Mayor denies PDBF permit to stage race

TENSION has risen in the ongoing dragonboat standoff after Malay Mayor John Yap denied the issuance of a permit to the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation to hold the International Club Crew Challenge off Boracay.

Yap sent a letter to PDBF president Marcia Cristobal citing conflict of schedules with a rival dragon boat race.

“Another Dragon Boat Regatta, sanctioned by the Philippine Sports Commission, which is similar in nature to your proposed regatta had been planned and coordinated with this office on the same dates you proposed,” Yap said.

Cristobal, under whose watch the Philippines captured five gold and two silver medals in last year’s World Championships in Tampa Bay, Florida, said they are consulting with their lawyers to settle the issue.

The PDBF already paid a fee of P40,000 for the permit to hold the competitions on April 26 to 28. The event will be the basis for the selection of the country’s representatives to the World Championships in South Korea this year.

The ICCC coincides with the 6th Boracay International Dragonboat Festival organized by the Boracay Island Paddlers Association (Bipa).

“The PDBF and Bipa are both private organizations,” said Cristobal. “There’s no reason for them (municipal government) to choose one over the other.”

The Bipa event employs technical support from the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation, which both the PSC and the Philippine Olympic Committee recognize as the sport’s governing body.

Cristobal noted that Boracay Island has more than four kilometers of coastline which is big enough for both competitions to be staged at the same time.

“The PDBF decision to conduct its own race in Boracay on April 26 to 28 was based on the request of our team members and affiliated IDBF (International Dragon Boat Federation) members,” she said.

IDBF president Mike Haslam will be the chief official of the PDBF event. The IDBF recognizes PDBF as the country’s ’governing body for dragon boat racing.