By KING CORTEL
Paragliding pilots will troop to the scenic mountain Barangay San Luis, Malitbog, Bukidnon for the first ever Philippine National Paragliding Accuracy Competition on August 1-4, 2025.
The inaugural competition will be the only qualifying event for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games this year in Thailand.
Joseph ‘Epos’ Falcone revealed to Newstar Philippines that at least six (6) national team spots are at stake in the Philippine Airsports Federation sanctioned event.
“The top three winners in the male and female divisions will represent the Philippines in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Thailand at the end of this year,” said Falcone, who is teaming up with Dave Chiong to organize the most anticipated paragliding event of the year.
The dynamic dou of Falcone and Chiong leads the Philippine Extreme Sports Scoring System (PXSSS), which organizes various sporting events in the Visayas and Mindanao region.
“The finishers after the top three will be reserves or will be placed in the national team pool. If there are circumstances that a national team member can not compete, we will pull the next top finisher to complete the national team,” Falcone added.
The National Paragliding Accuracy Competition which is fully supported by Malitbog mayor Gary CasiΓ±o and Congressman Joeman Alba.
“This is historical for the local government of Malitbog to host this national event while this will be a first for all paragliding pilots to compete in a qualifying event and PXSSS is very excited to host it,” said Falcone who also emphasized that all competitors have their respective licenses to join.
According to Falcone, the event will run for four (4) days as there will be five (5) rounds of spot landing.
“Spot landing is like playing darts. The pilot who lands closest to the target or the bullseye, the higher score he or she will get,” explained Falcone, who himself is a licensed pilot along with Chiong.
August 1 will be familiarization and practice runs of the competitors while the succeeding three (3) days will commence with the opening program and will be followed by the competition proper.
Falcone and Chiong are expecting to accommodate at most 50 pilots who will vie for the national team slots, cash prizes and trophies.
The champion will receive P30,000 while the runners up will get P20,000, P15,000 and P10,000 respectively. Side prizes for the longest and highest flight will get P5,000 each while the Best in Costume will also get P10,000.
