Dragon Boats down South

ByJohn Matthews & Steven Crook Translated by Annie Liu

TAINAN SECTION
The 2005 Tainan City International Dragon Boat Race Championship will be held on Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12, on Tainan City Canal between Anyi Bridge and Chengtian Bridge. The course is 300 meters long.

The event is organized by Tainan City Government, working with the Chinese Taipei Dragon Boat Association, the Luermen Matsu Temple, Tainan City Athletic Association, and the Tucheng Orthodox Luermen Matsu Temple.
In the international division, the team that places first will get US$1000; second place gets US$600; third gets US$400. Invited overseas teams are to be provided with meals and accommodation, but they have to pay their own airfares and other expenses. There are also prizes for local teams, the best of whom will face the winner of the international division for a chance to scoop a NT$200,000 prize.

Local rowers come from all walks of life. Among them are civil servants, professional soldiers, and factory workers. A-Hsin, a student at a college just outside Tainan City, said he decided to join a team because his girlfriend had been berating him about his poor physical condition.
"At first, the training was very painful: the other guys were much fitter than me, so I had to catch up. But it's gotten easier, and now I feel satisfied, instead of sick and exhausted, after a training session." In addition to rowing, A-Hsin does push-ups at home, and lifts weights in his college's gym. Also, he's been working on his swimming, because the organizers of Tainan's Dragon Boat contest require all team members to be able to swim at least 400 meters.

Will he continue rowing after this summer's races? Probably not, but he will do something to keep the strength and stamina he's worked hard to acquire. Cycling, for sure, and maybe I'll join a soccer team. He has an incentive to do so. Winking, he adds that his girlfriend has promised him that their relationship will become "much closer" if he stays in shape after the race. "That's a very good reason for me", he says.