Bahamas prepares for thrilling 3rd annual Dragon Boat Festival set for Oct 12-13

Bahamas: Several paddlers from across the region are gearing up to participate in the 3rd annual Dragon Boat Festival which will run from October 12-13, 2024 at the Goodmans Bay in the Bahamas. 

The dragon boat racing is described as an exciting water sport which originated from the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong Province in China.

The large canoe-like vessels which shows elaborately carved dragons’ heads as well as tails are made to accommodate a total of 22 member teams equipped with paddles which moves to the beat of the drummer on board. 

With this exciting sport rapidly gaining popularity, three years ago, the Bahamas Chinese Dragon Boat Association was formed.

Treasurer Angie Ao and coach Brent Wong said that the association was established to bring awareness to the adrenaline pumping water sport to both visitors and locals.

“There is actually an entire community around the world that I have heard other competitive athletes, swimmer, track athletes, and I got the number of them actually here, and there are people who have done multiple sports, and they’ve said nothing feels like this,” said Wong. 

The boasts are designed locally is the Bahamas in a way that it can hold 14 persons consisting of a drummer, ten paddlers, a helms person and two persons in reserve. 

Brent Wong further said that as teams practice it becomes more than just fun on the water but a training ground as well as a team building exercise.
 
While explaining about the race, he outlined, “It starts off with an orientation of the commands that you will hear within the boat. It also starts with a cap-size drill. There are some very basic safety procedures that people learn, and the whole idea is for people to grasp one concept. Firstly, this one captain, so that’s one command to follow, and one person will follow. The second thing is that this doesn’t actually matter as much you can do individually; what matters is what you can do.”

The Bahamian authorities, along with the paddlers, are anticipating the return of this exciting event.