Two photos of the Philippine Dragon Boat Team raised concerns among netizens about how local athletes are treated in the country.
Our Philippine Dragon Boat Team going to practice
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The photos reveal the team huddled in the back of a white truck. Many of them are even seen standing, showing no space to sit down.
“Photo taken earlier at Puerto Princesa, where the World Championships will be held in November. Parang kawawa naman masyado athletes natin?” the Reddit post stated.
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The photo didn’t sit well with Filipino netizens, who flooded the comments section to voice their concerns about the treatment of the Philippine Dragon Boat Team.
“Ilang high level official meron sa Palawan at di man lang makapag-provide sana ng kahit minibus or vans for them? or sa Philippine sports commission or something,” one user asked.
“The best they can offer is a congratulatory tarpaulin (if won),” another user commented.
“Taena, di maka rent man lang ng Jeep. Mga hayop,” this user criticized the organizers responsible for arranging the team’s travel.
One user provided a detailed post that dragon boat racing is not a high priority in the country:
Comment
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inPhilippines
“As someone who used to paddle dragon boat, alam ko na hindi talaga pinapansin and binibigyan ng importance ang dragon boat racing. I remember nagt-train kami dati sa Manila Bay tapos mabaho.”
“Meron pang competition one time na merong lumulutang na tae sa tabi ng boat namin bago mag start yung actual race,” the user added.
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The comment received responses, with some users expressing that the current team deserves better. Despite the photos’ online attention, the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) has not issued any statement.
The team is currently preparing for the 2024 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships, which will officially end on November 3, 2024.
In recent years, the team has achieved several significant accomplishments. In 2019, they made a notable comeback at the IDBF World Dragon Boat Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
They obtained the largest delegation ever at this event, winning four silver and two bronze medals.
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