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SPORTS BANTER | Ms. Len Escollante, presidente ng Philippine Canoe, Kayak, and Dragonboat Federation  For more news, visit:  ►https://www.ptvnews.ph/  Subscribe to our DailyMotion Channel: ►http://www.dailymotion.com/peoples-television-incorporated  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ►http://www.youtube.com/ptvphilippines  Like our Facebook pages: ►PTV: http://facebook.com/PTVph  ►Rise and Shine Pilipinas: https://www.facebook.com/riseandshinepilipinas  Follow us on Twitter:  ►http://twitter.com/PTVph  Follow us on Instagram: ►https://www.instagram.com/ptvph  Watch our livestream on:  ►http://ptvnews.ph/livestream/ ►https://www.dailymotion.com/PTVPhilippines  Watch our News Programs, every Mondays to Fridays  Rise and Shine Pilipinas - 6:00 - 7:00 am | 7:30 - 8:00 am Balitang Pambansa - 7:00 - 7:30 am | 12:00 - 12:30 pm | 6:00 - 6:30pm | 9:30 - 10:00 pm PTV Sports - 8:00 - 9:00 am Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon - 12:30 - 1:00 pm Sentro Balita - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Ulat Bayan - 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm PTV News Tonight -  10:00 pm - 10:30 pm  Saturday & Sunday: ►Sentro Balita Weekend - 1:30 - 2:00 pm ►Ulat Bayan Weekend - 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm

Transcript

00:00PTV Sports is back with us via Zoom with Ms. Len Escolante, President of the Filipino Kayak and Dragon Boat Federation.

00:12Ma'am, good afternoon. Thank you for taking the time to be with us today.

00:19Good afternoon, Sir Paulo Salamatin and to all the viewers of PTV4.

00:27Good afternoon and Merry Christmas to all of you.

00:31Yes, Ma'am. Merry Christmas to all of you.

00:33Ma'am, where are you? We can't see you. Are you in the car?

00:39Yes, I'm here in Iwahiga River because the training of our Kayak athletes is still ongoing.

00:47They are still in the training camp here in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

00:51Mayor Bayron allowed us to continue the training of our Kayak athletes.

00:59That's great, Ma'am. We can talk about that later.

01:03First of all, Ma'am, congratulations on becoming a board member of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

01:10Congratulations, Ma'am.

01:13Thank you very much. Of course, I would also like to thank our POC family for trusting me.

01:21Even though we don't accompany each other, I am always here in Puerto Princesa.

01:26I am very thankful for the trust they gave me.

01:31We were chosen as one of the boards of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

01:36Yes, you deserve to be elected to this position.

01:40But Ma'am, to my first question, what was your reaction when you learned that you were elected as a board member here in the POC?

01:51Well, I didn't really expect that I would be chosen.

01:59I was like a candidate because I really needed a women's representative, at least 30%.

02:06So I said, even if I'm number 5, it's okay. It's the same. You can still be an executive board member.

02:13So I was really excited about that.

02:16The victory was really overwhelming because we were number 1 in all the POC boards.

02:24So that was the most exciting part.

02:28Yes, Ma'am. I can see your happiness. You are happy with the result.

02:33But Ma'am, for you, what are our plans as a part of the POC for the Dragon Boat Community and for our athletes in general?

02:49Yes, in general, but we will wait for whatever position Mayor Tolentino and the rest of the executive board will give us.

03:02Maybe we will have a meeting once we are proclaimed or we will have our vote.

03:09That's when we will start with the assignments that will be given to us.

03:13What can we help in Philippine sports, not only our federation, but of course the entire Philippine sports community.

03:26That's good. Very well said. It's important for our athletes to serve.

03:32But Ma'am, for you, can you share with us, for our sports fans, what made you decide to run for the POC position?

03:47To be honest, in the first quarter of this year, Congressman Bumble Tolentino approached me and asked if I can join their lineup.

04:02I said if there's still a possibility, I don't want to run and I'm not used to politics. I just want to join our sports.

04:16I said maybe there are others who can help more than me because I want to concentrate on the federation.

04:25This is my first term as president of the federation. I want to maximize my time to the federation, to our athletes and coaches,

04:36and of course, our programs all over the Philippines when it comes to paddling.

04:42But he told me, no, I will really get you, he told me. Don't refuse, he told me.

04:52I said okay, if you think I can help in Philippine sports, which is based on my experience,

05:01maybe from the very start, we are athletes, we came from Palarupang Bansa, Esquag.

05:10You know, we went through it step by step until we became a jury, Olympic international technical official.

05:20Even the coaches, we got the highest international coaching course.

05:27So I think we can contribute something good for Philippine sports.

05:33Alright, we can see Ms. Len's humbleness. But with that being said, you said that you also became an athlete.

05:41For those who don't know, Ms. Len used to be an athlete who became a coach and now she's a board member of POC.

05:49Ma'am, can you share with us your history here, from being an athlete to being a coach, and now a board member of POC?

05:56Yes, I was recruited to Tacloban City when Palarupang Bansa was there.

06:03At that time, I was still young, I was only 14 or 16 years old.

06:10My mother didn't allow me yet.

06:12So when I was 18 years old, I went to Manila and I was recruited as a volleyball player for Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

06:22So in the span of two years, we immediately became a member of the national team of volleyball.

06:28So we were able to get a complete medal.

06:31We were the last team to win a gold medal in 1993 in women's volleyball in Singapore.

06:37When 1997 came, I shifted to paddling sport, which is kayaking.

06:43While we were in the military, in the Philippine Navy, we were able to play in the Dragon Boat.

06:49So our career continued.

06:52When I was 32 years old, I started training abroad into coaching during the time of our president, Dr. Sim Chita.

07:02So while I was training abroad, I played as a kayaker and a dragon boat player.

07:08At the same time, we became playing coaches.

07:11Then I did a seminar in Hungary.

07:13We were able to get a Level 3 coaching.

07:17Then we started to become technical officials.

07:21We officiated in the Asian Games, SEA Games, Olympics, and the All-World Championship when it comes to paddling.

07:28So those were our experiences.

07:31Of course, we conduct international races also here in the Philippines.

07:35We heard how big or how many credentials of Ma'am Len here as the president of the Philippine Kayak Federation.

07:47Ma'am, with that being said, about our overall champion,

07:54we can see that the credentials that we mentioned were the result of being the overall champion in the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships

08:05where we won 11 golds, 20 silvers, and 8 bronzes.

08:10Ma'am, can you share with us what you can say about being the overall champion after the event?

08:18Well, it was a very good result because you know that when we host, we need to please our countrymen.

08:30I didn't expect that we will get the overall.

08:33It's the first time that the Philippines won the overall champion when it comes to dragon boat.

08:39This is the biggest participation of the international when it comes to the Dragon Boat World Championship.

08:48We started joining the World Championship, if I'm not mistaken, since 2012, 2014, and 2016.

08:57We do this every two years.

09:00I've been dreaming for a long time when we will get the overall.

09:05So everybody, the national federations, they're aiming to be an overall champion because it's very difficult.

09:13It needs a lot of participants and events that you will attend.

09:19So it's a blessing that we were able to do this here in the Philippines.

09:23Of course, we came up with a lot of paddlers all over the Philippines.

09:30We tried out senior 40-plus and 50-plus seniors.

09:37We have also junior 18 and under and we have open category, which as the national team, that's the open category, the senior.

09:46So we came up with all of that.

09:48So I'm very thankful that it turned out well.

09:51Our paddlers really helped.

09:54Imagine, the first time we had entries of 223 paddlers all over the Philippines.

10:01That's counted by our junior team.

10:04We have 33 paddlers in the junior.

10:07We have 47 in the senior.

10:09We have 70 paddlers in the masters 40.

10:16And we have 43 paddlers from Cebu that are 50-plus and included in the masters 40.

10:23So we have a lot of paddlers that really helped.

10:28That's why we were able to get the overall champion.

10:31But Ms. Len, with all those achievements that we got, can you share with us the challenges?

10:38Because you mentioned earlier that it's difficult to get this achievement.

10:42Can you share with us the challenges that the Philippine Dragon Boat Team is facing

10:49to achieve the good results that we got from this event?

10:58The most difficult part here, Sir Paolo, is that our other paddlers are in the military.

11:06So it was difficult for us to detail them to the national team.

11:11So it turned out that they only spent three months in one boat.

11:19Unlike our masters, even in Cebu and here in Manila, we had a tryout six months prior.

11:27That's what happened.

11:29Even our juniors, I assigned them to training camps in Davao City.

11:35They were together for three months.

11:39What's difficult in the Philippines is that we are on different islands.

11:45So in order to form a team, there needs to be a sacrifice from other islands.

11:53For example, those who came here from Manila or from Samar or from Pauay,

12:00our juniors also went to Davao City.

12:04So our sport is a bit expensive just to compose a team.

12:11If we want a quality team, you really need to have a tryout all over the Philippines.

12:21That's why I said that this sport, even if it's just for fun, it takes a lot of money.

12:26Of course, we have a saying, if no money, no medal.

12:31So that's what's difficult for us.

12:34How can you form a team if you don't spend money?

12:40Ma'am Len said, no money, no honey.

12:44But here in Cebu, no money, no medal.

12:48If you're in sports, it's impossible to win a medal without money.

12:55Nothing will happen.

12:57But here, being an athlete is not instant.

13:01I always tell the players, instant noodles are the only ones that are instant.

13:05Here, it takes time to develop so that we can win.

13:09Isn't that right?

13:10That's right, ma'am.

13:11And I also want to reference that, ma'am.

13:14In all of our sports here, in our NSA,

13:17in all of them, if we don't medal, if we don't have money,

13:22that's when we're really strong.

13:24Ma'am, after this achievement here in the ICF World Dragon Boat Competitions,

13:31what's next for the Philippine Dragon Boat Team?

13:35What are our preparations for 2025,

13:39especially for the World Games that will be held next year?

13:43Yes, the World Games that will be held in Chengdu, China,

13:47this coming August 9,

13:49one of the things that we learned, especially the coaches,

13:53I instructed them that on January 4, we will have a break on December 20,

13:59excuse me, up to January 4,

14:01because we still have a long way to go.

14:05You know that our other opponents in the World Games

14:09will only be here in Southeast Asia.

14:12So only we will be fighting for that.

14:15So we need to double up, double time our paddlers

14:19because as I said, they are new in joining us,

14:23especially our men in uniform.

14:26Sometimes it's hard for us to have detailed service.

14:31So maybe we can talk to General Browner

14:35that if he allows our afternoon selection,

14:38we can prioritize the detailed service of our athletes

14:42who will be participating in the upcoming World Games in China

14:46and of course, our preparation for the Southeast Asian Games in December.

14:52But Ma'am, regarding our preparations,

14:55what are the preparations that we do?

14:57Have they already started training?

14:59Or what are the things that we do?

15:01Do we send them to the international competitions first

15:04before they become part of their preparation?

15:09That's part of it.

15:11If we have preparations for international competitions,

15:15we can send them.

15:17We also have a request from the Philippine Sports Commission.

15:20At the same time, there is also the TINGOG Party List,

15:24like what Congressman Yeda Rumaldes said,

15:28that they will help us in development

15:31because not everything can be done by the Philippine Sports Commission.

15:34That's why we are very thankful

15:36because the composition of our team is really big.

15:39And one more thing,

15:41we also have an Olympic event

15:45and it will also be held at the SEA Games

15:48and the Asian Championships in Thailand.

15:51So all the preparations,

15:53actually, we started a month ago.

15:56So we are in the transition period right now.

15:59After that, we will have a break by December 20

16:03and we will resume by January 4.

16:05So that will be the first day.

16:08Then we will camp them

16:10because our training is hard when we are only in Metro Manila.

16:14There are a lot of possible temptations.

16:20So our players cannot concentrate 100 percent.

16:25So we need to bring them to isolated provinces.

16:31That's good, ma'am.

16:33But this is our last question, ma'am.

16:35Just a message,

16:37and what can you say overall

16:40to the Philippine Dragon Boat Team?

16:44Of course, I would like to thank all the coaches,

16:47the coaching staff,

16:49and all our volunteers,

16:52all the technical officials

16:54who really supported the federation

16:58so that we can expand our hosting.

17:01And especially to the Puerto Princesa City Government

17:05led by Mayor Lucilo Bayron.

17:08Greetings to all of them.

17:10Atty. Arnel, thank you very much.

17:13To Atty. Rocky Austria.

17:15And then of course,

17:16to the Philippine Sports Commission

17:19and all the employees who helped us.

17:22And to our technical officials from Iloilo, Davao,

17:28and of course, to our paddlers all over the Philippines.

17:33Not to mention the names,

17:35but the composition of our juniors.

17:37Thank you so much for giving pride to our country,

17:41our national team,

17:43our Masters 40 and Master 50.

17:47Hopefully, we will not stop.

17:49We will continue.

17:50Because every two years,

17:52we have a World Championship.

17:54Very well said, Ms. Len,

17:56our President of the Philippine Kayak and Dragon Boat Federation.

18:02Ma'am, thank you very much for your time.

18:07Ma'am, thank you very much.

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