Dragon boat spectacle for SA
15 April 2004
It's a spectacular sight: dragon boats manned by crews of 23, paddling as one like a steam engine churning and driving powerfully forward.
Cape Town's Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, with its Table Mountain backdrop, will soon be home to over 1 700 paddlers for a four-day feast of racing that will bring together the world's top amateur and professional teams at the fourth International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships.
It all happens from 15 to 18 April, with paddlers from 13 countries including China, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Italy and Russia dicing for top honours.
It is the first time that Africa will be hosting the championships, and entries are at their highest number ever. Cape Town won the right to host the event over six other bidding countries from four continents.
A present from Ilan County
Cape Town's
involvement in dragon boat racing goes back to 1992, when Ilan County, Cape Town's sister city in Taiwan, presented Cape Town with two authentic, ceremonial wooden dragon boats.
Since that time the sport has gone from strength to strength, with competitions regularly drawing international crews. Now the city will be hosting the biggest of all dragon boat racing events.
The championships are expected to pump approximately R35-million into the Cape economy. Maureen Thomson, spokesperson for the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, says: "International paddlers will be in the city for two weeks training and participating in the races. This doesn't include the post-event tours that many have already booked with local organisers.
"With all the international media attention focused on this year's World Championship, it is a great opportunity for Cape Town to once again illustrate to the world our capabilities in hosting a world event."
With a history steeped in
tradition over 2 000 years old, modern day dragon boat racing owes its existence to the organisers of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival which took place in 1976. It is estimated that there are currently over 50 million people participating annually in dragon boat competitions worldwide.
"In the early 1980s, dragon boat associations ... were established at a national level in Asia, Europe, North America, Australasia and Africa", says Nicola Osse of event organiser Dragon Boats South Africa.
"In South Africa, this particular water sport has garnered a loyal following, with well over 1 000 club members nationally."
Source:Dragon Boat Racing South Africa
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