CEBU, Philippines — After making waves in their first two international races, the Cebu Pink Paddlers will be testing the waters of Hong Kong this time via the 2019 CCB (Asia) Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Carnival in Victoria Harbour next month.
Cebu Pink Paddlers head coach Christian Ian Sy said the team has been very busy gearing up for the big event.
This marks for the first time that the Pink Paddlers will be joining the competition scheduled on June 14-16. Its the same race that the PADS Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018.
“We started our training proper last March and did our evaluation race in Negros last March 24. The Pink Ladies performed well as they competed against other regular women’s teams,” said Sy.
Sy gamely admitted though that even if the Pink Paddlers delivered a good performance in local races, they still need to push their limits as they will now be competing against some of the world’s best dragon boat teams.
“The Pink Ladies need to level up more in terms sa training kay dili basta-basta ang ilaha makontra sa Hong Kong. There are champions and some of the world’s top dragonboat athletes ang mangapil ani nga event.”
The Pink Paddlers, the country’s first all-female dragon boat team composed of breast cancer survivors, will see action in the 200-meter small boat cancer open championships. They will also vie in the 400m standard boat regular women’s category and in the 400m standard boat fancy dress competition where they will be collaborating with the female paddlers from Sugbo Mighty Dragons, Poseidon Dragonboat Team, and Aboitiz Dragonboat Team.
In the last two years, the Pink Paddlers have brought pride and honor to the country. They won their first international event in 2017 in Taiwan and seized another title last year in Singapore via the DBS Marina Regatta.
“With their dedication sa training, passion and love sa sport, I know we can win this race. We are hoping for the best and we are aiming for another crown,” said Sy.