The 6th Sarangani Bay Festival and Bombo Radyo's bancarera

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (April 27, 2011) – One of the most exciting and breathtaking events in the yearly Sarangani Bay Festival is the bancarera organized by Bombo Radyo-General Santos.

Bancarera is a motorized small boat racing competition manned by a single racer dazzling an oval-shaped track race about a hundred meters away from the coastline.

“The oval track race gives total excitement to the spectators because they can see the whole race from start to finish unlike the straight race,” Bombo Radyo General Santos station manager Dan Caliosan said.

“It’s an exciting race by the sea with colorful bancas speeding up to 100 kph (kilometer per hour),” Caliosan said.

“Racers’ maneuvering abilities at the oval track race curvatures show their expertise in handling their modified racing machines,” Caliosan said.

Racers are required to use a 13 to 16 horsepower marine engine. Last year, 30 racers joined the race held at White Haven Resort in Gumasa, Glan.

This year, the bancarera will be held at Coco Beach, also a white sand beach resort next to White Haven and Rosal.

Bombo Radyo started the bancarera competition in General Santos in 1998 as a project.

“It’s not just a competition. We try to value the source of livelihood of marginalized fishermen in the city which is the Sarangani Bay, adding recognition to General Santos as the tuna capital of the Philippines,” Caliosan said.

“It’s a tribute to both the bay and our fishing communities which later turned out to be a tourism event.”

Last year’s Sarangani Bay Festival bancarera was won by a racer from Maasim town against 29 other racers from General Santos City, Sarangani and Compostela Valley province.

This year’s prizes are P15,000 first prize, P10,000 second prize, P5,000 third prize, and P1,000 consolation prize for each racer who qualified the screening.

“For Sarangani Bay Festival next year, we are planning to include special prizes like the most attractive or best designed banca,” Caliosan said.

Bombo Radyo will conduct a pre-screening for the open competition on Sunday (May 1). Registration is for free. (Russtum G. Pelima/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)