Thousands of paddlers make a splash as International Dragon Boat Races return to Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour after 4-year break
- Two-day event, jointly organised by Tourism Board and Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, features more than 4,000 contestants
- Paddlers are competing for 17 titles, with cash prizes offered in five major races for the first time
Thousands of revellers and paddlers braved heat and occasional heavy rain for the International Dragon Boat Races which returned to Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour after a four-year hiatus on Saturday.
The two-day event, jointly organised by the Tourism Board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, featured more than 4,000 contestants from 10 places, including Australia, Dubai, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Residents and tourists enjoyed the adrenaline-pumping action, cheering from the promenade for paddlers from home and abroad who competed for 17 titles, with cash prizes offered in five major races for the first time. Each of the champions would be awarded US$10,000.
Among all 160 teams, Dragon Boat Thailand was the fastest, completing the 500-metre race in one minute and 49 seconds and earning the top place in the International Open Championship, closely followed by teams from Changle and Jiujiang in mainland China.
Australian national team leader Belinda Chung said the weather in Hong Kong was very different from that of her country, but the team “enjoyed the heat and humidity”.
“Hong Kong is one of our favourite places to compete,” she said. “This gives us a different feel of dragon boating, because we all know that dragon boating is from Hong Kong and Asia as well.”
This year also marked the first time for Poland to send its national team to compete in the races, after a few competitions in Shenzhen and Guangzhou before.
