A team of Filipina paddlers made up of domestic workers recently turned a dream into reality by successfully participating in a dragon boat race.
For the past three months, 53 members of Filipino Dynamo Dragon Boat Team had been training hard on land and in the water as they set their sights on one goal – participating in a dragon boat race in Hong Kong, according to a feature story on news website HK01.com.
The dream started in early March, when a voluntary coach named Edwin got in touch with Filipino domestic worker Liza Avelino. Liza had taken part in dragon boat races in Discovery Bay for four years, and Edwin wanted to form a team made up entirely of Filipina domestic workers.
He said Liza worried about the funding but once they started recruitment, 53 domestic workers enrolled.
Would-be team members had to save hard to pay a membership fee of HK$650 (US$82), but that was just the start of the expensive process of establishing a dragon boat team. Members also had to secure enough money to pay for their coach and find funding for the rental of a dragon boat and paddles, as well as venue costs.
Edwin recalled that during the first few training sessions, members practiced barefoot as they did not have money to buy proper footwear.
The team launched a social media appeal for donations, and in the end, a French baby food company sponsored the team.
The team were joined by another Filipino, Jed, who had taken part in dragon boat races for five years, when he heard about the team a month before the race. He became the team’s voluntary coach, and thanks to sharing a native language with his crew, helped them develop skills quickly.
Despite benefiting from further help from other volunteer coaches who joined in the training, the team suffered a setback when organizers of the race they targeted rejected their application, claiming that the team was below necessary standards.
But the Filipino paddlers refused to give up and finally gained an entry for the Discovery Bay Dragon Boat Races & Carnival.
For three months, team members trained hard on their only rest day, while on work days they jogged to the market, and further exercised their muscles by lifting water buckets while doing household tasks.
Photo: Filipino Dynamo Dragon Boat Team@Facebook
Members of the team were said to be very excited about achieving their goal of participating in a race. They took particular pleasure from the fact that this year, instead of sitting on the sidelines cheering on other teams, they were able to take their places on their own dragon boat and join in the racing on the water.
Dear Liza,
It is very nice to have the media coming to cover the story, so the world know about the team. However, as an advisor/coach to the team and former reporter for a decent newspaper myself, I am regretted to say that the one who wrote the original Chinese article in HK01.com is not sincere enough to find facts but instead too inclined to go for sensationalism to attract public attention. E.g. (1) the organisation helping the team for concession rate for boat rent is Bearable Sports Club. It has nothing to do with Chaiwan Fishermen Recreation Club, as shown in the caption of one picture of the article. (2) Having no shoes for training is never something we emphasize among dragon boaters in the world. Do not know why she put such attention on it and imply the coaches also make a fuss on it. (3) The team was rejected entry not once, but twice before their debut in Discovery Bay, however, NOT because the team was “not up to standard”, but because the team filed in entry too late.
Twisting fact from the interviewees, and not doing proper “fact check” before writing seems to be a norm for this kind of web base journalism. The Chinese article is now quoted and re-used by the English media like Asia Times. Hope you can relay the message to the journalist to let her know our discontentment. Thanks.
Best regards,
edwin
PROUd!!!!
Proud of my fellow filipinos
PROUD OF BEING A OFW
I left a feedback to this article, but dont know why it was deleted it. Let me post again. See what Asia Times can respond.
Dear Liza,
It is very nice to have the media coming to cover the story, so the world know about the team. However, as an advisor/coach to the team and former reporter for a decent newspaper myself, I am regretted to say that the one who wrote the original Chinese article in HK01.com is not sincere enough to find facts but instead too inclined to go for sensationalism to attract public attention. E.g. (1) the organisation helping the team for concession rate for boat rent is Bearable Sports Club. It has nothing to do with Chaiwan Fishermen Recreation Club, as shown in the caption of one picture of the article. (2) Having no shoes for training is never something we emphasize among dragon boaters in the world. Do not know why she put such attention on it and imply the coaches also make a fuss on it. (3) The team was rejected entry not once, but twice before their debut in Discovery Bay, however, NOT because the team was “not up to standard”, but because the team filed in entry too late.
Twisting facts from the interviewees, and not doing proper “fact check” before writing seems to be a norm for this kind of web base journalism. The Chinese article is now quoted and re-used by the English media like Asia Times. Hope you can relay the message to the journalist to let her know our discontentment. Thanks.
Best regards,
edwin
So proud!!!!
Wow proud pinoy!!!
Thanks sir for clearing everything..
yehey, congrats Filipino dynamo Dragon boat team, tol liway, tol abling and tol yoomie,
Good thing!!!!! Domestic helpers are given a chance rather than of being discriminated if there kind of job. Happy being in Hongkong and it’s government
Wow…galing nman…proud to be a Filipino????????????
Proud…kabayan
PROUD!!
Go,go,go.. Make us proud!
Filipino not easily give up to achive their goal God bless you all
Go go go pinay
Proud of this team
congrats proud…proud philippines @ also to my sexy lady filipino group the other member of the team????????????
Congrats~go go go yes show your talent.
You made us proud kabayan! Continue paddling????????????
PROUD
Good job! Congrats to the team ! Cheers ????????????
Proud of being an ofw . Proud of you guys.. You can make it guys. Be safe everyone!
Clickbait for sure