Paddles Up kicks off its first leg

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Paddles Up Philippine Dragon Boat Tour kicks off this Sunday at the Manila Bay with over 20 clubs from Manila to as far as Cebu and Iloilo vying in three categories.

Len Escollante, head coach of the national team under the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation, said races will be held in the men’s 20-seater, women’s 10-seater, and mixed under-40 10-seater.

Boat races will be also staged in Sampaloc Lake in San Pablo, Laguna in January, Taal Lake in Batangas in March, Subic in April leading to the finals, also at Manila Bay, after Sunday’s leg.

Members of the Philippine team that won two gold medals in the recent Asian Championships in Palembang also graced Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at Shakey’s Malate. The event will be covered by Solar Sports and will be aired on a two-part basis in December.

The Philippine team ruled both events it competed in – the small boat 10-seater in the 500 meters and 200 meters, beating teams from Indonesia, Japan, Iran, India, Thailand and Taipei.

“The entry of the local sports channel is aimed at widening the base of dragon boat in the country,” said Raffy Veloso, head of sales and marketing for Solar Sports.

“It’s already been proven that our dragon boat athletes are world-beaters. This is part of the Solar advocacy to help develop local talents,” he said in the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Also gracing the forum was Paulo Fernandez, project manager for the Paddles Up event.

Solar Sports, according to Veloso, wants to promote local sports, including beach volleyball, now dragon boat and later on even surfing.