Hualien Physical Education High School eyes third dragon boat world title

花蓮體育高中力拚第三座龍舟世界冠軍

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hualien Physical Education High School captured its second gold medal at the 15th International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships on Friday, winning the Premier Open 10-person small boat 200-meter final in 46.56 seconds at Liyu Lake in Hualien County.

The crew, which had topped the preliminary round in 46.54, held off Germany by 0.84 seconds in a rain-affected session that tested both technique and nerve on the choppy waters, Liberty Times reported. Team captain Lin Sheng-ju (林聖儒), a 2018 Asian Games dragon boat gold medalist, reportedly said the squad now hopes to challenge for a third title in the 2,000-meter race before the championships end Sunday.

The team’s first gold came on Wednesday in the Premier Open 10-person small boat 500 m. It finished in 2 minutes, 5.03 seconds to give the nation its first medal of the meet.

The Aug. 29–Sept. 6 event marks the first time the International Dragon Boat Federation’s (IDBF) flagship club world championship has been held in Taiwan, drawing teams from 21 countries to Hualien County.

Races feature 20-person standard boats and 10-person small boats over 200-m, 500-m and 2,000-m formats. There are open, women’s, mixed, and age-group divisions, plus inclusive categories such as Paralympic and cancer survivor crews.

Dragon boat racing is a team paddling sport in which crews of 10 to 20 athletes propel long, narrow boats decorated with dragon heads and tails. A drummer at the bow sets the pace with a drumbeat while a steersperson at the stern controls direction.

The sport traces its roots to Chinese rituals honoring the poet Qu Yuan, who is said to have drowned himself in Hunan Province’s Miluo River more than 2,000 years ago. According to legend, villagers raced out in boats to save him or retrieve his body, beating drums and splashing paddles to scare away fish.

This tradition evolved into the modern-day Dragon Boat Festival held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in Taiwan, which falls in May or June.

Modern competitive dragon boating emerged in the late 20th century as Hong Kong and other Asian cities standardized boat specifications and race formats, leading to the formation of the IDBF in 1991.