It is now nine years ago that I read the small message posted on the bulletin board. It did not say much but I thought it might be a good chance to get some exercise, stay in shape, and meet new people. As it turned out, we got that and a lot more.

Our first meeting took place three-and-a-half months before the great day at 6:30 a.m. on the ShiDa athletics ground. Only six people turned up. Though the exercises that day were mild compared to what was ahead, I, (and I was not alone) was sore for a week. For those first two weeks the training was led by a veteran from the previous year.

As the days passed, our numbers grew and friendships developed. By the time the Mandarin Training Center started the official training program with a 'real' coach, we were already in pretty good shape. From a few Americans and Europeans the group now was made up of close to 50 men and women from almost every country represented at the MTC.

With the official sanction of the training came some real perks. Dr. Li, then the director of the MTC and a staunch supporter of the dragon boat team, arranged it so that the showers on the 9th floor dormitories were available after our sessions. He and other office staff regularly attended our practices. We still remember the ginger tea brewed up by Lao Chen, whom I believe is still at the MTC. The tea, of course, had 'special' powers. Then there were Chen and Wang xiaojie, who were as engrossed in it all as we the students were, despite their other duties at the MTC.

Training on land is all quite well, but nothing can prepare you for the experience of actually rowing these huge dragon boats. So the whole group was pretty excited when the bus set out for Pitan. We were so eager to get on with it, we were deadly the first time we held our oars. We got our first feel of the boat rowing against the embankment. We listened to the coach. "Xia!" came the command and we put our oars up. On the whistle we rammed the water but forgot to listen to the drum. Instead of producing forward power we made a lot of waves and even more noise as the paddles kept slamming into each other. It would take our defeat at Pitan to realize the importance of synchronization and timing. It must be said, though, that the women were quicker learners than the men.

Another highlight was the distribution of the team uniform in preparation for the eye painting ceremony. You see, the boat only comes alive after its eyes have been painted. With plumb and ceremony all boats that will participate in the year's event are lined up and a government official, amidst lion dances, speeches, and fireworks, comes to paint the eyes. The highlight for the teams, however, comes when they carry the heavy boat to the water and take it for a spin. Despite months of training we still needed two teams to get the boat off the ground.

Then, as now, (though I have heard rumors to the contrary), the Hsin Tian was an open sewer. The difference from the relatively clean blue-green water of Pitan was enormous. So, if I mentioned Dr. Li earlier, it is because we really appreciated the showers after our training sessions on the river.

The warm-up races at Pitan in 1987 are better forgotten, though we learned a valuable lesson. Dragon boat racing is a team effort. The boat needs to be kept in one line, the drummer can not skip a beat, the rowers have to pull in unison, and the flag catcher cannot miss the flag, as the race officially ends not by passing the finish line, but by taking the flag.

Racing day was quite exciting. In fact that year, for the first time in their history, the MTC men's team won third place. Still, what lingers after three months of, at-times intense training, is a feeling of brotherhood.

The feeling has been kept alive over the years so much so that the 1987 Dragon Boat team is organizing a 10th anniversary reunion, at which time if possible, we hope to compete once again, with at least one women's and one men's team. Though some of us are still in contact, there are quite a few people we lost track of over the years. Our biggest problem is locating the team members from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

So, if any of you know anybody who was part of a MTC Dragon Boat team in 1986, 1987, or 1988 and who is from these countries, please contact us. If you are reading this right now and were a member of the 1987 team, and interested in this reunion please contact us. The contact address is:

Geer Anthonis
103 Jui Feng Street
Gu Shan District
Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan, R.O.C.
E-mail: pal@ksts.seed.net.tw