The row to redemption

The 3rd Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival ’09 is taking high spirits to the high seas

We still have a glorious hangover from last year’s Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival — 1,000 rowers from Australia, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, the US and the Philippines—turning the island’s clear waters into an azure arena. While last year saw the Philippine National Police (PNP) laying down the law on the sea when it claimed the much-awaited 500-Meter Mixed Open, this year grants other teams another chance to make a splash towards supremacy. And it’s another reason to dig your toes in the sand as other events in the competition are underway — the Men’s and Women’s opens for both 300-meter and 500-meter races.

Of course, a boat of arms — 18 paddlers, a drummer, and a steerer, all invoking teamwork, strength, and power — is a grand sight to survey from the shores, especially if it’s thrashing it out with another vying for the cup. With the Dragon Boat Festival building excitement each year (last year, around 3,000 people surveyed the action from the beachfront of the Boracay Regency Resort and Convention Center), it’s no wonder that it’s touted as the “biggest annual sporting event in the Philippines.”

Now, here’s to another year of action-infused intoxication. (http://www.boracaydragonboat.ph)

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Organized by the Boracay Island Paddlers Association (BIPA), The Philippine Dragon Boat Federation and the Muncipality of Malay. Presented by The Department of Tourism, Smart Communications, and co-presented by Havaianas.