Image Source: Biglens Studios
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done for charity? For about 100 people last Saturday, it was probably grabbing a paddle and getting onto a dragon boat for the first time in their lives!
Image Source: Biglens Studios
And it rained! But we’ll get to that in a bit…
About 400 people turned up for the Skrine Regatta on 3rd August for a biennial charity dragon boat race put together by one of the oldest law firms in Malaysia. This year’s edition at the Putrajaya Lake managed to raise RM30,000 in total for Teach for Malaysia and P.S The Children.
170 people signed up for the event but less than half have ever been on a dragon boat, which can be daunting...
Image Source: Biglens Studios
But don’t worry, the organisers didn’t just dump them onto a boat. (They are lawyers after all.)
They mobilised their own dragon boat team “The Skrine Dragons” to give each boat 1 training session. But that wasn’t enough for some apparently, so they hired their own trainers! *cough cough kiasu*
Established local dragon boat teams also popped up to volunteer on the day in all sorts of roles. Case in point, see that person STANDING at the back of the boat with that impressive brace? She’s a steerer and also a member of the National Women’s Dragon Boat Team. We feel safer already.
Image Source: Biglens Studios
After a morning of sweaty paddling in nice, sunny weather, the skies opened up and soaked everyone on the lake to the bone. But that didn’t dampen their spirits. After spending an hour languishing by the shore, everyone got back to it and helped end the day on a high.
Image Source: Biglens Studios
If this piqued your interest in dragon boating, watch this video for a refresher about the sport! (P.S: The KL Barbarians Women’s Team will be representing Malaysia at the 2019 SEA Games in the Traditional Boat Race (Dragon Boat) event)
By: Irene Chooi
