PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — Students like Yazmine Acosta and Tha Oo had never heard of the sport, ‘dragon boat,’ just a few years ago.<\/p>\n
Now, their team has a chance to compete at the world championships.<\/p>\n
The Discovery Pathways Dragon Boat Team<\/a> gives students a chance to dream even beyond the lakes and rivers of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n It all stems from the nonprofit, Discovery Pathways<\/a>, founded by former school teacher Adam Forbes.<\/p>\n Forbes, who competed in dragon boat himself, always wanted to create a team for students in the city. He knew that sports like dragon boat can be expensive or downright inaccessible for inner city students.<\/p>\n A few years ago, his program was gifted with a boat by the Khmer Naga Dragon Boat Team during a Southeast Asian Water Festival at FDR Park.<\/p>\n This allowed the Discovery Pathways team to kick off and it has been making waves ever since.<\/p>\n In 2025, they reported that 85% of participants were refugees or immigrants and 100% of participants were low-income youth.<\/p>\n After earning medals in several races, the team clinched a berth for the 2026 world championships.<\/p>\n Now, they are fundraising to make the trip to Taiwan this summer. A GoFundMe<\/a> has already netted $5,000 of their $9,000 goal.<\/p>\n To learn more about Discovery Pathways dragon boat team<\/a> or to support their mission, visit their Instagram page<\/a> and website<\/a>.<\/p>\n This segment of Philly Proud is brought to you by Visit Philly.<\/a><\/p>\n