Dragon boat races are go

By Lynn Lee
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

Despite fears that Typhoon Chebi would disrupt the races, the 2001 Taipei International Dragon Boat Race Championship went off without a hitch.

International dragon boat race final favorites Men: Thailand Clearly in the lead, the team impressed spectators with their sheer power and their own Thai superman mascot. They're the same men who paddle ceremonial Thai boats for the Emperor during festivals and holidays. Center for Chinese Language and Culture Studies A favorite of the locals, the CCLC team is defending their title from last year and is only trailing Thailand. Known for their resolve, the team might be able to catch the Thais with the support of the Taiwanese crowd. The Philippines The Aqua Fortis Rowing Club has an intimidating fast stroke that comes from their ocean training, but doesn't always transfer successfully to the river. A no-show at their late race on Saturday because of a time mix-up, it was unclear if they would contest their disqualification. United States The Phoenix Sister Cities Connection team has core members from the Rio Salado Rowing Club, but the team's lack of dragon boat experience has slowed them down. Look to the Americans to improve in each race, however, as they adjust to paddling instead of rowing. Women: Center for Chinese Language and Culture Studies The CCLC is hoping to bounce back from disappointment at the Taipei County races to win the international race for its second year. The team paddles better in the wooden boats at Jilong and are the clear favorites for the race. United States Phoenix Sister Cities Connection is the CCLC's biggest competition, with several strong members with significant crew experience. Not knowing the boats or the river, however, could be a setback that might keep them from first place. The Philippines The Aqua Fortis team is the wildcard in the women's division as they're first timers at the competition and have been out of sight during the prelims. Hong Kong After a controversy surrounding their initial assignment in the China division, the Dragon Air team is back in the international division. The flight attendants hope to better their record from last year, when they were disqualified after losing control of their boat. Source: Taipei Times

With roughly 105 teams competing in eleven divisions, the three days of preliminaries have yielded numerous electrifying races.

In the men's open division, the Hsintien City Administrative Office team--the winners of last year's Presidential Cup--are currently sitting in pole position after their narrow 0.96-second victory against the Hsintien City Dragon Boat team.

In the women's open division, the Taipei Physical Education College team currently holds the top spot. The top teams in the open divisions, which are the largest divisions, are usually the strongest contenders for the Presidential Cup.

As the competition is double-elimination, teams sitting at the top of the winner's bracket are at an advantage, as the only team that can displace them has to first work their way up through the loser's bracket, and then defeat the team in the winner's bracket twice.

In the men's international division, Thailand and the Phoenix Sister Cities Connection are competing for the top spot.

As in previous years, communication problems have plagued the teams in this division as all announcements are made in Chinese.

Several teams, including two Japanese teams, the Aqua Fortis Dragon Boat Rowing team from the Philippines, and a team from Hawaii, have had to forfeit a race at some point during the three-day preliminaries because they didn't realize it was time for their team to report to the docks.

For some teams in the international division, the races are already over. Janie Moor from England, who is serving as captain of the Taipei Language Institute team for her second year and participating for her third, was happy with her team's fifth place finish.

"The team really came together in their last couple of races, and I'm pleased with their performance--this is the best result we've had in years. The camaraderie was just brilliant."

Other teams, such as the Center for Chinese Language and Culture's men's team, continue to fight their way up through the loser's bracket.

Steven Blessing from the US and the captain of this year's team said his boat's chances were pretty good. "The team has performed admirably despite running into several setbacks, including members becoming sick with colds, fever, food poisoning, and the like following our competition last weekend at Bitan."

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Copyright (c) 2001 by Lynn Lee