Marines, Navy reign in Dragonboat

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Marines and the Philippine Navy stamped their class and dominated the eighth Boracay International Dragonboat Festival, which drew 1,093 participants from 32 teams recently.

The Marines ruled the mixed (with a time of 2”07”79) and men’s standard boat races (2”04”59) while the Navy side topped the women’s and mixed standard, clocking 1”09”17 and 1”03”54, respectively, in the 250-meter races.

 In the women’s small boat division, local team Boracay Dragonflies edged the Philippine Navy with 2”32”68. However, the Navy bounced back and won the women’s standard boat championship.

In the men’s small boat, the Taytay Boys won top honors as they clocked 2”25”38, while the Pagsanjan Laguna Rapids Paddlers took the mixed small boat category with 2”33”83.

The Dragons from North America Team B, meanwhile, bagged the masters’ class small boat crown with 2”37”40.

The Marines also topped the women’s small boat category with 1”21”74, while local team Boracay All Stars annexed the championship for the mixed small boat with 1”14”89.

Another local team, the Boracay Air Force, won the men’s standard boat competition with 1”01”27, while the Dragon Force Masters pocketed the mixed masters small boat title with 1”18”23.

Organized by the Boracay Island Paddlers Association (BIPA), the annual Boracay International Dragonboat Festival is the country’s single biggest sporting event.