Bigger Sabah Dragon Boat race next year, says Organising Secretary
KOTA KINABALU:
The 23rd Sabah Dragon Boat race that ended last Sunday received an overwhelming response from both local and international teams with a total of 57 teams. According to Zachary Mobijohn; the Organising Secretary for the race, the organisers are already in talks with several dragon boat associations around this region, in hopes of getting more team participation next year. “We will work together with NGOs, clubs in other countries apart from national organisations in our effort to promote this event next year. We are optimistic with our on-going efforts, we can get more foreign teams to participate in next year’s annual Sabah Dragon Boat race,” he added. The Sabah Dragon Boat race which entered its 23rd year this year, was successfully organised by the Sabah Tourism Board and its wholly owned subsidiary company, Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bbd with the collaboration of the Sabah Chinese Cultural Association (SCCA). This year, more than 10,000 locals and tourists came to witness one of Sabah’s most anticipated annual sporting events at the Likas Bay last Sunday. “The new location for the race which is further down the bay is considered a much better location and we were able to cater to larger crowd, providing a wider view as well,” said Zachary.Top local team, the Tuaran Farmers Association (Pertubuhan Farmers Association (Pertubuhan Peladang Tuaran), comprising fishermen from Kampung Mengkabong, clinched the highly- coveted Sabah’s Head of State Trophy. A total of five teams entered this category, including the National Team ‘from Negara Brunei Darussalam, the winner for this category last year and a team from ‘Nan-Aou Shenzen, the sole team from China. ‘We are very proud with the achievement of a local team winning the grand trophy of this year’s race. In past years, this category was largely dominated by international teams, namely Brunei and China. ‘The Tuaran Farmers’ Association win is a testament that the performance of our local teams has improved over the years and is becoming a force to be reckoned with. We look forward to a more challenging and exciting race in the coming year,” said Zachary. “The Tuaran Farmers Association (Pertubuhan Peladang Tuaran)”, comprising fishermen from Kampung Mengkabong, clinched the highly-year’s race. In past years, this category was largely dominated by international teams, namely Brunei and China.
