Dragon Boat Races Taking the Lead to Reopen

The Macao International Dragon Boat Races, organized by the Sports Bureau of Macao SAR Government and Dragon Boat Association of Macao, China, with the assistance from the Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Macao Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, was held on June 20, June 21, and June 25 (Dragon Boat Festival) at the Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre. This year's dragon boat races featured three welcoming additions: The Family Carnival, The Small Dragon Boat 200-Metre and The Standard Dragon Boat 500-Metre. This traditional boat race event is Macao's first large-scale sports event since the outbreak of Covid-19. The organizing committee hopes that the event can be an inspiring influence to Macao's sports circle and a good example for other sports associations and civil bodies for sports events of different kinds to resume in a gradual manner, therefore, reinvigorating the city’s sports sector.

Fierce Competition among Local Teams

In light of the Covid-19 epidemic, the organizing committee decided on not inviting teams outside of Macao, limiting the number of teams for different categories and shortening the three-day competition to two days. To enrich the event and share the festive joy with the public, the committee organized a dragon boat-themed family carnival for the first time, bringing Macao people to the revel and festivity of the Dragon Boat Festival with a myriad of stall games and experiential activities.

Suncity Taking First Place in SMB

This year's Dragon Boat Races were spectacular because of the participation of quite a few local strong teams. The small boat 200-metre was held on June 21. The grand final of the small dragon boat race (open category) caught the eye of the audience with SJM Golden Jubilee A, SJM Golden Jubilee B, Suncity - Legend, Wynn Glory, Melco - A and the Sea Bay Canoe Club as the finalists. Suncity - Legend displayed their impressive stamina and won the grand final with a result of 50s 324ms, outpacing the SJM Golden Jubilee team that had set the daily record in the semi-final and leaving Golden Jubilee B and A as the first and second runners-up respectively. The women's category was no less dramatic. The Association of Macao Youth Development pulled off a twist by overtaking SJM Lotus - A and garnering the championship with a result of 57s 135ms, leaving SJM Lotus - A and Sea Bay Canoe Club - Amity as the first and second runners-up respectively.

In the Macao Public Entities Small Dragon Boat Race, the Macao Maritime and Water Bureau took the first place, followed by the Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Macao Red Cross. In the Macao University Student Small Dragon Boat Race, the University of Macao - A secured the gold, the Macao Polytechnic Institute took the silver and the University of Macao - B earned the bronze, after three rounds of races.

Association of Macao Youth Development Pocketing Two Golds in SMB and STD

The Standard Dragon Boat Race on the day of Dragon Boat Festival was high-profile as well. Six teams made it to the grand final of the open category-they were Suncity, SJM Golden Jubilee, MGM, Melco, Wynn and the Sea Bay Canoe Club. The race ended up with SJM Golden Jubilee winning with 2m 02s 037ms and Suncity and Wynn achieving silver and bronze, respectively. In the women's category, the Association of Macao Youth Development trounced MGM and SJM Lotus and pulled off another win with a result of 2m 21s 409ms, taking home two golds.

Ilídia Sofia Noronha from Macau Red Cross was awarded Best Drummer and Ng Chi Ian from the Association of Macao Youth Development was awarded Best Steersman.

Sports and Culture

In addition to the breath-taking races, the organizing committee also arranged performances and put in place booths for cultural and creative products and local cuisines. This effort was made to share the festivity and joy with the public, to build the dragon boat races into a unique brand of sports tourism in Macao and to diversify the city's sports sector.

Participation of A Ten Thousand

At the award presentation ceremony, Pun Weng Kun, President of the Sports Bureau, said that the three-day event registered a participation of nearly ten thousand people. He thanked the citizens and athletes for their support for the event and for the epidemic containment work that allowed the event to run in an orderly manner. Pun also said that the newly added carnival with different types of dragon boat games and workshops enriched the experience of the citizens. The Dragon Boat Races not only brings the citizens closer to the traditional sport, but also enhances children's interest in exercise and encourages healthy lifestyle of lifelong exercise.

Pun also believed that the absence of non-Macao teams did not make the small boat race and the standard race less breath-taking, especially when the event was the first of this scale in Macao since the outbreak of Covid-19. He said that this event set a good example for sports associations intending to reopen sports events and hopefully more events would follow the lead and resume gradually in strict accordance with epidemic containment measures.