Over 160 teams and 4,000 dragon boat athletes are expected to compete in Victoria Harbour
After four long years lost to the pandemic, the ‘International Dragon Boat Races’ return to Hong Kong, organised jointly by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association (HKCDBA).
HKTB says that, in association with HKCDBA, it is ready to flag off the long-awaited Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races on June 24-25. In a press statement, HKTB says that the races will set an example in promoting multi-destination tourism by featuring the inaugural Hong Kong-Macao Trophy.
‘‘The Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races is the world’s most historical dragon boat competition, attracting strong teams from all over the world, and I believe the races in Victoria Harbour will be sensational. I would like to thank the various government departments and partners for their support. HKCDBA has long strived to make the sports of dragon boat popular, and will continue to pass on the heritage and culture of the Dragon Boat Festival and the festivities to the local public as well as visitors,” says Arnold Chung, Secretary General of the HKCDBA.
According to HKTB, over 160 teams and 4,000 dragon boat athletes are expected to compete in the events in Victoria Harbour, with thousands of locals and tourists watching from the Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade.
‘‘The International Dragon Boat Races’ is the HKTB’s first international sports event since travel resumed in Hong Kong. It is a great pleasure to have the best dragon boat teams from around the world to join us this year, and we are delighted to invite the teams from the nine cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Macao and Hong Kong to compete in the ‘Greater Bay Area Championship’. It is also the first time that we introduce the ‘Hong Kong-Macao Trophy’ in collaboration with Macao. These races are going to promote the partnership and cooperation between the cities in the GBA driving multi-destination tourism in the Area. In the future, we hope to inject more GBA elements into our sports events to build the GBA tourism brand. For the first time, cash prizes will be available to winning teams in five major races to encourage teams from around the world to participate,” says Dane Cheng, HKTB Executive Director.
HKTB says the International Dragon Boat Races are to be held over two days with a total of 17 races. Over 160 teams from 10 countries and regions, including first-timer Poland, as well as teams from Australia, Dubai, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, the Mainland, Macao and Hong Kong. Among them, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines are sending their national teams to compete and about 4,000 of the best players will be competing for the championship in Victoria Harbour.
To encourage active participation, the HKTB adds that it is offering monetary offerings in five major races for the first time, including the International Championship, the ‘International Open Grand Championship’, ‘the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Championship’, the ‘Hong Kong Championship’ and the ‘Hong Kong-Macao Trophy’.
‘The Greater Bay Area Championship’ is going to be one of the highlights of the event that will bring together 11 elite teams from Jiangmen, Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhaoqing, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai, as well as Hong Kong and Macao, to compete against each other, with a view to fostering exchanges between the cities in the Area and learning from each others’ strengths, creating synergy and enhancing Hong Kong’s role as a centre for international tourism events in GBA, says HKTB.
‘Hong Kong-Macao Trophy’ is to be jointly held by the two cities for the first time, says HKTB, adding that six teams from the Mainland, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong and Macao will compete in the “Macao International Dragon Boat Races” and “the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races” on June 22 and 24 respectively, before competing for “the Hong Kong-Macao Trophy” in the Final on June 25. The event will showcase the cooperation between the two places in promoting multi-destination tourism.
