Global Voice
When days of dreary weather gave way to a gloriously sunny sky, the biggest dragon boat festival in the Southern Hemisphere kicked off in Sydney’s city centre to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year with some Australia’s twist.
The Sydney Lunar New Year Dragon Boat Festival 2024 began with a bang, as an incredible 1,300 paddlers from 48 corporate teams as well as a few international and interstate crews churn up water at the iconic Darling Harbor.
Following the cadence relayed by a drummer and instructions of a sweep from aft, each fiberglass boat was gigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails, holding a maximum of 20 paddlers in pairs for 200-meter sprints.
Participants came from all walks of life in Australia and abroad, including banks, universities, public services, and many other sectors, also with a broad spectrum of culture backgrounds and age groups.
By bonding every individual together through teamwork, the traditional Chinese sport spread joy in the air for a prosperous new year and the delightful atmosphere captivated a steady stream of spectators from midday to night, including Lynne, a U.S. traveler in her 60s.
Facing toward Pyrmont Bridge where the starting line was situated, Lynne wore a red Chinese Tang suit, immersing herself in the spirit of the Lunar New Year with a hope for good luck.
Upon her arrival in early January, Lynne kept a close eye on the internet to see if any unique festivities were happening in Sydney. The dragon boat festival stood out to her.
“This is a great one for a spectator. And also, we have a friend who’s a breast cancer survivor and rose on a dragon boat. So we’re here to support and get some pictures for her to see the spectacle,” she said.
Lynne is no stranger to this time-honored water sport, as her home is in the U.S. metropolis of Chicago, which boasts a lively Chinatown and dragon boat races annually held on the Chicago River.
The grand scale of the festival at Darling Harbor, however, left a deep impression on her. “It’s wonderful. Obviously, a lot of people know about it and come out for it,” said Lynne.
Ever since its inaugural edition in 1984, the Dragon Boat Festival has flourished from a humble beginning at Farm Cove in Sydney Harbor into a spectacular event now held at one of Australia’s landmarks with an efficient organisation.
David Krantz, chief executive officer of Dragon Boat New South Wales (NSW), told Xinhua that the first year saw paddlers battling two-meter swells, ferries going across the course, and boats flipping.
“But it was such a great experience. It captured the imagination of people here in Sydney. After two years of doing it in those conditions, a few people who were leading in the sport at that time lobbied the New South Wales government to get the event to occur in Darling Harbor,” said Krantz.
Krantz’s first introduction to dragon boat racing sprang just over 12 months ago, when his attention was captured by some photos of last year’s festival.
“I just saw these photos during the awakening of the dragon or the eye-dotting ceremony. And I just saw the water splashing, and the smiling faces. I thought what is this sport?” said the chief executive officer who joined the state’s governing body for dragon boating after that.
Just one year later, Krantz was able to experience this cultural event firsthand at Cockle Bay Marina, rather than looking at it through photographs.
On Friday night, a special opening ceremony unfolded with the attendance of Sydney Deputy Mayor Robert Kok, Acting Chinese Consul General in Sydney Yu Jie, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Sydney Trista Lim, and other guests.
After a Welcome-to-Country and smoking ritual to acknowledge the aboriginal traditional owners of Australia, dragon boats returned to the wharf for eye-dotting, according to Chinese customs.
Guests dotted the protruding eyes of each dragon with a Chinese calligraphy brush and sprinkled water over the head of the mystic creature before dropping “Zongzi” (sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) into the water.
Two ornately decorated lions then moved onto the floating docks, interacting with crews and staging thrilling stacks, while paddlers also enjoyed the moment by playfully splashing water to each other.
“The Sydney Lunar New Dragon Boat Festival should be a perfect combination of Australian culture and Chinese culture. As Aussies, we absolutely love sport and sport means the world to us. That is also a great cultural event and brings together all of those elements that are appealing to Australian people,” said Krantz. The top 24 mixed teams will be invited to this new format based on their performance during Saturday’s club racing and there will be a “knockout competition with random draws.” Besides, a NSW Championship trophy is up for grabs for regional teams across the state, the Pink Championship is set up for breast cancer survivors, and a dress-up race will make its debut to add more fun and color to the new-look festival.
