Canadian teams to take part in Hong Kong’s first Dragon Boat Carnival

July 20th, 2010

Four Canadian dragon boat racing teams from the province of British Columbia will be taking part in Hong Kong’s first Dragon Boat Carnival from July 23 to 25, one of three mega events between now and mid-2011 earmarked by the Hong Kong SAR Government.

With about 200 local and international teams from 12 countries and regions participating, the newly launched annual Dragon Boat Carnival is one of the highlights of the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) annual “Summer Spectacular”. The other two mega events are the Hong Kong Tennis Classic 2011 “World Team Challenge”, which will be held next January, and Hong Kong’s first ever international women’s golf event, the Hong Kong Women’s Open, from late April to early May in 2011.

The four Canadian teams of over 60 paddlers, all from the False Creek Racing Canoe Club, are sponsored by HSBC Bank Canada and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Toronto. They will join three categories of races – mixed, open, and women’s international championship. The False Creek Racing Canoe Club is one of the best known breeding grounds of Canadian paddlers. The club’s dragon boat teams have competed in many international events and have won the Hong Kong championships five times in previous years.

The Director of the HKETO in Toronto, Ms Maureen Siu, described Hong Kong as the birthplace of modern dragon boat racing. “Dragon boating in Canada began at the World Expo in Vancouver in 1986, when the city was given six dragon boats by Hong Kong,” said Ms Siu. ”Now dragon boating has become a popular sporting activity in major cities across Canada, and evolved beyond festivals to include community, charity and sport racing in many combinations.

”Having four high-calibre Canadian teams joining this event could further promote Hong Kong-Canada relations,” she added.

Jointly organised by the HKTB and Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival will be held in Victoria Harbour along the East Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, with many cultural entertainment programmes.

The HKTB’s Director of Canada, Central and South America, Mr Michael Lim, said, “The carnival celebrates our traditional Chinese culture with modern elements by enlarging the scale of the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races while introducing new programmes of different kinds to attract even greater participation by visitors and local residents.”

For more details, please visit: www.discoverhongkong.com/festivehk2010/eng/summer/highlight_overview.jsp .

One of the False Creek teams practising for the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival before setting off to Hong Kong this week.

Some of the False Creek paddlers displaying Canadian flags after competing in a recent event.

Chinese version on next page.

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