Malaysia once again is ready to resound with the roars of spectators with the ever successful International Dragon Boat festival in Penang for the thirty second time. The dragon boat race will be held at the Teluk Bahang Dam, Penang, Malaysia on 11th and 12th June, 2011.
This event is well-known for being Southeast Asia’s most colourful boat race, and is all about friendly competition. This event is fully supported by the Penang State Government and is an affiliated festival of the International Dragon Boat Federation.
Penang has been organizing the dragon boat races since the past 31 years & they have the advantage of technical expertise of a large number of experienced IDBF Technical Officials. Penang is world famous for dragon boat races with the region’s first race held in 1956. The race is 250 and 500 metres long. The boats conform to traditional designs, and are extremely eye-catching. Each boat is mounted with a dragon’s head and tail, finely carved to meet the traditional Chinese dragon appearance (in case you didn’t know, a Chinese dragon has an ox’s head, a deer’s antlers, a horse’s mane, and a fish’s tail).Each boat is crewed by up to twenty paddlers, facing the front of the boat (as opposed to Western rowing sports, where the rower faces the rear). A drummer sits in front of the boat, facing the rowers, dictating the rhythm for the row team. A sweep, or tiller, sits aft, steering the boat.
Strength and endurance are necessary, but not sufficient, for success. Dragon boat racing, as a sport, demands the closest teamwork possible from teams that want to get through the finish line first. During the Penang Dragon Boat Festival teams race beautifully painted boats with dragons-head prows on the Teluk Bahang Dam. To urge them on drums are pounded and crowds roar from the riverbank.
