By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

THE Goodman’s Bay shores will come alive again over the weekend of August 30-31 when the fourth annual Bahamas Dragon Boat International Festival is held.

Dr Christine Chin, president of the Bahamas Chinese Dragon Boat Association, in making the announcement, revealed that they have acquired eight brand new state-of-the-art ocean dragons that will enhance their training and competition level.

“These boats represent a significant investment in the future of dragon boating and our commitment to fostering physical activity, teamwork and most of all, fun in the sport we all love,” Chin said.

The festival will provide two days of excitement for paddlers from around the world and the culture of The Bahamas as they compete in the dragon boat competition.

“We are expecting about 25 teams to compete this year, as well as local teams, as well as participants from Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and also the USA,” Chin said. 

“This diverse lineup highlights the growing appeal of the sport and the spirit of friendly international competition that enriches the festival experience.”

Each heat will comprise four boats and they will be racing in the various divisions including the youth under-18 and under-24, senior division and open categories, as well as the mixed and women’s teams. 

They will race courses of 200 metres and 500m, although they compete in 2,000m for international competition, including the Olympic Games.

There is one special group that will be participating again this year to represent breast cancer in The Bahamas. Additionally, Chin said they will feature a vibrant youth entertainment, including the Urban Renewal Marching Band, St Anne’s School Sound Waves Marching Band and the W2 Dance Club.

“These young performers will bring energy and excitement to the festival, showcasing the talented spirit of our next generation,” Chin said. 

The highlight of the entertainment, however, will be the popular D-Mac.

A variety of Chinese, Jamaican and Bahamian food will be on sale for the general public.

Breezes Bahamas, Doctor’s Hospital, JS Johnson, Sands Beer, Tropical Seafood, Sound Crate Group, Bahamas Waste, Commonwealth Brewery, Bahamas Cuba Libre, DSO and NUA Underwriters Bahamas are among the list of sponsors for this year’s festival.

Heather Smith, sales manager at Breezes and joined by Muna Issa, the managing director, said they are delighted to remain the host hotel for the festival from its inception.

“We’re really looking forward to welcoming all of the recipients to the hotel and to The Bahamas,” she said. “I want to say a special thank you to Christine and to all of her team for putting this on.

“It’s a wonderful event and for introducing the Dragon Boat Festival to The Bahamas.”

Smith warned the participants that Breezes has a boat in the competition and they will be aiming to walk away with another team trophy. And William Mills, deputy managing director of JS Johnson, said they are also happy to sponsor the event as their staff collaborate with their team.

“We are taking this very seriously,” he said. “Our team has been training very hard. We want some bragging rights, so they have been eating the right food and training hard with their physio and therapist.

“Hopefully they will continue this after this event. We see it as a great way to improve the health of our colleagues. As you know in The Bahamas, we can be lazy with our exercise and eating habits. 

“So this has been a great way to bring a group of people together to train regularly and start looking at how they can improve their health, physically and mentally,” he summed up.

Chin said with more teams participating, hopefully they can get more competitors passionate about the sport and competing for The Bahamas on the international scene.

She noted that the federation was able to take a team off to Germany to compete in the International Dragon Boat Festival a few weeks ago this year and next year, they will be going to Taiwan and Hong Kong. “So there’s an opportunity to compete all the time,” Chin said.