The Pads Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team with Maayo Medical Cebu’s CEO Dr. Teodoro Gonzales, Jr. (fourth from right, first row) in a press conference at the Maayo Hotel in Mandaue City.
Ray Charlie Diaz
THE PHILIPPINE Accessible Disability Services (Pads) Adaptive Dragon Boat Team may have missed its stint in the Chicago International Dragon Boat Festival due to financial constraints but the team remains positive after it a found a new partner in Maayo Medical Cebu’s CEO Dr. Teodoro Gonzales Jr.
Maayo Medical will help the team prepare for future tournaments, offering its therapeutic pool in Mandaue City as a venue for training. This is a welcome development for Pads as it is focusing on training for bigger tournaments later this year.
“When the Pads asked me to sponsor them [with the use of] some of our facilities, I did not hesitate to do so,” Gonzales said, saying he understands very well what the team needs. “I am among the differently abled people as well and I used to be very athletic.”
Pads Dragon Boat Team head coach Christian Ian Sy said the Maayo pool will be a very good training ground for his paddlers.
“Since the water will be stagnant, the water will also be heavier compared to oceans. Thus, making it harder for paddlers but it is an effective way to improve their upper body strength,” Sy said. “Underwater training will also be among the drills that pool can accommodate. This increases their stamina.”
John Paul Maunes, the chief executive officer of PADS Inc., announced in a press conference yesterday at the Maayo Hotel in Mandaue City that the team wasn’t able to make the US trip due to financial constraints.
“We tried getting ourselves sponsors but time was not on our side,” Maunes said.
The wasted opportunity didn’t mean wasted time because now the team will be using the extra time for practices for upcoming races in Malaysia this December.
Maunes said Maayo Medical is “the best facility Cebu has yet to offer.”