Many foreign teams compete in the Hanoi Dragon Boat Racing Tournament

This is a practical sports activity to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital (October 10, 1954 - October 10, 2023), within the program of cooperation agreement on culture, sports and tourism development between the Hanoi People's Committee and Vietnam Airlines Corporation.

At the press conference before the tournament on the afternoon of September 29, Mr. Do Dong Hung, Deputy Head of Vietnam Airlines Communications Department, said that after 4 times of organization, the Dragon Boat Race has become a familiar playground and is eagerly awaited by boat racing enthusiasts every year, thereby attracting many international and domestic organizations to choose, forming the habit of practicing (playing) dragon boat rowing to improve health at West Lake.

According to Chairman of the West Lake Boat Racing Club Nguyen Vo Hung, Dragon Boat is a collective sport that emphasizes team spirit. On the boat, there is one person in command (drumming), one person steering, the remaining rowers unify their movements, coordinate rhythmically in each row, and have a strategy to break through speed from the start to the finish. Each member plays an important role on the racing boat to bring victory to the team.

This year's rowing course is 250 meters long, with a buoy at the end for the rowers to turn around, making the total distance 500 meters. The organizers have also arranged 5 lanes for the rowing course, usually 4 lanes and 1 spare lane.

In addition, the organizing committee has also conducted a survey of the water surface of West Lake (depth from 1.6-1.7 m) so that in case the boat capsizes, the athletes can stand to avoid unwanted incidents. On October 6, the teams will participate in a test race.

A team racing in the Hanoi Open Dragon Boat Racing Tournament.

Ms. Pham Thi My Hoa, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, affirmed that tourism and sports are one of the programs that Hanoi is aiming for, in which the sports sector will coordinate with tourism to create tours and attract international visitors. When promoted, it will attract tourism.

"The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports also cherishes and has plans to develop not only boat racing but also golf tourism," Ms. Hoa revealed.

This year's tournament has 39 registered boat teams, including 8 boat teams from embassies and international organizations in Vietnam; 8 boat teams from provinces and cities in the country; 11 boat teams from districts in Hanoi and 12 boat teams from clubs, organizations and businesses in the capital.

The tournament is divided into 5 competition categories in the main contents including mixed men's and women's boat competitions of provincial and city boat teams in the country; mixed men's and women's boat competitions of groups of districts in Hanoi; mixed men's and women's boat competitions of teams from embassies and international organizations in Vietnam; mixed men's and women's boat competitions of teams from foreign clubs, organizations, businesses and airlines.

The first race will start at 8:30 a.m. on October 7, with a race frequency of 10-15 minutes. The tournament is scheduled to end at 5 p.m. the same day. The qualifying rounds will take place in the morning and the finals in the afternoon.

The prize structure of the 2023 Hanoi Open Dragon Boat Racing Tournament includes First Prize, Second Prize, Third Prize of each group and medal sets for the winning teams.

The first prize is 15 million VND and a round-trip economy class ticket to Asian destinations operated by Vietnam Airlines for each team member. The second prize is 10 million VND and a round-trip ticket to Southeast Asia operated by Vietnam Airlines for each team member. The third prize is 7 million VND and an additional domestic round-trip ticket operated by Vietnam Airlines for each team member participating in the competition.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/nhieu-doi-nuoc-ngoai-tham-gia-dua-thuyen-rong-tren-ho-tay-20230929191241332.htm