Orphaned dragon boat team gets godfather

MANILA, Philippines -  This dragon boat contingent from the Philippines will have a lot to prove when it sails out for the 10th International Dragon Boat World Championships at Tampa, Florida from Aug. 3 to 7.

The Philippine Dragon Boat Federation men’s and mixed teams, now simply known as Cobra-PDBF, leave Monday to vie against the best teams from China, Canada and the United States.

The men’s team actually has nothing more to prove competition wise, having won the gold medal in the International Dragon Boat Federation world championships not only once but twice.

It’s off the waters where it will try to prove something.

The men’s team, composed of members of the Philippine Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, set the world record of 42.16 seconds for the 200-meter race in 2007 in Sydney, Australia.

Then in 2009, in Prague, Czech Republic, the same team defended its title, and surpassed its own world record with a time of 40.02 seconds, making it the most feared team in the event.

The Phl mixed team also won the gold in Prague. In 2008, in the Asian Dragon Boat Federation Championships in Penang, Malaysia, the PDBF, a founding member of the IDBF and ADBF, won two golds.

But shortly after those rousing victories, the team figured in a bitter dispute with the Philippine Olympic Committee, and missed the chance to compete in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

The Phl paddlers could have won the gold in the Asiad as well, and refused to swallow their pride when later on the POC wanted the PDBF dissolved, and placed under the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation.

Since then, the PDBF has paddled on its own, without any support of any kind from the Philippine Sports Commission, the government’s funding arm in sports, and the POC.

Recently, however, the PDBF found a pair of generous sponsors in Philippine Airlines Cobra Energy Drink. Yesterday, a warm sendoff was held for the team at the Capone Bar in Makati.

Philippine Airlines will fly the 26-strong contingent to Los Angeles, and from there Cobra Energy Drink will take care of the team, including its accommodations and the onward trip to Florida.

The members of the team were so grateful to their new sponsors.

“Philippine Airlines has always been supportive of artists, rock stars, icons and most importantly, sportsmen. We’re here to support the quest of this team,” said PAL vice president for corporate communications Joey de Guzman.