Marjorie Duran: Woman Power In Dragon Boat

For Marjorie Duran, PDBF Premier Elite Women's Team member and spokesperson, the 16th IDBF World Championships will be her first participation in what is considered the Olympics of dragon boat. In an exclusive interview, Marj speaks of her excitement and firm resolve to give her best for the country in the upcoming world championships. 1. How did you get involved with dragon boat? Paano ka nagsimula? May nakita lang akong poster online. As in, no idea about the sport. Gusto ko lang magkaroon ng sport that suits me. So, sabi ko, try ko dragon boat, baka sakali. Lo and behold, after several years, nandito pa rin ako sa dragon boat. 2. How did you become a part of the PDBF Premier Elite Women's Team? Actually, meron kaming try-outs. Months ago, PDBF announced among its clubs na it is forming its premier elite teams that will compete in the world championships in Thailand. So, nag-try-out ako together with some of our teammates. Luckily, I was accepted and we started training for the competition. 3. Mahirap ba ang training ninyo? It is hard kasi hindi lahat kami full-time athletes. We have work, that is the first challenge. Pagod ka na sa work but you still have to train. We practice six times a week. May boat training, weight training, swimming and boat paddling. 4. What are your expectations as you compete in Thailand? We hope to bring trophies and medals for the country. Personally, wala akong expectations dahil this is my first time to compete in the world championships. But we will do our best and give everyone a good fight. 5. Are you getting ample support from government and private sector? Government, I am not sure. Walang allotment from government so far. So, we are trying to get sponsors from the private sector. Actually, limited talaga ang fund namin. We can't sponsor everyone in the team. 6. How must does it cost per paddler to go to Thailand? The initial assessment is forty-five thousand pesos. Tipid na yun. 7. What countries do you expect to give your team stiff competition? Syempre nandyan ang China which has full government support. Thailand is very strong too. Singapore as well. 8. Anong message ang gusto mong iparating sa ating mga kababayan? Ang message ko lang na sinasabi ko noon pa is thank you. Yung mga kababayan natin continue to inspire us to do well. Makita lang namin ang ating mga kababayan na sumusuporta, it motivates us to represent them well.