THE RIVER NITH DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL 2014
Up 17 teams are expected to take part in the 4th River Nith Dragon Boat Festival to be held on this Sunday, 11 May, at Nithsdale Amateur Rowing Club, Greensands, Dumfries. Teams of up to 16 paddlers and a drummer will race down a course, to the theme music of Hawaii-five-O, from the Academy playing field bridge to the Rowing Club’s boathouse, a distance of 300 metres. Each team will race in 3 heats and the fastest four teams will go forward to a race-off in the final, there will also be a separate juniors final for teams will paddlers under the age of 18.
.The event, run by the Rotary Club of Dumfries Devorgilla, in partnership with Nithsdale Amateur Rowing Club, has been expanded this year to include on-shore entertainments.Event organiser, Charles Milroy commented “This year we have included some new activities to keep paddlers amused when not racing and these activities are also open to members of the public who come down and spectate. The activities include Sumo suit wrestling, inflatable slide, bouncy castle, Lazer Quest and the Council’s MyPod. On-shore events will take place from 10am to 2pm and during part of this period Davie Bubbles the clown will be in attendance. Families are most welcome to come and join us even if not connected to the event.”
In past years there have been several fancy dress themes, and this year is no different with the Commonwealth being the theme, to celebrate Scotland holding the Commonwealth Games this year. Competitors and spectators can avail themselves of the rowing club’s excellent facilities with an excellent array of food and soft drinks available throughout the day.
BACKGROUND
Dragon Boats are the largest flatwater racing canoes in the world, the ones being used in may are 40 feet long. A crew of up to 16 paddlers paced by a drummer at the bow and guided by a helmsman at the stern, combine power and rhythm to achieve maximum acceleration and speed over a 300 metre course to create a truly visually exciting event
Traditionally, the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and death of the ancient patriot-poet Qu Yuan who lived in China from 340 – 278 B.C. Qu Yuan was a minister who advocated reforms in his home state of Chu. He was banished from the state of Chu after criticizing the government and the emperor and in exile Qu Yuan wrote poetry expressing his concern for his country and people. In 278, he wandered along the banks of the Mi Lo River and was never seen again. To commemorate the day when people rushed out to the river to find and rescue Qu Yuan, people living in South China made it an annual event to race boats on the 5th day of the 5th month
