SYDNEY, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) — The most massive dragon boat occasion inside the southern hemisphere made a touch on Sydney Harbor over the weekend, highlighting the metropolis’s Lunar New Year festivities. Australians love water sports, and the ancient Chinese way of life of dragon boating has been gaining recognition in Australia for several many years. For those looking to take part, dragon boating clubs can be observed on some of the united states’ maximum lovely and iconic waterways. On Saturday and Sunday, the movement turned into on Darling Harbor, near the metropolis’s CBD and Chinatown, drawing thousands of spectators to the waterside to observe the groups warfare it out. But before an oar may want to contact the water, as is customary at dragon boat regattas, Taoists performed a blessing of the waters to cause them to be safe, as well as dabbing an “eye” of crimson paint on every boat, said to rouse the dragons. Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Linda Scott instructed Xinhua that she was usually pleased to see different cultures represented in Sydney.
“We do this as the City of Sydney due to the fact we’re happy with our various communities – we’re proud to have a good time Lunar New Year with the many families from Sydney and from internationally who are journeying Sydney right now due to the fact this is a crucial cultural event,” Scott stated. Over 3,000 rowers took element in the races, more than in previous years, indicative of the boom that the sport has visible in Australia. “In Australia, there may be over 7,000 members in Dragon Boating, and it’s continuing to get bigger,” leader executive of Dragon Boat New South Wales (NSW) Shane Knight said. “Particularly in NSW, we’ve over 3,500 members now and over 60 golf equipment in 5 regions, so we’re seeing plenty of growth in the game that is truly encouraging to see.” Knight attributes some of the popularity of dragon boating to its accessibility, with clubs encouraging humans of all ages and health stages to take part. Dragon boating is likewise popular among corporate businesses, which have been a first-rate a part of the weekend’s races. This year worldwide accounting company KPMG fielded three well-practiced groups, placing an excellent first, 2d and 1/3 in a special race for commercial services organizations. Team coordinator and KPMG National Managing Partner James Hunter stated within the seven years they were taking element in the game it has been hugely successful at introducing ardor and organization spirit into the workplace. “Beyond doubt that is the excellent group game you can ever wish to get all of your company humans involved in,” Hunter said. “If you appearance accessible, the boats are actually synced, and every 2d you have got to be hitting the water – when you have people that are not in sync your boat would not go ahead, so it has to be absolute teamwork and the spirit it creates in a company is unequaled I assume in every other sport.” The winners of the company event, in a completely tight race, had been the team from Australia’s Commonwealth Bank with a time of 54.50 seconds. While the coveted ideal open department trophy went to the Chinese Youth League paddlers with a time of 46.31 seconds. Genevieve Benn is an Australian excessive faculty scholar who took part within the racing over the weekend and has also formerly captained the Australian teenager’s dragon boat group at an international stage. “I suppose it’s a truly notable game; it’s something very different, so not many human beings know approximately it,” Benn stated. “And I much like the ecosystem right here, every person’s surely friendly, all people’s without a doubt engaged in the sport, there’s now not an excessive amount of drama.” However Benn and her group are probably taking dragon boating more magnificent significantly than they permit on, already schooling three times per week and looking to upload the fourth fitness primarily based consultation to their regime. So some distance their difficult work has paid off, having received a complete of 10 gold medals in the game, 3 of which were at beyond yr’s Lunar New Year regattas. With such dedicated young human beings getting concerned, the future of dragon boating in Australia seems shiny, and even extra will return to Sydney next year to have a good time the Lunar New Year and over again wake up the dragon.
