The City Tourism office, is now preparing to host the Dragon Boat Race to be held on April 8.
City Tourism Officer Jacqueline Veloso-Antonio said Dumaguete has hosted four Dragon Boat Races since 2014.
“We have had dragon boat clubs from the Visayas and Mindanao participating every year,” Antonio said in a media release Thursday.
“We are expecting at least 20 dragon boat teams to participate in our 2017 Dumaguete Dragon Boat Challenge on April 8 at the Rizal Boulevard,”Antonio disclosed.
The Dragon Boat Race is one of the oldest and most popular traditional festivals in China, with its origins dating back to over 2,000 hears, she said.
It is now an annual race in many parts of China, and over the centuries has been adopted in other countries, including the Philippines.
Dumaguete’s homegrown dragon boat teams — Hilera, Fitbox, and Foundation University— are expected to participate.
The Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragonboat Federation Inc. will handle the technical operation of this year’s competition.
The country’s Canoe Kayak Federation is accredited by the Philippine Olympic Committee, and recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission to govern and develop all moving-forward paddling sports in the Philippines.
The City Tourism Office and the City Sports Development Office headed by Ike Villanueva are leading this event in April with the objectives: promote water sports in coastal cities, where Filipinos have the potential to be world-class; promote awareness for the City’s coastal cleanup efforts and sustain the City’s marine sanctuary in Barangay Banilad; and institutionalize the Dumaguete race as an annual event among the country’s dragon boat teams/clubs.
The Philippine National Dragon Boat Team, fresh from their gold finish at the 2016 World Dragon Boat Championship in Russia, will conduct a free two-day dragon boat clinic on April 6 and 7 for the youth of coastal barangays in Dumaguete.
Organizers are inviting teams from all regions to participate in the different race categories, including Standard Boat 300 meters — Open, Mixed and Inter-Barangay; and Short Boat 300 meters — Open, Mixed, women and Inter-Barangay.
Registration fee is P500 per paddler, inclusive of a race singlet and post-race socials.
Deadling for registration is onFriday, March 10, at the Dumaguete Tourism Office for registration.
For other details, please contact 035-422-9409 or tourismdgte@gmail.com.
The 2017 Dumaguete Dragon Boat challenge is co-presented by the City government of Dumaguete and the Dumaguete Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
It is supported by the Department of Tourism and tourism partners Silliman University, Double Dragon Properties Corp., and Oceanic Container Lines Inc. (JFP)
