The Streaky Bay Dragon Boat Club hosted the annual Regional Dragon Boat Hat Regatta on Saturday 16 February 2019. This is the third such event and a first for Streaky Bay.
The Streaky Bay Dragon Boat Club invited the community to join the Regatta and be part of the day.
What happened?
Each race had 3 boats competing over 200m in the water adjacent to the jetty.
The events had 3 components – a ‘Hat’ regatta amongst members of dragon boat clubs from around the state, a Community Challenge, and a Schools Challenge. The day was predominantly about having fun and meeting new people.
Commencing at 9.00am with the ‘hat’ part of the regatta. This involved dragon boaters from around SA who have come to Streaky Bay to participate, but not knowing who else will be in the boat with them or what position they will take in the boat, until their names are drawn from the hat. They had crew members who’ve not met before until they’re seated beside each other in a boat, including international paddlers sitting alongside of folks who have never raced before – it was all in the luck of the draw.
‘Come and Try’
The Club are willing to take people out for a ‘Come and Try’ beforehand to get the feel of it. In fact, for safety reasons, they insist on it.
About Dragon boating
Dragon boating background – dragon boating is a sport for all people, both male and female. It is an international sport in around 89 countries, Australia among them, who are registered with the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF). While it is not yet not an Olympic sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are currently considering the IDBF application for Olympic status.
Dragon boat racing began in southern China some 2000 years ago, as an ancient ritual between contending villages as a way of celebrating the summer rice planting. Where there were rice paddies, so too were there dragon boats. It has been practiced continuously since then as a basis for annual water rituals and festivals, and to revere the Chinese Water Dragon.
Dragons were believed to be the rulers of water on earth, and they were thought to also control the waters of the heavens. Worshipping the dragon was meant to avert bad luck and misfortune, and to encourage rainfall, which is needed for crop growing, and thus the prosperity of a community. For competitive events dragon boats are rigged with their decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails.
Questions/registration queries contact:
- Glenette Banks
- 0477 966 523
- Yvonne Watkinson
- 0428 266 968
- Jane Carey
- 0455 065 562
Images: Streaky Bay Dragon Boat Club and Dragon Boats SA
