By GBClaveria
PILI, Camarines Sur – The dust has barely settled in the wake of the grand international marathon held at the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex here last week, now comes another international sports event, the CamSur International Dragon Boat Fest 2010.
Set at the same venue, the dragon boat race will be another sports spectacle on Oct. 15 to 17 at the 16-hectare man-made Lago del Rey that is expected to draw the participation of elite teams from the Philippines and abroad.
This competition is part of a long-term repertoire of extreme sports and international competitions lined up by the provincial government to further promote its tourism program, which is largely based on eco-and sports tourism.
The regatta will be conducted under Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) competition and will be run for straight 250-meter and 400-meter courses for Men, Mixed and Women categories for a total prize purse of US$18,750.
Twenty-one teams have signed up for Men Open, 12 in the Women Open and 20 in the Mixed Open but more local and foreign teams have been invited and have provisionally registered for confirmation during on-site registration on Oct. 15.
The event is actually the second and largest regatta to be held at the CWC, the first being the 1st National CamSur Dragon Boat Festival staged May 8 to 10 last year, where the CamSur’s Dragon Boat Team organized and fielded by Governor Villafuerte took the championship in Men and Mixed and second place in the Women in both the 250 and 50 meters.
Fresh from a victorious virtual sweep of the second and third legs of PDBF championships held in Manila Bay on Sept. 26, the CamSur Dragon Boat team cornered all the first places except for a second place finish of the Men team in the third leg.
Now a seasoned team after numerous national skirmishes and several outings abroad, the homegrown team of paddlers is confident of pulling off a magnificent finish, if not on top of the heap, competing in its own turf during the forthcoming contest.
Oct. 15 will be on-site registration, Oct. 16 elimination races in all categories and Oct. 17 will be the finals races.
Bikol Reporter 