Cojuangco urges paddlers to join NSA

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose Cojuangco Jr. said yesterday he will welcome the paddlers who competed in the small boat division of the International Dragon Boat Federation Nations Cup in Tampa Bay, Florida, to the national pool training for the coming Southeast Asian Games but qualified they must register with the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation (PCKF) to be eligible.

“I personally wish to congratulate our team for bringing honor to our country,” said Cojuangco, referring to the squad that garnered five gold medals in the Florida meet. “We’re all proud of this achievement especially as it has brought more awareness to how sports can fire up our nation.”

Without downplaying the feat, POC spokesman Joey Romasanta explained that the POC was unable to support the team because the rowers are affiliated with Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) which lost its National Sports Association (NSA) status early this year when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled it to fall under PCKF.

“Before the transition, the PDBF athletes were called to a meeting and 60 percent joined the PCKF,” said Romasanta. “We’re hoping the rest eventually joins. The 40 percent constitutes the rowers who competed in Tampa Bay. It’s unfortunate that because of the IOC ruling, the PDBF athletes no longer receive financial assistance from the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission). This was not the POC’s doing. The IOC, through the head of institutional relations and governance Jerome Povey, decreed that dragon boat racing is a discipline of canoe-kayak, meaning it falls under the jurisdiction of the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and the PCKF.”

Romasanta said in 2009, the Philippines won two medals in the 22-man standard boat division of the World Championships in Prague with rowers 60 percent of whom are now with PCKF and 40 percent of whom competed in the 12-man small boat division in Tampa Bay. He said in Tampa Bay, the Philippine crew only joined small boat events which are not in the calendar of the Southeast Asian and Asian Games.

* * *

According to an official bulletin from Tampa Bay, “small boat championships are primarily for new and developing IBDF member countries” and “in all competitions to qualify for world championships status, at least six entries from different countries or territories, per competition class, are required.” In Tampa Bay, there were 87 events – 57 for standard and 30 for small boat. The race program listed small boat events in distances of 200 and 500 meters. One of the events where the Philippines competed was the premier mixed 200 meters with only two other entries Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico.

Romasanta said because the PDBF is now under PCKF, the PSC was restrained from providing support directly to the dragon boat rowers.

“It’s not that the PSC did not want to support the team,” clarified Romasanta. “Last year, when the PDBF was still an NSA, it received P10 Million from the PSC. But now, the support must go through the PCKF. The disbursement process involves the PSC reviewing budgets of every NSA at the start of the year. Budgets are scrutinized and rationalized then the PSC schedules its disbursements accordingly.”

Romasanta said if only the PSC could get the full five percent of gross income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), the purse strings wouldn’t be held too tightly. At the moment, the PSC receives about P600 Million a year from PAGCOR. If the five percent formula is applied, as mandated by law, the PSC should receive about P1.3 Billion.

“Because of limited funds, the PSC must prioritize its disbursements and of course, NSAs are given priority since they’re involved in the budget process,” said Romasanta. “That’s why it’s difficult to give assistance to a dragon boat team without going through the PCKF. Regarding possibly giving an incentive to the team, I’m not sure about that, either. That will depend on the PSC. But I know there are criteria and it also depends on the availability of funds. Mia Legaspi, for instance, won a world junior golf title in the US but didn’t get a reward from the PSC. Remember that the PSC is now supporting over 900 athletes, including those in the developmental class, compared to 200 in the previous administration. We’re happy that the private sector has come out to support the dragon boat team because that involvement is crucial for the advancement of any sport.”

* * *

Cojuangco said despite the organizational wrangling, the dragon boat team deserves recognition. “They’ve done a good job,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if they competed in the small boat events. Winning in those events establishes their capability. I’d like to advise the rowers to join the canoe-kayak federation, get themselves accredited into the training pool, receive assistance from the PSC and if they’re chosen, compete in the standard boat at the Southeast Asian Games this November.”

Cojuangco said joining the PCKF will enable the dragon boat paddlers to avail of the high-caliber training for national pool athletes. “We’ve got to be ready to do the standard boat and compete in long distances,” he said. “I’ve noticed in the past that our rowers are limited to full capacity only in the first 200 meters. Kinakapos tayo. We recently hosted four American trainers who laid out a program of seven levels of physical exercises and we’re just in the third level. This involves physical examinations, exercises that focus on particular muscles depending on the sport, close monitoring and regular testing of performance. That’s the kind of scientific training we want all our athletes to undergo and we’re inviting our dragon boat rowers to enlist.”

Cojuangco said with what the POC and PSC have initiated, he’s sure that the national athletes are now 100 percent better than they’ve ever been before.

 “Hopefully, we’ll see the results in the Southeast Asian Games,” he said. “By requiring NSAs to submit budgets, the PSC is able to track their progress. There is a blueprint that is being followed. We’re providing the necessary support – training, equipment, overseas exposure, coaching with funds our only limitation. We would be happy to support all our athletes who want to compete overseas but we’ve got to prioritize and understand the level of competition we’re facing. If we overwhelm lightweight opposition in small events, I’m not sure if that’s what we want to expose our athletes to when they should focus on the level of competition in the Southeast and Asian Games and the Olympics.”