GPD strokes to Dragon Boat title

The bendishon by Pa’a Tao Tao during the opening ceremony along with the glaring sirens that commemorated the lives of the heroes, victims and their family from the September 11 tragedy paved way for the 2^nd 9/11 Commemorative Dragon Boat Race as Mother Nature bestowed her blessing, providing a beautiful day for the participants at the Matapang Beach Park. Teams representing various first responder organizations including the Guam Police Department, Guam Fire Department, Guam National Guard, Anderson Fire Department, Naval Fire Department, Haggan Outrigger Canoe Club, and a visiting forces team Navy Tag Five enjoyed a day of camaraderie.

The first round opened with Haggan Outrigger Canoe Club and Guam National Guard winning their respective heats to advance to the semi final round with the remaining teams vying for their entry into the next round. After two rounds of competition, GPD, GFD, Navy and Andersen Fire Departments all advanced to the semi-finals.

In a closely contested semi final round, Guam Police Department and Navy Fire Department clocked in with the two best times. GPD 2:12.64 edged out Navy Fire 2:13.03 while Haggan 2:13.34 and Guam National Guard purged Guam Fire Department by .57 of a second to qualify for the consolation round.

Haggan 2:07.19 registered the fastest time of the competition as they cruised to victory over the National Guard 2:16.41 in the consolation round to claim third place.

In the Championship heat, Guam Police Department and Navy Fire Department raced to an even start through 150 meters, however, GPD’s dragon boat drummed to a faster beat as they moved ahead of the Navy team eventually crossing the finish line two seconds ahead. GPD clocked in with a time of 2:15.06 to Navy’s 2:17.45 to claim the title.

The event was organized by Ron Ruiz and Paul Tapao through the host Haggan Outrigger Canoe Club and the Guam Dragon Boat Federation. Sponsors of the race include Calvo’s Insurance, Moylan’s Insurance, Docomo Pacific, Hawaiian Rock Products, Tan Holdings Corporation, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Guam Chinese Association, MidPac Far East, KwikSPACE, Goodwind Development, Triple J Enterprises, McDonald's Restaurants of Guam and Unity Development Corporation with photographs provided by Ed San Nicolas.

The Guam Dragon Boat Federation is looking for interested paddlers in preparation for the 6^th East Asian Games which will be held in Tianjin, China from October 6-15, 2013. Interested paddlers may contact Joey Miranda III at 646-9081.

Last Modified on 28/09/2012 06:56

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