Sounds of drums and gongs were ringing loud during the Dragon Boat Festival! The annual Macao International Dragon Boat Races took place on 27, 28 and 30 May at the Nam Van Lake Nautical Center. As the teams in the dragon boat races competed intensively, excellent performances were illustrated one after another. In particular, the international standard boat invitational race, which was the most important race of the “2017 Macao International Dragon Boat Races” took place right on the 30th - the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. Both the best men and women teams were from Nanhai Jiujiang. In the men's open category, Nanhai Jiujiang set the record of 1:49:813 and thus the newest record of 500 meters at the Nam Van Lake Nautical Center. The newest record became faster than 1 minute 50 seconds. In the women's category, Nanhai Jiujiang was also crowned the champion as they defeated the Indonesian team by a landslide. Nanhai Jiujiang women teamhas been the champion for six consecutive times. 

Intense Local Competitions 

In terms of the local competitions, Monte Carlo Sports Club became  the most overwhelming champion this year. In the Standard Boat 500 m event in the open category, they defeated the most popular teams - the Fire Services Bureau and SJM Golden Jubilee by a landslide and won the champion with the result of 1:57:353. They were exhilarated when they won. In the Standard Boat event of the women's category, the Association of Macao Youth Development, where a majority of team members were youth, performed miraculously well. They won the champion as their performances were much better than their normal level. 

Men's Team Set a New Record

In the international invitational race, which took place on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the level of competition shown by teams reached a new high. Strong teams around Asia such as Thailand and the Philippines were present to compete. Teams from Indonesia also gave their best shot but they could never stop Nanhai Jiujiang from accomplishing historical breakthroughs. In the finals of the men's open category, Nanhai Jiujiang kept leading forward since the beginning. Finally they won against Thailand and Singapore by the margin of 2 seconds, and were crowned the champion. Once again they set the new record of 1:49:813 in the 500 m Standard Boat event.

Women's Team Won the Champion Six Times 

Nanhai Jiujiang, who broke into the final in the women's category, was pressured by Indonesia. During the 400 m event, the two teams did not yield to each other until the last 50 meters, where Nanhai Jiujiang did their utmost to make a rush. They finally won against Indonesia and were crowned the champion, with the result of 2:01:289. Thailand's team defeated Myanmar by a narrow margin and became the second runner-up. 

Macao Team's Accomplishments

As strong teams performed outstandingly, the Macao team also did their utmost to compete. In the men's category, they broke into the final and ranked the sixth with the result of 1:57:609. The women's team also defeated Wynn Macao and Galaxy Pearl with 2:13:445 in the Group B final, ranking the 7th in total accumulated results. 

On the same day, in the University Students Standard Boat Invitational race, Kasetsart University from Thailand finished the race in the total shortest time of 4:05:916 – the accumulated times in all three rounds, and won the champion. Nanyang Technological University from Singapore and the University of Macau became the runner-up and the second runner-up respectively. In this year's event, the best drummer award was given to Chan Chan Kit from Monte Carlo Sports Club in the Local Standard Boat Open Category.

In order to incorporate the elements of sports, tourism and culture, a number of stalls for the cultural and creative industry were established for the purpose of demonstrating and selling local cultural and creative products. Jubilant cultural parades and activities were also held before the award presentation ceremony, so that the audience could enjoy themselves in a carnival-style event on the Dragon Boat Festival.

Results of Each Event