By MARK REY MONTEJO
History beckons for the country as the prestigious World Surf League (WSL) has added the Philippines as its newest stop to its ongoing 2026 Championship Tour.
Backed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the WSL Championship Tour has officially included the famous Cloud 9 of Siargao as the 11th stop of its 13-leg calendar this season. The prestigious circuit opened in April and has already completed legs in Australia, New Zealand, El Salvador, and Brazil.
It signaled first-ever staging of the said competition on Philippine soil,
The Philippine stop, named as Philippines Pro, will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 10 with foreign bets and wild card berth holder John Mark Tokong headlining the annual meet that features 12 events across men’s and women’s categories.
“This is our dream. Now it’s happening… I never thought that the World Tour would be held on Cloud 9,” said Tokong. “It is just something amazing and the waves are my favorite… and the community on the island is beautiful.”
Also in the media launch was WSL Asia Pacific President Andrew Stark who formally handed the three slots – one for Tokong and two for the winners of men’s and women’s qualifiers in October also hosted by Siargao.
This was part of the PSC’s agenda, led by chairman Patrick Gregorio, of bolstering the country’s sports tourism with full support coming from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose son Vinny served as sports ambassador.
“This is event is something that never even enter their minds, this is something that they not even considered na one day na WSL will go to Siargao, ni hindi po pumasok sa panaginip ng mga taga-Siargao, ni sa posibilidad,” said Gregorio.
“Dahil po sa pangulo, kay Vinny, ginagawa natin ‘to kasi it is the right to do… kayang gumaling ng Pilipinas, kayang gumaling ng Pilipino sa surfing,” he added. “Itong konsepto na ‘to it’s a great strategy to build sports tourism.”
