Barry Barrientos

“I first started dragon boat in May of 2018. Before dragon boat, I was a running enthusiast. I would always join in fun runs, which are usually held in the bay area. Incidentally, when I was running on the bridge in the area, I saw this boat with a couple of people paddling inside it. I got interested! 

When I got home, I searched (through Facebook) for dragon boat teams who would welcome novices like me. Good thing, all of them were accepting fresh blood! So, I sent out messages to the teams to inquire about paddling. One of them invited me to attend their dragon boat clinic and I chose that, since I would be with newbies as well. I remember that clinic clearly, my eyes wide open and excited for the experience! Man, it did not disappoint! I went back home with an aching body, thinking about the next training session. You could tell I got hooked and as they say, the rest was history. I have been paddling since then. 😉

My most memorable moment happened during December of 2019. It was a club crew championship and our team bagged gold in the mixed category in a standard boat division, where I paddled on the right side. All the months of training, blood and sweat had finally paid off! I couldn’t control my tears and immediately hugged my captain and thanked him for patiently training me and the team. I was ecstatic!”

[Barry Barrientos (Manila Bay, Manila, Philippines), paddler on United Paddlers’ Club, ex-paddler on Seahawks PH.]

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