Dragon boat racing comes to jamaica

THE CHINESE Benevolent Association (CBA) and the Jamaica Dragon Boat Federation (JDBF) have collaborated to launch dragon boat racing in Jamaica.

The first event of the new dragon boating calendar takes place this Saturday and Sunday at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Port Royal (formerly the Morgan’s Harbour Hotel), starting at 10 a.m. each day.

Dragon boat racing is described as a unique team sport that began in Chinese villages. It requires team members to paddle in complete synchrony to the beating of a drum in the bow of the boat. It is an established sport that is in more than 75 countries, including Trinidad and Tobago and The Bahamas in the Caribbean.

Vincent Chang, president of the CBA, praised the planning team and the Chinese Embassy for ensuring that the event could get off the ground this year, as it had been in the planning phase for a very long time. He said that they want to see the event grow and become a mainstay on the local calendar.

When asked what to expect, chairman of the organising committee, Dalton Yap, said: “Excitement, man. Excitement, competition, people paddling and trying to get the medals that you see on the table – gold, silver, and bronze. And there will be different categories of races. You experience the Chinese culture and also, obviously, the excitement of racing on water in Port Royal.”

The event was endorsed by several entities, including the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Jamaica Vacations, the Chinese Embassy, and the JDF, who were all on hand at a launch event at the CBA on Tuesday.

Allan Beckford, representing the minister of sport, Olivia Grange, welcomed the sport.

“The ministry is in support of dragon boat racing. We, in sports in general, support all sports that are organised in Jamaica and we hope to see the sport become successful.”

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

The JDF’s chief of defence, Vice-Admiral Antonnette Wemyss Gorman, who has personal experience of dragon boating, said “the JDF is participating not only with a team, but because this is a sport that occurs on water in the Kingston Harbour where it will be happening, launching from the Grand Excelsior Hotel in Port Royal. We’ll also be providing the safety to ensure that the activities are conducted. But, we’re very happy that it’s a new sport. JDF is always at the forefront of sporting in Jamaica, and so we’ll be there with a team. It’s a team, it’s a team sport. The JDF is known for our teamwork, so we hope to do very well.”

Dr Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, believes dragon boating could be the start of something massive.

“I call it a seed because of the potential for this to grow, for this to be a catalyst to transform the kind of tourism attractiveness in these types of sports for Jamaica. You see, we have a vision of presenting Jamaica to the world as the number one destination on the planet; best place to visit. That’s our target in tourism,” said Dr Wallace.

Eleven teams have registered, including the JDF Coast Guard and the UWI Confucius team. All of the competing teams are based locally. They have been in training for several weeks in preparation for the festival.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for Saturday morning with the dotting of the eye – a distinctly Chinese event which is done before major activities. The 200-metre heats will then get under way with three boats per race.

The competition continues on Sunday, based on how the teams perform on the first day, and will close with an awards ceremony later that day.

The festival will feature elements of Chinese culture such as food, music, and clothing.