Dispute deprives champion dragon boat team of support

They are dragon boat racers, not canoe paddlers. That is the proud contention of the dragon boat team that just won five gold medals in an international competition. They were deprived of recognition as the national team earlier this year after their organization, the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF), resisted pressure from the Olympic bureaucracy to join the national canoe and kayak federation, since dragon-boat racing is not yet an Olympic sport.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Instead, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) named other athletes to the national dragon boat team, leaving the more experienced and illustrious PDBF racers to compete as a mere club at the 10th International Dragon Boat Championships in Tampa, Florida, where they won five golds and two silver medals. "Magkaiba ang dragon sa canoeing," insists Judith Hakim, a board director with the PDBF. "May mga iba namang non-Olympic sports na miyembro ng Philippine Olympic Committee." But the dispute between the PDBF and the POC has also been marked by charges of vendetta rooted in the electoral politics of the POC. Hakim claims that they were refused recognition because they did not support the current leadership of the POC in its last elections. Both the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), which controls funding for amateur sports, argue that they are only complying with a directive by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Dragon boat racing one of the canoe disciplines According to the PSC, the PDBF can regain its status if it affiliates with the Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation, the recognized national sport association (NSA). That affiliation would mean accepting the IOC decision that made dragon boat racing one of the canoe disciplines. After the PDBF's athletes achieved so much on the world stage in the last several years, Hakim said they find that downgrade unacceptable. By law, only the NSAs recognized by the POC get PSC subsidies and incentives. If the PDBF chooses to go independent as a sports club, they will literally paddle their own canoe without PSC funding. But PSC Commissioner Jose Luis Gomez said on the GMA News TV program News To Go that the International Dragon Boat Federation will likely become full-fledged members of the Olympic community “in a matter of years" opening the way for its Philippine counterpart, the PDBF, to be recognized by the POC again.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Other national dragon boat organizations acceded to the International Olympic Committee's requirement to consider themselves an extension of canoe and kayaking. The United states has the US Dragon Boat Federation team that won the Nations Cup at the 10th International Dragon Boat Championships last week. It also has Dragon Boat USA- the recognized national team- under the US Canoe/Kayak Association. Matthew Smith, President of IDBF-sanctioned organization Dragon Boat Canada also admitted that some of their members and coaches are also members of Canoe Kayak Canada, which is under the International Canoe Federation recognized by the IOC. In an email to GMA News Online, German Canoe Federation Secretary General Wolfgang Over shared: "The German Canoe Federation, as the official recognized federation, is responsible for all kinds of paddling including dragon boat. But there exists another till now a non-recognized organization , the "Deutscher Drachenboot Verband (DDV)" which is member of IDBF and EDBF (European Dragon Boat Federation)." The DDV is the German contingent that also participated in the 10th IDBF World Championships in Florida this August. News of the lack of government recognition and support riled the public, with senators calling for an investigation, after the team won repeatedly at the world championships last week. PSC had previously funded dragon boat group In an August 9 memo to President Aquino obtained by GMA News Online, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Ricardo Garcia explained the events that led to the cut-off of government support to the PDBF, which from the years 2003 to 2010 had received a total of P55.3 million from the PSC. Garcia said that the PSC was only following a recommendation of the International Olympic Committee that dragon boat racing be placed under the supervision of the country's canoe and kayaking federation. The PDBF refused. "The issue of financial support came out only when the Philippine Olympic Committee in its decision merged the Dragon Boat (team) under the discipline of Canoe Kayak in April 2011, when the NSA recognized by the POC endorsed new names of athletes and coaches for the Dragon Boat National Team," Garcia explained in his memo to President Aquino. According to Garcia, there is now a new national dragon boat team under the PCKF, and it is this team provided a budget of 3.1 million pesos for 2011. This budget includes, among others, training and meal allowances for 30 members of the men's and women's teams, along with their four coaches. They were officially recognized as the national team in a letter dated June 6, 2011 to Chairman Garcia from PCKF Secretary-General Jonne Go. The PDBF protested this development in a letter to the POC Executive Board dated June 21, 2011, listing the following demands: "1. Recognize and reinstate the PDBF to full membership status with the POC.; 2. Declare the PDBF to be the NSA (National Sport Association) with jurisdiction over dragon boat in the Philippines; 3. Return all and any equipment taken from the PDBF; 4. Return the selection and control over the Dragon Boat National Team to the PDBF; 5. Refrain from ejecting PDBF from its present office and docking area." On June 23, 2011, POC First Vice President Manuel Lopez responded to PDBF's letter, explaining that “the action of the POC Executive Board was in compliance and complete accord with the directive of the International Olympic Committee." The POC Chairman also disclosed that the government also supports the PDBF team as the majority of the members who are also part of the Armed Forces continue to receive their wages. "It only happens this time that for the 2011 submitted line-up, they are not included anymore since these athletes sympathized with the leader of the PDBF in the on-going leadership dispute," said Garcia. This divide has led the Philippines to have an officially recognized national team under PCKF that will represent the Philippines at the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia and another team formed by the PDBF that competed at the world championships in Tampa, Florida. PSC reaches out Garcia adds that they have been "in constant communication with the PDBF prior, during and after the disputed leadership and merger." “In fact, we encouraged them to participate in the POC-PSC National Games held in Bacolod on May 22-29, 2011, since the winners of the said tournament will determine the composition of the national team and training pool," Garcia disclosed, “But this was ignored because they do not recognize the action of the POC and PCKF. Despite that they are still using government-issued dragon boats until after June 2011 when the POC called our attention after the PCKF protested since the new national team lwill use it for their practices for the 2011 SEA Games." “Napatalsik po kami sa dati naming pinag-eensayuhan dito sa may Cultural Center of the Philippines. Muntik nang hindi makaensayo yung aming koponan papunta sa Tampa. Kinupkop kami ng Manila Ocean Park," PDBF Board Member Judith Hakim said on GMA News’ News To Go Wednesday morning.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV “Nagkaroon po ng hidwaan… Kung tutuusin po, yung Philippine Canoeing tsaka Dragon Boat nagsimula kami pareho sa Rowing Association. Kaso yung Rowing Association ni-recognize ang independence," Hakim added. - ELR/OMG, GMA News