TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 10 (PIA) -- Water sports enthusiasts have another reason to be in Bohol during the Sandugo season: the interesting races in the Bohol Island Dragon Boat Festival taking place at Tagbilaran City Strait on July 21 and 22, 2023.
"We are bringing out very interesting race formats that would make visiting paddler teams remember Bohol," said paddler and festival co-presentor Dr. Theodore Dumaluan.
Organized by the Bohol Paddlers Association Inc. (BPAI) and the Provincial Government in cooperation with Pagpakabuhi, the Bohol Island Dragon Boat Festival hopes to open up another sports activity that draws tourists, help athletes bolster their discipline, fortitude, patience and teamwork, while getting reconnected to their Asian roots.
Dragon Boating is an open canoe race which may or may not be sanctioned by the International Dragon Boat Federation.
The race, which can be done with 10 paddlers, features a steersman and a drummer on a short boat or 20 paddlers and steersman and drummer on a long boat.
It is a test of body stamina, teamwork and supporting each other from “paddles down” to “paddles up” at the finish.
"Introduced in Bohol in the 1990s, dragon boating here created so much ripple with BPAI spreading the sports to Cebu and elsewhere in the Visayas," said Dumaluan, who is also BPAI president.
The first to fully organize teams in Central Visayas, the Bohol paddlers were all ready to play in Malaysia, a few days before the 2013 earthquake.
Hesitant to leave home and recovering from the disaster, the Bohol Dragon Boat team composed of other paddlers from local teams to sit as pacers, engine room and booster, instead used up their training for a volunteer work transporting passengers and relief goods when the Abatan bridge collapsed.
At one time, the dragon boat paddlers deployed themselves for rescue and relief operations when rains brought by storm Senyang flooded Loboc to the rafters.
Already forming a formidable team, Bohol paddlers, however, has to lie low due to the pandemic.
As Bohol now reopens it economy and spread the doors wide for tourism, dragon boat paddlers also see this as the perfect time to unleash the dragons.
During the launching of the Bohol Island Dragon Boat Festival, Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado hopes the sports tourism activity unites Boholanos to paddle as one to steer Bohol to new ports.
BPAI Vice President Asterio Pocot Jr. said around 20 national teams have signified their intent in joining the festival races.
Tagbilaran City is also organizing pre festival races next week at the Tagbilaran City Strait. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)
