Contributed by reader Lam Chun See. Pictures by Kenneth G. Pinto
Bedok Reservoir, Saturday, April 12, 2008 – The 8th National Schools Dragon Boat Championship was held on Saturday, April 12, at the Bedok Reservoir. In all there were more than 30 events covering A, B and C Divisions for both boys and girls. The boats had 10 and 20 crews, and the race was over a distance of 500 metres. I was there to support my son and his friends from the ACS (I) A Division team. Here's a brief report of the event.
For a start, this event almost did not take off at all because of the torrential rain which began at about 12.00 pm. As you might expect, kayaking and boating events cannot proceed during thunderstorms for safety reasons. The rain was so heavy that I had to drive at about 40 kmh on the PIE! Fortunately the rain stopped at about 1.00 pm and the competition commenced after a delay of only half an hour. The rest of the afternoon was cloudy and cool with intermittently light drizzle. This was good for the rowers but gave the shutter bugs a hard time.
Considering the weather, the turnout was good. Support for some the girls' teams was strong and I saw several parents who like me, were there to cheer their children.
Unlike the Singapore Canoe Federation which organized the recent canoeing championships at MacRitchie, the Singapore Dragon Boat Association which organized this event did not publish the full results on their website (http://www.sdba.org.sg/). As such I am not able to give you the full results. I did hear though, that Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) dominated the B and C Divisions boys events taking the overall titles. Bukit Panjang Government High School and Saint Joseph's Institution took second and third places.
For the A Division boys, the champions were Anglo-Chinese Junior College. In fact the final of the A Division 10 crew race was a real cliffhanger with ACJC taking the gold by a narrow margin. As for the girls A Division races, National Junior College came in first followed by ACJC. For some unknown reason, the entire NJC boys team withdrew from the competition mid-way.
I am sorry I do not have the results of the B and C Divisions girls events. I hope some readers can enlighten us. However, I can testify that these were some of the most exciting races of the day. This was partly due to the vociferous screaming of the girls who supported their schools teams. Their loud cheers added to the atmosphere and enhanced our enjoyment. I seem to recall the name CHIJ Toa Payoh being hailed. Thank you girls.
Our enjoyment of the event was also enhanced by the lively commentary of the master of ceremony. His regular announcements and excited description of each race enabled us to keep track of what was going on; for example, which team was leading, how close was the race, which lanes the teams were in and so on. I think this is one area that the SCF can learn from. In their case, we were often left in the dark as to what was going on. Often you don't even know that a race had started until you hear the supporters cheering; and then you are left wondering which race it was.
Finally, I must say that the Bedok Reservoir is a much better venue for such sport events than the MacRitchie. Not only is there much more room for the competitors to move about and rest, there are also proper spectators stands to sit and watch the races. If we wanted to move near to the start point of the races, it was easily accessible along the shore of the lake. In the case of MacRitchie, there is no way you can do that. Because of the shape and layout of the lake, you need to walk at least 2 km to get near the start point.
I am looking forward to the Inter-Schools Canoeing Championships in July. Hope to see all of you there.
Editor’s note: If you recognise any of the paddlers, please leave the names in the comments section. Thanks.
wah! i am a picture of concentration. *shy*
haha
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Photo 2 and Photo 3 is CHIJ Toa Payoh Secondary 🙂
Photo 2: C Div 10-men-crew.
Photo 3: B Div 20-men-crew.
The National Schools’ Dragonboat Championship was quite an interesting and competitive event. But i shall say that canoeing is a more challenging event. I was present during this competition, representing my school’s B division 20-crew team, Bedok Green Secondary School. The group of girls cheering, as in your first picture, was the school’s B division team cheering on our C division 10-crew boat which came in third, behind CHIJ Toa Payoh and CHIJ Katong Convent. As for us, we came in second, behind CHIJ Toa Payoh and before CHIJ Katong Convent.Many there didnt really knew us as it was our first time competing in this competition. I must congratulate ACSI for their win! They really did a great job! cheers to them! =D