Jude Galvadores
"Initially, dragon boat was an escape and a means to cope from a breakup when I started 6 years ago. I was looking for something to while away my time with and provide me with a workout that wouldn’t bore me. The first 6 months really challenged me, especially waking up at dawn on weekends to go to Manila Bay. The camaraderie I felt within my newbie batch in the team helped acclimatize me to early training sessions and led me to look forward to getting stronger so I could keep up with the veterans.
As my love for the sport deepened, I began to appreciate the little details that afforded me the recurring highs I craved when paddling with a committed crew. I understood how the drills we did during land training sessions fed into the movements we needed to consistently execute in the boat. Discipline was something I was familiar with growing up as I was an athlete in my primary school days; discipline is crucial, as the speed of a boat requires the whole crew to move as one. Fun with discipline is a concept that we’ve built in our team amidst changing crews and this has motivated paddlers to strive to improve and contribute. Our team has had a lot of changes; over the past 6 years, though, the one constant is that we view ourselves as a family that seeks to continuously be better both as a team and as individuals, on and off the boat.
What’s memorable for me is that each paddling session allows me to experience the exhilaration of moving as one with the crew while making the boat glide fast over the water. As the captain of Maharlika Drakon today, I abide by the concept of continuous progress that our team continuously espouses.
Dragon boat has become so much more than just a sport and hobby that I train 4 times a week. It is a way of life that teaches me to repeatedly practice discipline and commitment with a crew that I consider family so I can strive to be stronger and better in what I am passionate about.”
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[Jude Galvadores (Manila, Philippines), captain/paddler on Maharlika Drakon.]
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