Monday, September 08, 2014

142nd Sarawak Regatta comes to a close


KUCHING: The four-day 142nd edition of the Sarawak Regatta ended yesterday as thousands of spectators gathered on both sides of Sarawak River throughout the day to view the races, a strong sign of how the event will continue for the longer run.

Enraz Cahaya Zen won the much coveted King of the River (Raja Sungai) title after beating 14 other boats in the Men’s 30 paddler category.

The win enabled the team to grab the Head of State Challenge Trophy from last year’s winning team ‘Jang Karaton’.

In second place was Landas 6 while trailing closely behind was Yayasan Sarawak.

Present to give away the prizes was Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, who was accompanied by Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, Assistant Minister of Resource Planning Datuk Naroden Majais and Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi.

A total of eight categories had their finals yesterday, among them the 1km Men’s 30 paddler, Men’s 15 paddler and Men’s 20 paddler.

The Sarawak Regatta this year was held on a larger scale as it included side events such as the Dragon Boat Race which attracted paddlers from Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, Brunei, Taiwan and Indonesia.

The grounds of Kuching Waterfront were also filled with other programmes such as the Malaysian Crafts Promotion and Food Festival, Eatof Food Festival and the ‘Gendang Melayu’ competition.

The annual event saw various teams participating.

It is en route to being an international event in the coming years as hinted by Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem during his speech at the launch of the event on Saturday.

The finale of the Sarawak Regatta or Dragon Boat Race made the whole Kuching Waterfront area jam-packed with spectators.

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