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Fresh from their eye-catching show at the International Dragon Boat Festival in Malaysia, Dubai Flying Dragons, the UAE’s representatives at international competitions, are harbouring hopes that the team sport will be accorded Olympics status in the near future.
A vibrant sport, Dragon Boat racing is growing in popularity across the world, and the Middle East is no exception, with the UAE gaining reputation as one of the most active countries in the region.
The three-day Club Crew World Championships attracted over 400 teams from 20 countries, including Singapore, China, Thailand, Indonesia, The Netherlands, UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa.
Nearly 20,000 spectators watched the colourful event unfold with some keen battles fought in the waters of Penang.
Founded in 2006, the Dubai Flying Dragons, who sent two teams to Malaysia – women’s and mixed crew – returned after delivering an exceptional performance that saw them finish in the top 10.
The women’s crew earned a credible seventh spot in the long course 2,000m event, but could only manage a 10th place finish in the shorter and snappier 500m sprint event.
On the other hand, there was joy for the mixed crew team, who followed their impressive 15th-place finish in the 500m event, with a superb third place in the Plate Final with a time of 2:07.27, just a fraction of a second off the second-placed
Singapore team.
The Club Crew World Championships have been held every two years since 1996, and organisers hope to secure an Olympic spot in the future.
Many tip it to achieve Olympic competition status by 2010, and Jason MacKenzie, the coach of the Dubai Flying Dragons women’s crew, feels no different.
He says he is “optimistic” the sport will become a part of the Olympic spectacle.
“Preliminary steps have already been taken towards making dragon boat racing an Olympic feature,” MacKenzie said. “We are optimistic that the sport which is building an ever growing fan base around the world every day will eventually be recognised and accepted as a part of the ultimate international sporting event.”
Angelina Wong, a crew member in both the women’s and mixed crew teams, said she never thought she’d one day get a chance to represent the Emirates at the world championships.
“I went dragon boating at the Mina Seyahi Beach for recreation about 10 months ago and did not imagine that I would be competing at the world championships against some of the very best teams,” Wong said.
Supporting act
“I would like to thank my coach, captain and the team for their encouragement as well as Dubai Internet City [DIC] for their faith in us. The team’s recent results have definitely motivated us to aim higher and achieve more distinctions.”
Malek Al Malek, executive director of DIC, who sponsored the team at the event, said:
“We are delighted with the Dubai Flying Dragons’ display
of outstanding dedication, determination and competitive spirit at the international regatta.
“We look forward to supporting similar initiatives as part of our endeavour towards nurturing sporting excellence in the region and providing world-class exposure to our home-grown talent,” he said.
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