The IRONMAN 70.3 Davao Philippines will not only showcase the power and endurance of elite athletes and rising stars but also emphasize team competition when it kicks off this Sunday in Davao City.

Organized by The IRONMAN Group Philippines and the host city, the event, powered by Aboitiz, brings back the 11-man Team Maisugon competition in honor of the 11 tribes of Davao, offering a substantial winner-takes-all prize of P500,000.

This special category is open to teams consisting of at least 11 age-groupers, irrespective of age and gender, who are participating in the IRONMAN 70.3 Davao.

The team with the fastest total time will win the coveted Tribu Maisugon award, which includes a perpetual trophy handcrafted by renowned local artist Kublai Millan.

Team points will be calculated based on the top 11 scores within the team. They must wear the same kit with the team name displayed on it.

While active national members can compete, each Tribu may only include one active national team member.

The Tribu Maisugon event honors the 11 tribes that Davao City focuses on: Ata, Maguindanaon, Matigsalug, Bagobo Klata, Maranao, Obo Manuvu, Bagobo-Tagabawa, Tasug, Sama, Iranun and Kagan.

This event highlights the host city’s commitment to showcasing the diversity of IRONMAN 70.3 Davao.

Additionally, the event will feature a Team Tents Competition, judged on criteria such as overall booth design/appearance (35 percent), athlete support and availability (25 percent), cleanliness (20 percent), and creativity and compliance (20 percent).

Prizes for the top three teams are P10,000, P5,000 and P3,000, respectively.

Other titles to be contested in the challenging 1.9k swim-90k bike-21k run race over a championship course include the relay all-male, relay all-female, and relay mixed categories.

The event has attracted over a thousand participants from around the globe, including former champions Petr Lukosz from the Czech Republic and Eric van der Linden.

Top triathletes from 32 other nations, including Japan, Singapore, Australia, Great Britain, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Germany, China and the US, are also set to compete for the overall championship and their respective age-group categories from 18-24 to 75 and above.