KINGSTON, Jamaica — An exhilarating new sport is paddling its method into Jamaica’s athletic panorama: Dragon Boat Racing.
In a historic collaboration between the Chinese language Benevolent Affiliation (CBA) and the Jamaica Dragon Boat Federation (JDBF), the island is now the most recent participant on this centuries-old workforce sport.
The announcement was made throughout a vigorous launch ceremony held on Tuesday on the CBA headquarters on Outdated Hope Highway. The thrill will culminate this weekend, Could 31 and June 1, with the Inaugural Jamaica Dragon Boat Competition, hosted on the Grand Lodge Excelsior Port Royal — previously Morgan’s Harbour Lodge — beginning at 10:00 a.m. each day.
Synchrony, spirit, and power: Inside Dragon Boat Racing
Dragon boat racing is excess of a water sport — it’s a synchronized spectacle steeped in custom. Originating from historic Chinese language villages, the game requires a crew to paddle in excellent unison to the beat of a drum, guided by self-discipline, endurance, and teamwork.
Already embraced in over 75 international locations worldwide, together with Caribbean neighbors Trinidad & Tobago and The Bahamas, the game’s arrival in Jamaica indicators a brand new chapter within the nation’s increasing athletic id.
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CBA President Vincent Chang lauded the willpower of the planning workforce and expressed deep appreciation for the help of the Chinese language Embassy, whose collaboration helped convey the long-anticipated occasion to fruition.
“We wish to see this occasion develop and change into a mainstay on the native calendar,” Chang mentioned, expressing hope that this inaugural occasion will spark an enduring sporting custom in Jamaica.
Competition organizing chairman Dalton Yap promised an action-packed weekend, filled with tradition and competitors.
“Pleasure, man. Pleasure, competitors, folks paddling and making an attempt to get the medals that you just see on the desk — gold, silver, and bronze,” Yap beamed. “You’ll expertise the Chinese language tradition and, clearly, the joy of racing on the water in Port Royal.”
Robust institutional help lends momentum
The occasion has drawn endorsements from a number of main entities, together with the Ministry of Tradition, Gender, Leisure and Sport, Jamaica Holidays, the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), the Chinese language Embassy, and the Jamaica Defence Drive (JDF) — all of which have been represented on the launch.
Talking on behalf of the Minister, Allan Beckford declared the Ministry’s full help for the game’s native introduction.
“The ministry is in help of Dragon Boat Racing,” he acknowledged. “We help all organized sports activities in Jamaica and hope to see this sport change into profitable.”
JDF goes all in — with workforce, security, and spirit
Representing the JDF, Chief of Defence Employees, Vice Admiral Antoinette Wemyss Gorman, revealed that the army could be deeply concerned — each as opponents and security suppliers for the weekend occasion.
“The JDF is collaborating not solely with a workforce, but additionally in offering security, as this takes place on the Kingston Harbor,” mentioned Wemyss Gorman. “We’re very pleased it is a new sport. JDF is at all times on the forefront of sport in Jamaica… and we’re recognized for our teamwork, so we hope to do very properly.”
Dr. Carey Wallace, Government Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, emphasised the long-term tourism potential of this new sporting endeavor.
“I name it a seed as a result of the potential for this to develop… to rework tourism by way of these sorts of sports activities is very large,” Wallace mentioned. “Now we have a imaginative and prescient of presenting Jamaica to the world because the primary vacation spot on the planet. Greatest place to go to. That’s our goal.”
Eleven groups able to battle for glory
A complete of 11 regionally primarily based groups have registered for this weekend’s races, together with squads from the JDF Coast Guard and the UWI Confucius Institute. All groups have been coaching intensely in preparation for this landmark occasion.
Saturday will kick off with a standard dotting of the attention ceremony, an historic Chinese language ritual that awakens the spirit of the dragon. The competition then launches into 200-meter heats, with three boats per race. Sunday’s schedule will rely on workforce performances, main as much as the grand awards ceremony within the night.
Festivalgoers can count on an immersive cultural expertise, together with Chinese language delicacies, music, and conventional apparel, providing a full celebration of heritage alongside the high-octane motion on the water.
