THE Paddles Up Philippine Dragon Boat Tour kicks off on Sunday at the Manila Bay, with more than 20 clubs from Manila, Cebu and Iloilo vying in three categories.
Len Escollante, head coach of the national team under the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation, said races will be held in the men’s 20-seater, women’s 10-seater and mixed under-40 10-seater.
After Sunday’s leg, races will also be held in Sampaloc Lake in San Pablo, Laguna, in January; Taal Lake in March; Subic in April; and the Manila Bay finals in June. The event will be covered by Solar Sports and will be aired in a two-part series in December.
Members of the Philippine team that won two gold medals in the recent Asian Championships in Palembang also graced Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at Shakey’s Malate.
The team ruled the small boat 10-seater in the 500 meters and 200 meters, beating teams from Indonesia, Japan, Iran, India, Thailand and Taipei.
Raffy Veloso, head of sales and marketing for Solar Sports, said the entry of the local sports channel is aimed at widening the base of dragon boat in the country.
“It’s already been proven that our dragon-boat athletes are world-beaters. This is part of the Solar advocacy to help develop local talents,” Veloso told the session, presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Also gracing the forum was Paulo Fernandez, project manager for the Paddles Up event.
Image credits: Alysa Salen