Participants get ready for their turn to swim in this year’s Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines at the Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa.
CDN file photo
Cebuanos who want to join the Asia Pacific Championships of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines can start signing up Thursday (Oct. 1) in an on-site registration area at the social hall of the Cebu Provincial Capitol.
This is the first time in the four-year staging of the international triathlon event in Cebu that Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI) will offer on-site registration for local triathletes. Registration starts at 7 a.m.
The Asia Pacific Championships will be held on Aug. 7, 2016 with its starting and finish line located at the Shangi-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.
Cebu was granted hosting rights after the successful staging of the fourth edition of the prestigious triathlon event here last Aug. 2.
Geoff Meyer, Chief Executive Officer for Ironman Asia-Pacific, said the success of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines is one of the reasons why the sport has flourished in Asia.
“Long hailed by many as the Crown Jewel of Asia, Cebu was the first preference of venue as host of this popular sporting event,” said Meyer in a press release.
The presence of an on-site registration will be a big help for local triathletes. This is because slots usually run out fast in online registration. In fact, during last year’s registration for this year’s race, the initially allocated 2,500 slots ran out in 40 minutes since registration opened. This is why SEI decided to open an on-site registration to give everyone an equal chance.
This year’s race attracted a record-setting 2,618 triathletes from 52 countries. SEI is allocating 2,900 for the 2016 edition that features a half Ironman distance of 1.9-kilometer swim, 90k bike and 21k run. Organizers are expecting around 200 local triathletes to take advantage of the onsite registration today. Online registration can be done at www.ironman.com/philippines70.3.
SEI, which set the gold standard in race staging in 2015, promised that next year’s race will be bigger and bolder, especially since it will coincide with the fifth anniversary of the event in Cebu and the seventh in the country. The Cobra Ironman was first held in the country in 2009 in Camarines Sur.
Aside from the Asia Pacific Championships, the Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 Subic will also open its registration today. The race is scheduled on March 6, 2016 in Subic Bay, Zambales.
Early bird registration rates for the Asia Pacific Championships are $275 for the individual local and individual foreign, $350 for the relay, 1,500 for the CEO, $550 for the community individual and $650 for the community relay. The early bird registration will last until Oct. 31. After the cut-off, registration fee will be $325 for the local individual and foreign individual and $395 for the relay.
The community slots higher than the regular slots since portion of the fee will be donated to the chosen charity within the community covered in the race here in Cebu.