Despite Multiple Race Cancellations the Dragon Boat Hope and Spirit Stand Strong

WORDS: MARINA MAYNARD | IMAGES: WALLIS CHAN

DRAGON BOAT CONTACTS

dragonboat@rhkyc.org.hk

t’s certainly been a challenging year for all of us. There is no doubt that COVID-19 brought a lot of changes into our daily lives and dragon boat sport is no exception. A few major events have been postponed and then cancelled due to government restrictions with regards of prevention further virus spread. Group gatherings of four people, strict hotel quarantine for any arrivals into Hong Kong, social distancing etc.

Lamma 2021 should have been the 14th festival since it started in 2007. It became very difficult for the Lamma 500 International Dragon boat festival organisers to keep the event as planned. Unfortunately, all our hopes for a great day of racing never came to fruition. Last time The Club’s Royal X team participated in this race was in April 2019 with men’s, women’s, two mixed teams and a junior crew. The 500 m race category was very fruitful for the women’s Royal X team who won the championship title (retaining it from previous years) and the Royal X junior crew who were silver medalists.

These great results don’t just fall from the sky. Every medal and every title are the result of hard work and training despite all the challenges throughout the year. The Royal X team of 2021 made an extra effort to keep our mojo going and not get complacent or battle weary. Keeping the team in good physical shape is the key, ready for any challenge or competition in these unpredictable times. Dragon boat racing in Hong Kong has become a key sport enshrining the tradition and spirit of Hong Kong in both physical and ceremonial form. As such, more and more teams have been set up to accommodate aspiring paddlers. While most of the clubs spend a great majority of training time on water, in order to cater for the increasing physical demands of the modern dragon boat competition, Royal X has factored in a more holistic strategy of both on and off water training.

We adopt a specialised training module including functional training into the dragon boat sport routine. Firstly, concentrating on strength, flexibility, and the core before turning our attention to high intensity and speed as we near race season. We also have an on-going method to test the effectiveness of the training and monitor this in progress. This innovative system ensures our paddlers hit optimum performance for race day, recover well before the next training block for the next race. Improving the physical attributes of the athletes helps to improve the mindset thus bringing a harmonious balance to the team and the way we perform. Our on-going assessment and progress monitoring system maintains the effectiveness of this training strategy.

If our own or other’s performance is less than optimal then we need to examine the reasons why and address those as a team. Nobody is suggesting that we all get medals just for turning up, but if we work together and help each other holistically then we will succeed.