CANDELARIA, Philippines — In an effort to push this province into becoming the new sports capital of Central Luzon, Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. is lining up in the next two years a bevy of national sports events in this province.

Ebdane made this announcement on Saturday as he opened the 1st Zambales Dragon Boat Festival, which gained the participation of 15 teams from all over the country.

“We want Zambales to be known not just as a tourism destination, but also a sports tourism destination since we have the best venues for a multitude of events here in Zambales,” Ebdane said.

“With the ongoing 1st Zambales Dragon Boat Festival being held here, we have already marked Uacon Lake in Candelaria as a venue for national dragon boat races and other water sports events. We might even introduce wakeboarding and kayaking sometime soon,” he said.

Ebdane also said that Uacon Lake has earned favorable reviews from teams coming from Manila, as they found it a very ideal site for dragon boat racing. This is because Uacon Lake is a natural body of water that has been adjudged as the best inland water body in Central Luzon for the past several years, he said.

Candelaria is about 80 kilometers north of Subic Bay Freeport Zone and The 1st Zambales Dragonboat competition might have been a trial run but with the current status of the event, the organizers are already considering the event a success.

Around teams joined the event wherein teams like La Salle, Onslaught, Philippine Army, Triton, Blue Phil Phoenix, are all from Manila. Events such as open water swimming, 250m race, kayak clinic and kayak race are just some of the side events of the dragon boat competition.

Currently, the Zambales provincial government has already held events like the Zamba Multi Sports Fest and the Jun Ebdane 4x4 Challenge that have already put the province in the national sports scene.

“And we’re not stopping there, we are currently enhancing the Zambales Sports Complex for the Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association (CLRAA). Development of the Olympic-size swimming pool in Iba and the new track stadium along with new bleachers and dorm are on the way,” Ebdane said.

The Philippine Sports Commission has already asked Ebdane to make the province into the official training center for Luzon athletes. Ebdane affirmed the idea as it is in line with the provincial government’s thrust to enhance the area for sports.

“We will also be giving athletic scholarships to deserving Zambalenos since we know that they will represent the province in their respective event,” Ebdane said.