AQUA FORTIS CREW

When Dragon Boat racing was introduced in the Philippines in the late 80s only a handful of people were aware that it actually existed. By some twist of fate Jovel Versoza was recruited to join the Philippine Dragon Boat Rowing Team (PDRT). He trained and competed with them until he hit the idea of establishing his own team. Being a student from the University of Santo Tomas, College of Architecture and Fine Arts he got around recruiting his friends from the college; one recruitment led to another, and the rest is history.

In 1991 they were unofficially known as the UST Rowing Team since the crew was made up of students from the University of Santo Tomas. This team took part in the first ever Dragon Boat race held here in the Philippines competing against schools and companies such as Ateneo De Manila University, University of the Philippines, AGFA Team, Philippine Youth Rowing Society, YKL Team, and Meralco just to name a few. They continued their rigorous training and competed annually in the in the local races. Then in 1993 they embarked on their first ever-international tour, a series of races held in different countries namely Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Macau. Here they reaped honors for our country bannered by the PDRT whose crew was a combination of UST and PDRT rowers

In 1994, the team now largely composed of Thomasian rowers decided to segregate themselves from the PDRT and the AQUA FORTIS DRAGONBOAT ROWING TEAM (AFDRT) was born under the brainchild of Mr. Edward Jovel Versoza. The team was given due recognition by the Amateur Rowing Association of the Philippines (ARAP); the official governing body for water sports in the country. The name was a thought of Jeremy Aguado, a member from the first batch of recruits from UST-CAFA. The term "aqua fortis" means "water force" in Latin and signifies the power of this new team in this relatively new sport.

Today, the team is being lead by Earnest Versoza and Ednel Versoza (Jovel's younger brothers) with the set of elected Board of Directors and Team Officers. The current crew is now composed of people from all walks of life: professionals, students from various schools, outdoor sports lovers, and the like. The team has continuously represented the country in international races: Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and is an active participant of the local races conducted by the Philippine Dragonboat Federation (PDBF), an autonomous unit created from ARAP.

Do you want to try dragonboat racing? Join us every Saturday and Sunday, 5:30 am at the CCP parking lot, beside Figaro.

you may also reach us thru our email: aquafortis_dragonboat@yahoo.com