NEWLY MINTED AS six-peat champions, the San Beda Red Sea Lions prevailed among other teams at the two-day competition for the 15th Iloilo Dinagyang National Age-Group Swimming Competition, coinciding with this year’s Dinagyang Festival, last January 27 to 28.
The Dinagyang Festival takes place annually on the fourth weekend of January in Iloilo City. The festival featured a number of notable events such as the Dinagyang Illumination Street Dance and the Iloilo Arts and Music Festival.
Forming part of the celebration was the swimming competition which is an inter-club invitational event. It served as the first competition of the year where the Red Sea Lions participated. “Actually, ‘yung pag join namin sa Dinagyang, ang purpose ko is para i-promote ‘yung San Beda swimming team and also the San Beda University (SBU) sa province,” said head coach Dondon Roxas, citing the importance in participating in this year’s event.
Furthermore, he also said that this initial competition served to “gauge the proficiency of the swimmers” after a long break, after which the coach trains the athletes. So, for the Red Sea Lions, the importance of participating is in “setting an example” for other aspiring athletes and future swimmers.
“For me, my experience during Dinagyang Festival was important not only for us swimmers from San Beda but also for the swimmers from other regions because they see us as an inspiration to become what they want to be when they grow up as a future swimmer and a student athlete,” said Sean Nathan Gonzales, the team caption of the men’s division.
In participating, the Mendiola-based swimming team got the chance of engaging with other swimmers from different provinces through the fellowship night that was held right after the competition. Moreover, an awarding ceremony also took place during the evening celebration, along with a performance from the team.
Aside from that, for the Bedan swim squad, the Dinagyang Festival was also a recreational activity to help unwind and to find time to enjoy themselves. When asked about her experience during the event, Mary Ann Velasco, the team captain of the women’s division, shared that the event was “fun.” “Kasi ‘yun ‘yung palagi naing ginagawa – swimming. So, part na siya ng life namin, so nakakaenjoy siya and at the same time sama-sama kami d’un sa competition,” she added.
Ultimately, in the relaxed nature of the event, the Dinagyang Festival was an opportunity to showcase the skill and athleticism of a Bedan athlete. “It is our first competition [of the year] so there is less pressure and less expectations but still, even if there are less expectations, we still try our best to show what we, as an athlete of San Beda, [are] capable [of doing],” said Gonzales.
(with Paolo Vital)