The Excitement At Hong Kong's International Dragon Boat Race After Four Years Of Hiatus

June 29, 2023

After four years of hiatus, everything went back to normal at the end of 2022. Yearly events were among those that were resumed after being canceled for years. The 22nd of June was the annual celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival, and everyone was excited to witness, once again, this time, the not-canceled International Dragon Boat Race.

Although there was a competition last year, it was only for local HK dragon paddlers, and the schedules of events weren't fixed and were postponed to September, instead of June. That was the main reason why I visited Stanley Town to watch the championship race. Unfortunately, something happened, which you can read in my blog about the town, that made me miss that event. Nonetheless, I had a wonderful experience wandering around this town.

The dragon boat race competition started on the day of the festival until the 25th, which was the championship round. The competitions were held in different parts of Hong Kong, particularly in Sai Kung, Tai O, Stanley, Aberdeen, and Cheung Chau. There was even one in Macau. And the finale was held at Tsim Sha Tsui's Victoria Harbour, where thousands of qualified participants competed for the last round. This includes participants from HK groups, Macau groups, and international groups.

It started at around nine in the morning, but I woke up late and reached the venue at eleven, lol. The morning round ended at 12:45 for an hour lunch break, so I just waited for the afternoon rounds, which were the semi-final and finale rounds. Along the harbor was an array of umbrellas for the audience, media, and photographers. The place was pretty crowded, and people were looking for positions so they could get a better view of the boat race. Gladly, I found a little space under an umbrella shade where I squeezed my tiny frame. There were viewing seats on the higher ground, but most seniors occupied them.

In the water, there was an array of cargo ships surrounding the area where the boat race was held, while some small boats carried personnel from different media companies and volunteers for the event.

It was surprising to see international participants from faraway countries like Poland, Australia, and Dubai, and of course, participants from Asian countries like Japan, Thailand, and Korea were there too. Each country has more or less three groups for different categories. And the teams I was rooting for, of course, were the ones from the Philippines.

The crowd started to go wild once the racers quickly approached the finish line. But unlike in other competitions where the audience cheers for certain groups, it seems like most people along the harbor were cheering and shouting the number of the team that was the fastest in the race.

But Filipinos are just too loyal, so we cheered for our teams. It was Sunday, a holiday for most Filipinos here. So just imagine the number of Filipinos watching the event. My favorite race was this semi-final race for international teams. You can see how close the competition was based on the distances between the boats. But among the teams, boat number four stood out and surprised the crowd. From behind, they sped up and overtook other boats.

The crowd went wild when the teams closely approached the finish line. But in the end, team number four won the race. At first, I was uncertain of what group they were because I couldn't hear the voice of the announcer. But as they made a turn to go back to the starting point, I saw their shirts, and I exclaimed, "Wait, that's the Philippines!" When the announcer confirmed the winner, Filipinos cheered and screamed out loud, including me. That was truly fun.

One of the main highlights was the fancy dress competition in the final round. There was one team in pirate costumes and clown costumes; some were anime-inspired costumes; and the cutest team that attracted the crowd was the team of paddlers in inflatable pink pig costumes. They truly looked cute, but hilarious. The crowd was cheering on them, and I couldn't stop laughing. In the end, the best costume award went to the team with Alice in Wonderland costumes, but I wasn't able to take photos of them. These teams weren't only judged based on their race, but also on how they handled their costumes while paddling.

Isn't this cute? It must have been hard for them to paddle while wearing inflated costumes. Yet, they were able to complete the race with smiles on their faces.

The final competition of the Dragon Boat Race was truly fun. All paddlers showed perseverance and sportsmanship. Meanwhile, the audience fully supported all paddlers, regardless of their respective teams. There was so much fun and excitement at this event, which happened after four years of hiatus.

_{Team Australia who won this round friendly cheered up the last team}

_{This team was the most cheerful. They would shout a chant as they raise their paddles in the air.}

In the end, the team Philippines won silver and bronze medals in this competition! Proud to be Pinoy ☺️. I didn't watch the awarding ceremony though because I went somewhere else.

_{For me, this was the best team from the Philippines}

This was one of the best teams I rooted for, the team from Thailand. They won three golds and one silver. Their skills and teamwork were truly amazing and commendable, and they impressed the crowd in all their races.

Here is the list of winners in 2023 Hong Kong's International Dragon Boat Competition.

I just walked along the Victoria Dockside after watching the competition.

There were also booths from different institutions offering services and freebies. This booth offered free Haagendaz ice cream to those who downloaded a certain app. Without hesitation, I lined up, downloaded the app, and got free cookies and cream! Who can't resist ice cream anyway?

Food carts and souvenir stalls are also part of the attraction along the dockside. This yellow car selling snacks is one of the attractions too.

This dockside is connected to the Avenue of Stars and it was truly crowded that day. This golden pig statue is a tribute to the popular pig character here in Hong Kong called McDull.

There were statues of the event's main mascots, the Line Friends, along the harbor, and Jane couldn't just leave the place without a souvenir shot with them.

My night was spent at Oomaki in K11 and I savored some Japanese sushi. That was a wonderful weekend!

(All photos are mine)

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