Members of the Cebu Pink Paddlers and Sugbu Mighty Dragons celebrate their victory in the recent Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival held in Boracay, Aklan. contributed
Cebu Pink Paddlers, Sugbu Mighty Dragons join forces to win in Boracay Dragon Boat
The collaboration between the Cebu Pink Paddlers and Sugbu Mighty Dragons turned out to be a success as they won a gold medal in the 2018 Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival in Boracay, Aklan last April 19 to 21.
The united group of the Pink Paddlers, the country’s first breast survivors dragon boat team, and the Jim Petilo-mentored Mighty Dragons topped the 200m all-women masters as they clocked one minute and 7.95 seconds, beating Canadian teams Rockin’ Rats-A (01:08.40) and Concord Pacific Flying Dragons (01:09:44).
They were also named as the plate champions of the 500m races of the mixed masters and all-women standard categories.
Mighty Dragons spokesperson Atty. Haide Acuña said both teams originally planned to race separately, with the Mighty Dragons to compete in the masters mixed category and the Pink Paddlers in the women’s small boat.
But then both sides decided to race together during one swimming practice at the Cebu City Sports Center so they can have a greater chance of winning in the women categories.
Asked on how they managed develop chemistry despite their differences, both teams said they just had to learn to trust each other to get the win.
“We have different paddling techniques and fitness levels but we needed each other. So we trusted in each other’s ability and that buoyed our confidence,” Acuña said.
Synchronization was also a key, according to Pink Paddlers head coach Christian Ian Sy.
“In dragon boat sports, everyone is a family. Even we are different teams, when we sit in one boat, the goal is always to win and to synchronize as one,” Sy said.
The Boracay stint saw 20 international crews and 19 local teams competing against each other.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Accessibility Disability Services Inc (PADS) Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team were named plate champions of the 500m mixed standard boat and 250m women’s small boat races.