teaser

Battle of the Dragons

by

Dragon boat racing is a traditional sport that is now considered major part of the local celebrations for the Tun Ng Festival. The Macau International Dragon Boat Races, jointly organized by the Sports Development Board and the Macau China Dragon Boat Association, are one of the major international dragon boat competitions helping promoting this sport to the world. 

Since its inauguration, the Races have attracted thousands of athletes from home and abroad to compete in Macau every year and fight for the glory of being the fastest boat on the lake. And like any other sporting event, dragon boat racing is highly competitive and extremely demanding. 

“It is a really tough sport. Not everybody is willing to participate in it,” says Tyson Hoi, leader of the team Galaxy Stars that was the champion of the 500-meter open category in the 2014 Races. “A dragon boat athlete has to train for at least one to two years before they can really perform well.”

Strength is undoubtedly one of the crucial requirements a dragon boat athlete has to possess, but dedication is just as important. 

“We train non-stop all year. The training is not suspended even when the temperature drops to single digits during winter or rises above 30 degrees in summer,” Tyson says. “From the training we gain a strong physique, a persistent mind and great team spirit. This benefits us no matter where we go or what we do in the future.”

Being the incumbent champion, Galaxy Stars is determined to hold onto the title this year, but Tyson believes that it will not be easy. 

“We have been training really hard throughout the year. However, this can also be said about the other teams. All of them want to be the champion too. We really cannot predict what the outcome will be this year.”

Another team that will try to retain their championship is Clube Desportivo Monte Carlo, who won the 200-meter open category in 2014. The well-known local sports club has been competing in the Races since 1995. For them, the challenge is even greater. New team captain Lam Wa Heng reveals that almost half of the team members are joining the event for the first time this year. 

Moreover, unlike some of the teams that are organized by corporate or public institutions, Monte Carlo is formed by amateur athletes from different walks of life. As a result, it is difficult to arrange the training schedule. 

“Dragon boat racing needs good collaboration between team members. Since we are from different work places, we can only rely on our passion for this sport and try to train together as many times as possible. Although there is a distance between us and some corporate teams in terms of training, our coach and team captain will try their best to shorten that distance and gain a good result,” says Wong Peng Kun, the head of Monte Carlo dragon boat team. 

Facing a fierce challenge from other teams, Monte Carlo coach Cheong Fu Man says they do not want their expectations to be too high. 

“We have only trained for around three months. Our hope is only to enter the grand final. I am not going to put too much pressure on my team members. I only want them to enjoy the competition,” he says. 

Captain Lam Wa Heng adds that their goal will be to gain more experience from this year’s Races and deliver the best performance they can.

While the two teams will fight to stay on the top, Team MGM Macau, which won second place last year in the 500-meter women category, will try to ascend to the champion position this year.

Two members of the team, Summer Chiang and Sou Sei Mui, make it clear that their goal is to defeat all the others. Having been training for more than half a year, Summer believes that they have done enough preparation. 

“We have been training since last winter, and the training further intensified during May, when we started training six days a week in hopes of achieving a better result,” she says.

Despite the demanding nature of the competition, Sei Mui enjoys the companionship of her teammates. Summer agrees, noting there  is a better relationship between those colleagues who are also dragon boat teammates.  Both Summer and Sei Mui reckon that team spirit is one of the most valuable things they gain from the competition and training, and both are determined to fight for the top position this year.

 

Date of Event: June 13, 14 and 20, 2015

Time: Around 10 am to 5 pm

Venue: Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre

Admission: Free

Enquiries: (853) 2823 6363

Organizers: Macau Sport Development Board 

Macau, China Dragon Boat Association

Facebook
WhatsApp
Threads
X
Email

More from the author

More of this category

Featured

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Older Issues

Living and Arts Magazine

現已發售 NOW ON SALE

KNOW MORE LiVE BETTER