Wednesday, November 09, 2016

Dragonboat race set to heat up Sarawak Regatta 2016


KUCHING: This year’s Sarawak Regatta is expected to host more international participants, especially in the dragonboat race.

The annual event – organised by the Sarawak Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry – will be run at the Kuching Waterfront from Nov 11 to 20 and this time, the theme is ‘Race for Harmony’.

The dragonboat race is set to gather rowers from Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Britain throughout the three days beginning the flag-off at the Square Tower on Nov 11, with the finish line at the city’s Chinese History Museum.

Malaysia will also send teams from Sarawak, Sabah and Penang for the race, which is divided into two categories – local and international.

Under the international category, there will be four sections – Men’s Open 12-Crew and 20-Crew, as well as Mixed Open 12-Crew and 20-Crew; while the local category will only have one, namely the Men’s Open 20-Crew.

Judges for the dragonboat race will be officers from the International Dragonboat Association, who will also assess the event for it to be included in the International Dragonboat Regatta.

Meanwhile, the boat race event running from Nov 18 to 20 is divided into open and closed categories.

The closed category will consist of ‘Tambang Berdayung’ (small boats with paddles), ‘Tambang Berinjin (small engine-powered boats), Men’s Balok (open narrow boats) Seven-Paddler, Men’s Bidar (narrow, closed-end boats) 10-Paddler, Women’s Bidar 10-Paddler, Men’s Bidar 20-Paddler (Inter-Division), Men’s Bidar 20-Paddler (Government Agencies and Corporations), Men’s Bidar 30-Paddler (1km), and Men’s Bidar 30-Paddler (Petra).

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