In unity, there is strength

It wasn’t surprising that the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) representatives snubbed a conciliatory meeting arranged by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) last week. You could see it coming a mile away.

The day before the scheduled meeting, PDBF’s Marcia Cristobal sent word that the organization wouldn’t be represented because the agenda didn’t mention its reinstatement as a National Sports Association (NSA). In effect, Cristobal set the terms of engagement and since they weren’t to her liking, she told the PSC to take a hike.

That’s the problem when athletes think they’re bigger than the sport itself. They become demanding and lose respect for authority. Since Cristobal and her crew arrived from Tampa Bay with a horde of medals last month, they’ve been feted and rewarded like conquering heroes. No question, they deserve recognition. The team that wasn’t supported by the PSC delivered five gold medals in the premier open 1,000-meter, premier mixed 200-meter, premier open 200-meter, premier mixed 500-meter and premier open 500-meter events at the 10th International Dragon Boat World Championships. Additionally, the rowers brought back two silver medals in the all-comers premier mixed 500-meter and all-comers 200-meter events.

The paddlers who battled in Tampa Bay weren’t given financial assistance by the PSC because they belong to the PDBF, which lost its NSA status early this year when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) advised the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) that the dragon boat discipline falls under the Olympic jurisdiction of canoe-kayak. The IOC made the qualification through Jerome Povey, head of institutional relations and governance, after an inquiry from POC vice president Manny Lopez.

According to POC spokesman Joey Romasanta, the PDBF received about P10 Million in assistance from the PSC last year when it enjoyed NSA status. So the issue has nothing to do with discrimination.

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Was the POC justified in removing the PDBF from its roster of accredited NSAs? In truth, there was no choice on the matter. In the same way that diving and water polo are not administered by separate NSAs as they are considered disciplines under the sport of aquatics, dragon boat falls under the jurisdiction of canoe-kayak as mandated by the IOC. On the basis of the IOC’s qualification, the POC ruled that the PDBF may longer retain its NSA status and must be taken in by the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation (PCKF) if the idea is to retain a personality in the POC General Assembly. Whether the POC leadership has an axe to grind against the PDBF for whatever reason is beside the point. The overriding consideration is the IOC’s judgment.

It must be noted that when the POC made the ruling, at least one Executive Board member said the delisting must be done prudently and slowly, recognizing the loss of NSA status isn’t easy to swallow.

The PSC prioritizes NSAs to receive financial assistance although it has the discretion to support any athlete or sports effort with a national calling. However, it may only give monthly stipends to athletes accredited by the POC through their NSAs. To do otherwise would open the doors to anyone claiming to be a national athlete without recognition from an NSA or the POC.

The PSC works under a limited budget, roughly P600 Million a year. If the PSC only gets what it’s supposed to receive from PAGCOR as defined by law, the amount could reach up to P1.3 Billion and it would allow more leeway to support efforts without POC clearance.

In 2009, the Philippines won two gold medals in the standard boat division of the Dragon Boat World Championships in Prague. About 60 percent of that 22-man crew is now affiliated with the PCKF and the rest with the PDBF. An effort was made by the POC to enlist everyone in the team with the PCKF but there was resistance from a minority group. Why the resistance is a big mystery. A source said the PDBF is wary that a move to the PCKF would mean losing some business opportunities in organizing regattas.

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In Tampa Bay, the PDBF sent a team to compete in the small boat division because it couldn’t recruit enough rowers to join the standard boat events. A bulletin from the Tampa Bay organizers said “small boat championships are primarily for new and developing IDBF member countries” and “in all competitions to qualify for world championships status, at least six entries from different countries or territories, per competition class, are required.” It must be noted that in three of the five events where the Philippines took gold medals in Tampa Bay, there were less than six entries. Despite the disclaimer, the PDBF squad must be cited for a rich harvest of five gold and two silver medals, outrowing countries like Australia, Hungary, Italy, Puerto Rico and Japan. There may be a question on the quality of opposition considering the Tampa Bay bulletin said the “small boat championships are primarily for new and developing IDBF member countries” but a gold medal is a gold medal.

The idea of arranging a competition between PCKF and PDBF rowers to determine which is the better crew is divisive and will only lead to more unnecessary tension. PDBF and PCKF rowers used to compete as one team. Why can’t that happen again – for flag and country? Why allow emotions and pride to get in the way of doing what is right? If unity is the objective, then the PDBF must realize it can’t do things on its own. There must be order in the administration of sports, not anarchy. Athletes who gain distinction in overseas competitions just can’t organize or stick to their own federation and claim sovereignty on the strength of their medals. Can you imagine the mess it would create if athletes did their own thing without the rule of law?

The PSC has reached out to the PDBF by asking to sit down and sort out issues. But probably in PDBF’s mind, a snub deserves another snub. The reality is for PDBF rowers to receive monthly stipends from the PSC and to compete in the SEA or Asian Games, they must be accredited by the PCKF. That’s the rule. The PDBF may still exist as a distinct entity but when it comes to accreditation with the PSC, there is no escaping the rule of falling under the jurisdiction of the PCKF. And since the POC is the only body with the authority to accredit any Filipino athlete for the SEA Games, Asian Games and the Olympics, PDBF rowers not affiliated with the PCKF will remain disenfranchised – which is terribly sad.