The Buzz… about Dragon Boat Racing
The Buzz… about Dragon Boat Racing
There is a new event in Trinidad and it is causing quite a buzz. Scotiabank Women against Breast Cancer charity dragon boat festival 2007. A number of persons and institutions have participated in the event which took place on Sunday March 18th 2007 from 8.00a.m to 4.00 p.m at the Kayak Centre, Chaguaramas. The race started inside Williams Bay and runs out towards Alcoa. The distance of the race is 500 meters. Boats normally take an average of 2.5 minutes to complete the course.
This race is intended to draw awareness and raise funds for breast cancer in Trinidad and Tobago as well as to support United Way Trinidad & Tobago NGO initiatives. Proceeds will be shared between the Scotiabank Women against Breast Cancer Fund and United Way Trinidad & Tobago.
Dragon boat racing was first introduced in Trinidad in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Chinese presence in Trinidad and Tobago.
Dragon boat racing is one of the world’s oldest water sports, originating in China over 200 years ago. Today it is an international sport, recognized in many countries of the world and seems likely to be an accredited Olympic sport in the future.
A dragon boat is 48 feet long with a dragon head at one end and tail at the other. It accommodates 20 paddlers, a drummer and steers person. On July 28th 2007 at the Kayak Centre in Chaguaramas the sports was formally introduced to T&T.
The overall winners were: 1. Excellent Stores Titans. 2. Scotiabank and 3. Chinese Association.
The All female winners were Shark Fin and Dumpling – sponsored by Signwave.
The fastest aggregate time for the day – Angel & Saints sponsored by KFC
CariFin e-news spoke to Reena Panchorie, Assistant Manager – Public & Corporate Affairs at Scotiabank we inquired what stood out at the dragon boat racing that took place last weekend.
She offered, “There was great team spirit throughout, everyone had fun, absent was the normal competitiveness that you usually see at some events.”
The thing that I am here to investigate is what caused this buzz, what was the inspiration to all the teams that took part in this event what emotions stuck with them at the end of this event?
CariFin e-news spoke to Marcia Pierre of Guardian Life who is the captain of the all female team.
How would you describe you and your team’s (Team Oar Struck’s (GHL)) experience in the Scotiabank Dragon Boat race 2007?
She responded excitedly and said, “Our experience at the Dragon Boat Festival was an enjoyable and exciting one. We participated with an all female team, since the “cause” of the event (Brest Cancer) was one the main reasons for doing so. All in all the overall socializing and bonding experience was great, we’ve laughed together, learned from one another, enjoyed the camaraderie and welcomed the competition.”
Sunita Tiwari of RBTT had this response, “It was an amazing experience! We may not have done well in the race, but we won when it came to team spirit, everyone gave 110%, and that is really all you can ask for.”
