The Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA) and the Jamaica Dragon Boat Federation (JDBF) have collaborated to launch a new sport in Jamaica dubbed Dragon Boat Racing.

It was launched on Tuesday at the CBA’s office on Old Hope Road with the first event, the Inaugural Jamaica Dragon Boat Festival, set for this Saturday and Sunday at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, Port Royal (formerly the Morgan’s Harbour Hotel) at 10:00 am.

Dragon Boat racing is described as a unique team sport that began in the Chinese villages. It requires team members to paddle in complete synchrony as one unit, in response to the beating of a drum at the bow of the boat. It is an established sport that is in over seventy-five countries, including Trinidad & Tobago and the Bahamas in the Caribbean.

Vincent Chang, president of the CBA, praised the planning team and the Chinese Embassy for ensuring that the event could get off the ground this year, as it had been in the planning phase for a very long time. He said that they want to see the event grow and become a mainstay on the local calendar.

When asked what to expect, the chairman of the organising committee, Dalton Yap, said, “Excitement, man. Excitement, competition, people paddling and trying to get the medals that you see on the table, gold, silver, and bronze. And there will be different categories of races. You experience about the Chinese culture and also, obviously, the excitement of racing on water on Port Royal.”

The event was endorsed by several entities, including the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Jamaica Vacations, the Chinese Embassy and the JDF, who were all on hand to participate in the launch.

Alan Beckford, who represented the minister, welcomed the sport, “The ministry is in support of Dragon Boat Racing. We in sports in general support all sports that are organised in Jamaica, and we hope to see the sport become successful.”

The JDF’s chief of defense, Vice Admiral Antonnette Wemyss Gorman who has personal experience of dragon boating said “the JDF is participating, not only with a team, but because this is a sport that occurs on water in the Kingston Harbor where it will be happening, launching from the Grand Excelsior Hotel in Port Royal, we’ll also be providing the safety to ensure that the activities are conducted. But, we’re very happy that it’s a new sport. JDF is always at the forefront of sporting in Jamaica, and so we’ll be there with a team. It’s a team, it’s a team sport. The JDF is known for our teamwork, so we hope to do very well.”

“I call it a seed because the potential for this to grow, for this to be a catalyst to transform the kind of tourism attractiveness in these types of sports for Jamaica. You see, we have a vision of presenting Jamaica to the world as the number one destination on the planet. Best place to visit. That’s our target in tourism,” said a very pleased Dr. Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

Eleven teams have registered, including the JDF Coast Guard and the UWI Confucius team, among others. All of the competing teams are based locally. They have been in training for several weeks in preparation for the festival.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for Saturday morning with the dotting of the eye—a distinctly Chinese event which is done before major activities. The 200m heats will then get underway with three boats per lane. The competition continues on Sunday based on how the teams perform on the first day. It will close with the awards ceremony, which is expected to be in the evening.

The festival will feature aspects of Chinese culture such as food, music and clothing.