Dragon Boats take over the lake
Florida Legends paddle away with first place
The Dragon Boat Club was a hive of activity when the recent Taiwanese Sport and Cultural Festival was hosted at the Florida Lake.
Beulah Cloete, the Chairperson of the Gauteng Dragon Boat Association, was the organiser of the event, in conjunction with Vincent Lin, the Taiwanese Commissioner. “The aim of today’s event was to introduce the Taiwanese culture, as well as dragon boat racing, to the people,” she said.
The day was filled with demonstrations of Taiwanese drumming as well as a variety of stalls offering traditional Taiwanese delicacies.
Various races also took place with teams competing against each other. The results of the races were as follows:
• In the Premier Division, the Florida Legends paddled away with the first prize with the teams from CoJ and Orange Farm in the second and third place respectively.
• In the Chinese Division, the Amitofo Care Centre was awarded the first place, with the Taiwanese Aboriginal Team in second and the Taiwan Hakka Association in third place.
She added that the Florida club started with their first dragon boat races in 1999, and currently they have 14 teams training full time. “We have weekly training sessions and once a month we have a day of racing. We also host three regattas as well as one festival – like today – during the year,” Beulah said.
Some of the teams affiliated to the Florida Dragon Boat club include the Phoenix Warriors (of which councillor Gert Niemand is a member), a City of Johannesburg team, and a team consisting of Emergency Management Services (EMS) members. “The cadets involved in the EMS cadets’ training programme also train with us on a weekly basis,” she said.
Beulah said that they would love to get more people – young and old – involved in dragon boat racing, as it is a sport that anyone can do, without any previous experience. “The only requirement for participation is being older than 14 years of age. Other than that, anyone can set up a team, and visit the club for the day. We provide all the necessary equipment, like the boats and paddles,” said Beulah.
The training times are from Monday to Sunday (after 1pm) and the monthly races take place on a Saturday. “We would love to welcome new members as Dragon Boat racing is a good team-building sport, where everyone’s input is important. Apart from the health and fitness benefits, it is also a social and enjoyable sport. Being out on the water and in nature has quite a calming effect on a person,” said Leeanne Cloete, the coach and captain of the Florida team.
For more information on dragon boat racing at Florida Lake, contact Beulah on 082 488 4074.
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