Monday, April 16, 2007
DRAGON BOAT RACE - Part 1
Labels: Dragon Boat Race, manila events
posted by Señor Enrique at 11:05 AM
16 Comments:
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said... I used to anticipate the Dragon Boat race event everytime the SEA games is staged and we are a bit strong in this sports some years ago, beating even the proverbial powerhouse Thailand. But now, we seem to have weakened.
I like watching this race in the water coz the syncronicity of the paddlers is just an enigmatic sight for me.-
Señor Enrique said... You are right, Major Tom. The precise movements of the rowers is captvating. Truth be told, if I were a couple of decades younger, I'd definitely train and join a rowing team. Talk about teamwork!
I have no official results, the PNP team won the men's race, though. The look incredibly serious.-
said...
again, cool pics, senor.
you should see and take pictures of the annual dragon boat festival in Toe's Land - Phnom Penh! very colorful, amazing, and attended by locals and foreigners alike!-
kyels said...
I've never participated in a Dragon Boat race before; and I wish I could. It's interesting, noh?
(:-
Señor Enrique said...
Hi Dine!
The Philippine Dragon Boat Federation -- the same organization that put together this event in Manila Bay last Sunday -- will host an international competition in Boracay at the end of the month.
I'm sure the Cambodian-hosted event is as colorful as you say. Perhaps, one of these days I will get to visit it :)-
Señor Enrique said...
Kyels, I think it is something you will truly enjoy! Why don't you give it a try? You're of ideal age to get into it.
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Sidney said...
Biking, joining the rowing team... you have work ahead!
Wow! You are where the action is! You beat me!
Nice work! My favorite is the last one! Just perfect!-
sheilamarie said...
hi eric, the first time i heard of the dragon boat racing was from an officemate before who was a member of the philippines team.
i've never seen a live race though. only on tv :P-
Señor Enrique said...
Those are mere wishes, Sidney. I have to remain mindful of certain restrictions that comes with age ... hahaha!
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Señor Enrique said...
I've seen practice sessions at Manila Bay, Sheilamarie, but this is the first I've seen a dragon boat race from its preparatory to the actual competition stages. It seems real fun.
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said...
I once tried rowing a boat, and it almost capsized! This was at Burnham Park Lake in Baguio. Good thing we didn't fall into the murky water. It's not very deep though, man made as it was.
Team rowing entails perfect synchronization. :)-
Señor Enrique said...
They have those kind of boats in New York City's Central Park, Rhoda. They require some degree of practice also to really get the hang of it.
Glad you didn't capsize and unexpectedly went swimming in the process :)-
said...
I love the 4th picture. Very candid and looks like they were having a lot of fun. :)
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Señor Enrique said...
Yes, Irene, they're a fun bunch. That was iced tea not beer inside that San Miguel plastic bottle :)
The PNP (Philippine National Police) and the Philippine Navy teams were the most serious looking contenders - they were actually among those top-ranked teams.-
Maniniyut said...
greetings senor enrique!
i love your pictures. i belong to the team who as miss niceheart have said, a fun bunch; with a fellow team mate drinking from a plastic bottle on an smb pilsen packaging.
let me share my thoughts on some of the comments posted here...
MAJORTOM: "we seem to have weakened."
- on the contrary, we have vastly improved. the philippine national team SWEPT all gold medals (6 out of 6) in both the men's and women's division at the recent SEA GAMES held here in manila. all ASEAN teams were of no match, the closest team to pursue them was myanmar, btw. the men's team took bronze in the men's premier 200m open at the latest world championships in berlin, germany. we are WORLD CLASS in the sport of dragonboat. had this been an olympic sport, i will bet that we have the best chance of winning our first olympic gold here instead of placing our chances in the 3 b's: billiards, boxing, and bowling.
ON RACE RESULTS: The Camarines Sur Team won the Race. PNP placed second. Here in the Philippines, the Cam Sur Team is the team to beat; no local club comes close. in fact, only our national team is able to beat them. Cam Sur also swept the men's 500m and 300m events at the Boracay International Dragonboat Festival last Apr26-28.
ON PNP and NAVY AS SERIOUS LOOKING CONTENDERS: hmmm. this is just a guess. i think these two teams left an impression of being serious due to their physique, with their python-sized arms and ripped muscles to boot. well, if i were to compare myself to them, my thighs are still smaller compared with their arms.
fortunately, the size of paddlers do not factor much in dragonboat. team work, and the gracefulness and synchronization of each stroke matters more in this sport. if you have a chance to watch another competition in manila bay in the future, try to compare the physique of the Cam Sur paddlers vs. PNP/Navy paddlers; Cam Sur are smaller, but they are miles away stronger. i am proud to say that our team has defeated Navy in one of the races held here.
ON ROWING AS A TERM: our federation (pdbf) has requested us from refraining in using the term. rowing involves the use of two long oars, and it uses backward stroke movements.
we do not row, we paddle. hence, we are called dragonboat paddlers. we only use one paddle per person, and each person uses it on one side only. you choose to be on the bow side (left), or stroke side (right). we use forward stroke movements.
that's it, senor enrique. just want to share some info on my much beloved dragonboat. it is also the fastest-growing water sport in the world; i hope it becomes an olympic sport soon. cheers!-
Señor Enrique said...
Well, thank you, @bet, for dropping by and enlightening us about this sport! As you can tell, we are totally ignorant of it yet fascinated.
Had it not been for Rachel Atienza, I believe she's a team mate of yours and a fellow camera club member of ours, we would have never known about this event.
Please let us know of the next competition at Baywalk so we could cover it once again.
Again, many thanks and good luck!
