Dragon boat racing - A traditional Chinese sport
Boat racing is a sport that has a history stretching back to many centuries. All people needed to start a race were a boat and some people to sit in it and row it across the finish line. It was such a simple concept and so took off so quickly that it spread around the world. China has its own traditional boat racing that goes back many centuries with people rowing boats elaborately decorated with dragon patterns and themes. This race, which happens annually, is one of the biggest sporting events to happen to China and has now become a serious tourist destination for all those looking for a great and colourful sporting event while on holiday.
“A dragon boat (also dragon boat) is a very long and narrow canoe-style human-powered boat. It is now used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing which originated in China over 2000 years ago. While competition has taken place annually for more than 20 centuries as part of folk ritual, it emerged in modern times as an international "sport" in Hong Kong in 1976. For competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragonheads and tails. At other times the decorative regalia are usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for training purposes. In some areas of China, the boats are raced without dragon adornments,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat).
The above description of dragon racing doesn’t explain how popular the sport is or why it is so popular. There seems to be something about watching a bunch of people sitting in long narrow boats rowing like crazy to the beat of a man playing a huge drum trying to reach the finish line. The fact that the dragon races take place in a sort of carnival atmosphere with whichever city they are being held in holding fireworks shows, street festivals, parties and a general sense of everyone needs to have a great time. The races have taken on a Brazilian Carnivale sort of feel to them. The races have taken on a sort of a secondary role with a party atmosphere having the primary role. The events bring so many people to watch them that the places where the events are held have seen a rise in tourism whenever an event takes place.
Dragon boat races have been exported from China to many places around the world with races being held in many cities in the US and other countries as well. One event takes place in Philadelphia in America which according to the events website is open to all ages and levels of sports ability. The website also explains the different types of people required to crew the boats. The people needed are the 20 people who man the boats, which include a drummer who beats a drum, and to whose beat the crew rows and a steersperson who helps control the direction of the boat, (http://www.philadragonboatfestival.com/about.asp).
One can just imagine what the races must have been like when the sport originated 2000 years ago in China. It was probably that the sport was started as a form of entertainment for the emperor and his family and court members. One can just imagine that it was probably held during a local traditional Chinese festival with drums being beaten and old school fireworks being shot into the sky. It was probably held around some religious festival and attended by all the people in the local village.
To come back to modern times what inspired this article was the fact that a TV programme about tourism and where would be the best place to visit this summer, showed a clip about Dragon Boat Racing in Hong Kong. The show said that it was one of the most happening places to see while on holiday in the Far East. This makes it seem like the sport has taken on more of a tourist attraction rather than a proper sport. What the future holds for Dragon Boat Racing, one gets the impression that it will continue to become more of a tourist attraction event and less of a sport. Unless something drastic happens and it gets exported to more and more countries and then at one of these countries takes it up as a proper sport and instead of having a party around it hold a real sporting event.
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