The biggest Ngo boat race in the Mekong Delta begins

Thousands of athletes gathered at the Ngo boat racing grandstand on the Maspéro River to attend the opening ceremony.

Since the morning of the same day, thousands of athletes and tens of thousands of people, tourists, and fans of the traditional sport of Ngo boat racing were present at the Maspéro River, eagerly waiting for the official tournament to take place.

Crowds of people eagerly await the exciting competitions of the Ngo boat teams.

The 2025 Can Tho City Ngo Boat Race takes place over 2 days (from November 4 to 5) on the racetrack on the Maspéro River in Can Tho City.

The tournament has the participation of 61 male and female Ngo boat teams from within and outside the city. The teams will compete in two distances: 1,200m for men and 1,000m for women.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi, Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee spoke at the opening ceremony

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi, Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee, said that the Ooc Om Boc Festival - Ngo Boat Racing is a long-standing traditional cultural feature of the Khmer ethnic group in the South, creating a joyful atmosphere and solidarity among the ethnic groups in the localities in the region.

The Khmer people's Ooc Om Boc - Ngo boat racing festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage , and in 2022, the Vietnam Guinness organization recognized the Guinness Record "Ooc Om Boc - Ngo boat racing festival with the largest number of Ngo boats and athletes in Vietnam".

More than 60 Ngo boat teams competed in the race.

Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Nguyen Van Khoi said that after the merger, Can Tho City will have an area of more than 6,300 km² and a population of over 3.2 million people.

The whole city has 27 ethnic minorities with 494,404 people, accounting for 15.35%, of which the Khmer people are more than 411,100 people, accounting for 12.76% of the total population.

Can Tho City leaders give support to Ngo boat teams participating in the tournament

In recent times, Party committees and authorities at all levels have focused on mobilizing and maximizing the effectiveness of resources to care for the lives and create conditions for ethnic minorities to feel secure in their work and production.

Many programs and projects, especially the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas, Phase I (2021 - 2025), have become key driving forces, bringing positive changes in the lives, culture and society of ethnic minorities.

The first Ngo boat pairs compete in the season

Following each stroke of the swimmer's swimming stroke was the cheering of thousands of spectators on the riverbank.

In particular, the Khmer people have a rich and long-standing cultural tradition with unique characteristics. In recent times, Can Tho has implemented many synchronous solutions to preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Specifically: maintaining regular Khmer language and script classes at Theravada Buddhist pagodas, ensuring that the language of the ethnic group is passed down from generation to generation; typical Khmer festivals as well as other traditional art forms and folk performing arts are restored and increasingly developed.

TUAN QUANG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khoi-tranh-giai-dua-ghe-ngo-lon-nhat-dbscl-post821644.html