The Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA) and the Jamaica Dragon Boat Federation have collaborated to launch a new sport in Jamaica called dragon boat racing. It was launched on Tuesday scheduled for CBA’s headquarters in St Andrew, with the first event at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Port Royal starting at 10:00 am on Saturday and Sunday.

Dragon boat racing is described as a unique team sport that began in the Chinese villages. It requires team members paddling as one to the beating of a drum in the bow of the boat. It is an established sport in over 75 countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas in the Caribbean.

CBA President Vincent Chang praised the planning team and the Chinese Embassy for launching this year. He said that they want to see the event grow and become a mainstay on the local calendar.

Organising committee Chairman Dalton Yap shared what to expect.

“Excitement, competition, people paddling and trying to get the medals that you see on the table — gold, silver, and bronze,” he said. “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 is endorsed by several entities, including the ministries of culture and sport, the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Jamaica Vacations, the Chinese Embassy, and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), which all participated in the launch.

Sport ministry official Alan Beckford welcomed the sport.

“The ministry is in support of dragon boat racing,” he said. “We in sports, in general, support all sports that are organised in Jamaica, and we hope to see the sport become successful.”

JDF Chief of Defence Staff Vice-Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman has personal experience of dragon boating.

“The JDF is participating not only with a team, but because this is a sport that occurs on water in the Kingston Harbour, where it will be happening, launching from the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Port Royal,” she said. “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. The JDF is always at the forefront with sports 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.

TEF Executive Director Dr Carey Wallace sees potential for growth.

“I call it a seed because of 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 — the best place to visit. That’s our target in tourism.”

Eleven locally based teams have registered, including the JDF Coast Guard and The UWI Confucius team.

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 under way with three boats per place. The competition continues on Sunday based on how the teams perform on the first day. It will close with the awards ceremony in the evening.