Official Newsletter of the Filipino Sporting Event of the Year May 2013 First Issue

LingawDuwa: Pinoy Games Open to All

“Lingaw” is the Bisaya term for “Fun”, while “Duwa” means “Game”, and that is what the Filipino Sporting Event of the Year aims to achieve: competition in the spirit of fun and camaraderie. LingawDuwa is set on Saturday June 1, 2013 from 9:00am. During its meeting on April 10, the Board of Trustees of Katilingbang Bisaya sa New Zealand (KBNZ) decided to organize LingawDuwa2013 as its Family Day activity; and knowing the absence of a community-wide Pinoy Games in Auckland extended the invitation to all Filipinos and their friends.

The organizing committee headed by Alvin Soniega (photo at left) immediately went to work, and have so far obtained the participation of UragoNZ, the Bicolano group based in Auckland, other than teams formed among members of KBNZ. According to Soniega, “We would want to have as many teams as there are possible. Each team should be composed of 10-15 members of whatever age or sex. The more groups the merrier.”

The initial list of events includes Group Category: Tubig-tubig (Patentero); Dakup-dakup (Japanese Game); Siatong; Batolata; and Lumba Dagan Relay; and Individual Category: Sungka, Dama, Takyan (Sipa) and Chinese Garter. If able to obtain contestants, a Sepak Takraw Exhibition Game will be conducted. Elmer Cerna, venue coordinator, is currently negotiating with the Henderson Intermediate School along Lincoln Road, Henderson as the site of LingawDuwa. The mechanics of each of the games and details will be finalized during a Special Committee Meeting on April 14. “It will really be wonderful for the children to discover the fun games that Filipinos play, while for us matured ones, it will be a way of re-living the games of our youth,” said Soniega.

For registration and details, interested parties are requested to email: alvinson@xtra.co.nz

LINGAWDUWA: GAMES PINOYS PLAY Sungka.

Sungka is a game played on a solid wooden block with two rows of seven circular holes and two large holes at both ends called "head". The game begins with 49 game pieces (shells, marbles, pebbles or seeds) equally distributed to alternate holes - seven pieces in every other hole - except "heads" which remain empty. Sungka requires two players. Each player controls the seven holes on his side of the board and owns the "head" to his right. The goal is to

accumulate as many pieces in your own "head". The first player removes all pieces from the hole on the extreme left of on his side. He then distributes them anti-clockwise --- one in each hole to the right of that hole --- omitting an opponent's "head" but not a player's own "head". If the last piece falls into an occupied hole then all the pieces are removed from that hole, and are distributed in the same way (to the right of that hole) in another round. This player's (current) turn ends when the last piece falls into an empty hole on the opponent's side. If the last piece distributed falls into a player's own "head" then the player earns another turn, which can begin at any of the seven holes on his side. If the last piece distributed falls into an empty hole on his side then the player captures all the pieces in the hole directly across from this one, on the opponent's side and put them (plus the last piece distributed) in his own "head". If the opposing hole is empty, no pieces are captured. The other player chooses which hole he wishes to start from, removes the pieces and distributes them - one in each hole to the right of that chosen hole. If a player has no pieces on his side of the board when it is his turn, then he must pass. The game ends when no pieces are left in any hole on both sides of the board. The players now count the number of pieces in their own "head" and see who has won.

LINGAWDUWA: GAMES PINOYS PLAY Dama.

The game is played by two people, each with 12 pieces of pitsas made from bamboo, stones, or bottle caps. Player position the 12 pieces of "pitsa" on the end points of the diagram. They move from point to point, and like chess, the game ends once the opponent’s pitsas are captured.

Takyan. This is an individual event. Keep the takyan up in the air the longest time by bouncing this with one foot.

Chinese Garter. A participant jumps over a garter. The one who jumps the highest is the winner.

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