In recent years, along with mobilizing resources to build a system of cultural and sports institutions, creating conditions for modern sports to develop more and more diversely, Giao Thuy district has always paid attention to preserving and developing traditional sports with characteristics of the coastal area such as rowing, wrestling, traditional martial arts. Thereby preserving and promoting traditional cultural values in the district.
 |
| Giao Thuy district women's rowing team competed at the 2022 Provincial Rowing Tournament and won first prize. |
Traditional sports activities in Giao Thuy often take place during village festivals and major holidays, New Year, and anniversaries of the locality and the country. With more than 150 historical and cultural relics, including national and provincial-level relics and protected relics, each year in the district there are more than 20 traditional festivals associated with relics, mainly in early spring; typically village festivals: Diem Dien, Binh Hoa commune; Thanh Khiet, Giao Yen commune; Hoe Nha, Giao Tien commune; Kien Hanh, Giao Hai commune... Traditional cultural and sports activities held during festivals mainly take place in two forms: performance or competition, but both have the meaning of gratitude, remembrance of the ancestors who contributed to building dikes, reclaiming land from the sea, building villages, establishing hamlets, praising the spirit of solidarity and community cohesion.
Giao Thuy district has a dense system of canals. For a long time, boats were an important means of transportation and trade for the people here. Born from the working life of the people, rowing not only has the strong and open features of the river profession, but also shows the ingenuity, perseverance, and collective nature of early labor. The whole district currently has more than 20 male and female rowing teams in the communes of Giao Hai, Giao Long, Giao Tien, Bach Long, Ngo Dong town, Quat Lam town... In which, Giao Hai and Giao Long communes have the strongest rowing movement with many skilled rowers attached to the river all year round. Rowing in Giao Hai commune appeared more than 100 years ago. After many ups and downs, in 2003, with the attention of the commune government and the support of local people, rowing was restored and has grown stronger. Currently, all 4 villages in the commune have established rowing teams; each village has 2 male and female rowing teams; each team maintains 15-20 members. On the occasion of Kien Hanh village festival, on the 5th and 6th of January every year, the commune organizes traditional sports activities such as rowing, wrestling, chess, tom diem... The most exciting is the rowing competition with the participation of 4 rowing teams from the villages: Tan Hung, Bac Cuong, Tien Lang, Lam Thanh. When the rowing competition opens, people flock to watch, standing tightly on both sides of the river. When the rowing teams enter the race, the audience cheers, creating an extremely exciting festival atmosphere. In Giao Long commune, every time "Tet comes, spring returns", the locality organizes a traditional rowing competition, gathering rowing teams from 4 villages: Trung Long, Long Hanh, Nam Long, Kien Long; each village includes 1 male rowing team and 1 female rowing team. The male rowers are people who often go to sea to catch seafood, while the female rowers are girls who trade seafood all year round along the river and the sea, aged between 25-35 years old. On the festival day, on the river, the image of oars splashing the waves, the racing boats like arrows tearing through the water, rushing forward; on the shore, tens of thousands of spectators cheering along with the sound of drums and gongs, jubilantly and bustlingly, creating a vivid picture, rich in traditional colors.
The rowing competition in Giao Thuy not only takes place in the space of traditional village festivals, spring festivals, and Lunar New Year, but is also organized in local cultural and sports events to celebrate the country's major holidays such as: District Cultural - Sports Festival on the occasion of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2), the Southern Liberation Day (April 30) and International Labor Day (May 1), the District Sports Congress... with the participation of more than 10 strong male and female rowing teams from communes and towns in the district. Through the competitions, the district selects the strongest athletes to participate in the provincial tournament. At the 2022 Provincial Swimming Tournament, Giao Thuy district had 2 men's and women's swimming teams with more than 40 core athletes from Giao Hai and Giao Long communes participating and excellently won the second prize in the men's swimming event and the first prize in the women's swimming event.
Wrestling is a sport imbued with the martial spirit of the nation. In Giao Thuy district, traditional wrestling was formed more than 100 years ago, associated with the history of land opening of generations of ancestors. In the past, the district had many famous wrestlers in the wrestling village of the whole country. The district's wrestling team once represented the province in competitions and won many achievements at the National Wrestling Championship. Today, traditional wrestling in Giao Thuy is still maintained and increasingly developed with many strong athletes in the communes: Giao Hai, Giao Long, Giao Xuan, Giao Thanh, Giao An. To preserve and develop wrestling, some localities in the district have included the preservation and development of this sport in the village conventions and conventions of the community. Party committees, authorities and organizations in communes and towns regularly direct and promote propaganda work on the purpose, meaning and inclusion of wrestling in the local sports movement. Since 2019, Giao Thuy district has paid attention and invested about 5 billion VND from the state budget, people voluntarily donated land to build a district wrestling arena of more than 1,600 square meters at the historical and cultural relic site of Kien Hanh Temple - Communal House, Giao Hai commune. The wrestling arena is fully equipped with electric lights, specialized wrestling mats, equipment for organizing competitions and rows of seats for spectators. The wrestling arena has become a place to attract local wrestlers to practice regularly, further promoting the development of the movement, and is the place to organize wrestling tournaments of the commune on the occasion of the traditional festival of Kien Hanh village and wrestling tournaments organized by the district on the occasion of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2), the anniversary of Southern Liberation Day (April 30) and International Labor Day (May 1). The competition content of the tournaments includes: classical wrestling, freestyle wrestling, and folk wrestling with the participation of many wrestlers who are professional and amateur athletes of the district, province, and provinces and cities: Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Hanoi ... It is expected that in August 2023, at Giao Hai commune wrestling arena, the National Classical Wrestling and Freestyle Wrestling Youth Championship will take place with the participation of more than 30 sports delegations and more than 100 athletes.
In the minds of Giao Thuy people, especially those who are far from their homeland, traditional sports such as wrestling and rowing are a source of pride and a precious heritage left by generations of ancestors. On every occasion of holidays, New Year, and village festivals, being immersed in the festive atmosphere and participating in unique folk sports activities are unforgettable memories, helping the children of the homeland to be more proud of the beauty of culture and traditional sports of this land./.
Article and photos: Khanh Dung
Source link
Comment (0)