UP Dragon Boat Team. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Motivated to hoist the country’s flag high, three Philippine teams vie for the annual CCB (Asia) Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races in this year’s Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival in Victoria Harbor in June.
Former champions University of the Philippines (UP) Dragon Boat Team seeks to nab the crown anew, as they join the Philippine Accessible Disability Services (PADS) Dragon Boat Team and the Triton Dragon Boat Racing Team in competing among hundreds of racing teams aspiring to take home the 20th Anniversary Trophy in celebration of the island’s 20th year as an autonomous state.
The Diliman squad is making a much awaited comeback after ruling the Fancy Costume Race in 2013, with its sights set on taking home more medals in this year’s offing.
“As a country surrounded by bodies of water, there is no excuse to be an incompetent team,” the team said.
Meanwhile, the PADS Dragon Boat Team wants to use the competition as a platform for their advocacies of spreading the knowledge for persons with disabilities.
“We want to use this event as a vehicle to show that people with disabilities have equal capabilities and can compete even in physical sports like the dragon boat races,” the team said.
Newcomer Triton Dragon Boat Team, on the other hand, treasures the chance to show what the team can do in the international stage.
“Hong Kong is where the development of the sport started and it has influenced the standardization of dragon boat racing around the world. Thus, racing in Hong Kong is a great privilege and honor for the Triton team,” the team said.
The competition gives a nod to the roots of the sport of dragon boat as Hong Kong seeks to bring together paddlers and tourists alike in the island’s 20th anniversary celebration.