 Enter the Dragon
text Matthew Lee
The ancient Chinese sport of dragon boating took more than two millennia to reach the Middle East. But with the Dubai Flying Dragons attracting dozens of new members every month, it’s rapidly making up for lost time. At the Singapore International Dragon Boat festival, held last November, the Flying Dragons heroically rowed to a second-place finish, a remarkable achievement for a club only a year old and largely composed of amateurs. “We accept anyone,” explains the Dragons’ Canadian coach Jason MacKenzie, a veteran racer of 20 years. “Young or old, male or female, and any shape or size can join. Many arrive in Dubai with no friends or family, so it’s a social club as well.” The Dragons train several times a week, usually at the Dubai International Marine Club. Buoyed by Singapore’s success, the team are helping to organise the Middle East’s first dragon boating festival, to be held at Dubai Festival City on 4 April. www.dubaiflyingdragons.com
Qu Who?
Each year, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Chinese celebrate Duan Wu, otherwise known as the Dragon Boat Festival. The races on this day commemorate the life of poet, activist and patriot Qu Yuan, who committed suicide as a protest against corrupt officials. Legend has it that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, villagers banged drums, splashed water with paddles and painted dragon heads at the end of their boats to ward off evil spirits.
|
