May 6, 2004
By Chandrea Gerber
THE Gauteng Dragon Boat Association (GDBA), and the Chinese communities of South Africa are all set to host Gauteng's sixth annual dragon boat festival over the weekend of 15 May and 16 May at Florida Lake in Roodepoort.
The main events are of course the boat races, but there will also be market and food stalls, traditional Chinese dragon and lion dances, martial arts and, for a South African flavour, even gumboot dancing.
A dragon boat racing team practising in the Wemmer Pan dam
The dragon boat festival, coinciding with summer in China, began as an occasion for driving off evil spirits and pestilence, and finding peace in ones' life - since summer is the time when diseases spread easily.
One of the three major holidays on the Chinese calendar, the dragon boat festival has a long history, and this lively and colourful tradition has continued unbroken for centuries to the present day - even by Chinese communities living in South Africa.
The main event, in which a flag is the victory prize, sees teams of 10 to 18 paddlers race to the beat of Chinese drums in long, colourful boats. Each boat is steered by a sweep, who ensures they're on the best course for the flag catcher to catch the flag first.
The first day of the event, 15 May, will see about 18 teams from schools in Gauteng as well as about seven fun teams as well as teams from mainland China compete. Sunday 16 May will see 17 teams, comprising corporate teams, club teams of the premier league, and Chinese teams from Taiwan, take part.
Each team should have at least six women in their squad of between 10 and 18. In all, about 600 paddlers will participate, which will be structured as a round robin contest.
Boats made of fibreglass are of an international standard and held under the custodian of the GDBA, while the more traditional, ceremonial wooden boats are provided courtesy of the Taiwan community.
"The main emphasis is on community development. We have a rainbow nation in our boat, and it's working like a charm", says Lionel Benham, founder and honorary president of the GDBA.
Obligatory training sessions are free on Saturday afternoons at Wemmer Pan and Sunday afternoons at Florida Lake, and must be booked.
Entries for the event have closed, with registration for the races taking place at 8am each day of the festival. For more information, contact George Williams on 083 779 9659, or the Gauteng Dragon Boat Association on 011 493 2647/8.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
