Cebu-based PWD team is one of the PHL teams competing in the 9th HK Dragon Boat Carnival

Two teams from the Philippines will be competing at the 9th Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival happening from June 22-24 at the Victoria Harbour.

The Cebu-based Philippine Accessible Disability Services (PADS) adaptive dragon boat team will defend its gold medal, while the Triton Dragon Boat Racing Team returns after a silver finish last year.

According to PADS team manager and founder JP Manuas, the team will not only defend their gold in the international para-dragon boat category — a feat they won on their first try last year 2017.

PADS this year will also participate in other categories that are not necessarily PWD-exclusive.

“We will compete in the open men category, standard boat, short boat, and the standard mixed category,” JP told GMA News Online.

Composed of mixed disabilities, “we have amputees, polio survivors, deaf persons”, the PADS team has grown from a team of 28 to about 45.

Shares JP, the adaptive dragon boat team is the flagship program of the non-profit PADs. “We were born in 2005 and in 2016, we opened our adaptive sports and recreational rehab program because we noticed that sports rehab was a major barrier for most PWDs.”

JP made an important distinction: Para-sports he said was specific and exclusive to PWDs. Adaptive sports meanwhile, are games that have been modified to allow PWDs to participate among non-PWDS.

“Dragon boat wasn’t just an emerging sport back then. It was also an inclusive team sport that allowed diversity. It is also a seated sport, so [kaunting modification na lang ang kailangan],” JP said.

For the HK competition, the PADS dragon boat team is simply continuing their training program that helped them win five gold medals in the Cebu International competition just last in April.

“We have been training five times a week. We wake up at 4:30am to train for two hours, and then another two hours in the afternoon. Two weeks before the HK competition, we’ll begin our daily intensive training,” shares JP.

The team will leave the country on June 20-21 to begin competing on June 22, the first day of the three-day competition.

According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, this year’s festivities will see over 4,500 athletes from all over the world including Australia, Hong Kong, Korrea, India, and the USA. — LA, GMA News

If you want to support and sponsor the PADS dragon boat team, check out their Facebook page and their website. +63 917 701 4700