the race with respective times of 2:26:50 and 2:56:40. While the 113-km race was dominated by JT Gonzales and JaylineBalatibatwith gun times of 5:10:39 and 6:00:47, respectively. On the relay matches, Team Goltebs and Balon Dagupan triumphed for the standard and 113-km divisions.
More than the recognition that the winners took home, several raffle prizes were also given away to the participants present during the awarding ceremony, such as products from Anytime Fitness, Light ‘N Up and Sharetea. Despite the heat, each participant was fulfilled to have finished the event; coming home with a sense of achievement and newfound camaraderie.
The entire weekend would have not been possible without the support of the Ilocos Norte Office of Tourism, the municipality of Currimao, headed by Mayor Gladys Go Cue, the municipality of Paoay, headed by Mayor Jessie Galano, and the municipality of Laoag, headed by Mayor Chevylle Fariñas, our venue partner, Pangil Beach Resort, our marketing partners, Neptune Actives—the official distributor of Funky Trunks and Funkita, Northpoint Alliance Motors Corp.—the official distributor of Mitsubishi in Ilocos Norte, Hi-Factor, Automekaniko and ShareTea Ilocos. With special thanks to Clara International Aesthetic Naturale, Light N Up Marketing, 2XU, and Kamarinn Café in Paoay, and of course, our media partners: ABS-CBN Regional Network Group, BusinessMirror, and Health & Fitness.
