Dragon boat racing gains increasing popularity in Australia

Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-22 19:30:21|Editor: Shi Yinglun
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CANBERRA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Dragon boat, originated from China, is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, said organizer and participants of the 22nd annual Australian Dragon Boat Championships (AusChamps) which wrapped up in Canberra on Monday.

The five-day event attracted about 3,000 competitors throughout the country to race for their clubs and states.

"It has become a very big event," said Kristin Priest, chair of the Australian Dragon Boat Federation. "We have gone from having just one day all the way up to five days. Now we have the debate for it to become six days."

There are currently some 200 clubs consisting of nearly 7,500 members nationally throughout Australia. Canberra, home to the first AusChamps in 1998, is hosting the event for the third time.

Priest noted that the charm of the sport was that it is a community event. "You have all age categories from people of 12 all the way through up to 85," she told Xinhua in an interview. "And you have different gender ... People love it because there is a great amount of teamwork that's involved. So you are always with people who are working towards the same goal."

Also the sport is quite good exercise, and Priest said "it is a full body sport. You don't just use your arms, you use your whole body."

Wearing her sport shirts and sunglasses, Allison Barrett, 57, is drummer for her team, the Sydney-based Different Strokes. The team has won gold medal for Women A Senior in five consecutive years.

"Our eldest member is 73 and we have members in their 20s," she said. "It is a sport that goes in for all ages and it's good and healthy."

Barrett first took part in the dragon boat racing about six years ago in Singapore, when she was a police officer. They were invited to compete in a demonstration.

"I thought, I will give that a go, and I have loved it ever since. It is very addictive," she said.

She then joined in her club, which has hence kept growing. "When I joined my club we were very small, but now we have over 100 members."

"Australia itself has outdoor culture," she added. "We love sun and we love water. And this sport fulfills all these things for us."

In many teams there were Chinese faces, like 23-year-old Zijing Chu in the Yarra River Dragons club of Melbourne.

Chu's parents were both descendants of Chinese and he grew up in Hong Kong. He said that dragon boat was first used as a way for physical exercises and entertainment by Dragons Abreast Australia, a national organization comprised of breast cancer survivors.

"Gradually it takes in younger people as well," he said. As Hong Kong boasts strong dragon boat culture, Chu decided to join in the sport as well. He is now a member of Australian national team.

"What attracts me is that 20 people are in the same boat, and teamwork spirit is quite important," he said.

He believed that dragon boat helps him better integrate into local society. "In our team most people are Australian," he said. "Dragon boat serves as a bridge for me to better communicate with them."

This is also what Priest the chairwoman saw.

"It have culture reference to the Asian community and it helps us understand better that we are all friends on this planet and we should be," she said.

Talking about the role of dragon boat in China-Australia relationship, Priest said: "There are various Chinese communities around Australia working with the dragon boat club. They are fostering relationship."

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