Royal X Claim National Championships…again!

WORDS BY GIANNI APREA | IMAGES BY ROYAL X

My initial thought was to title this “HK Champs, Christmas came early.” However, it very quickly dawned on me that this is a terrible title for the story. It implies that the Club’s Royal X crews were somehow given a gift. Though it was noteworthy to be back at a full scale race in Shatin, we can assure everyone that no one was handing out anything there. The brightly reflective metal ornaments that a few of us were fortunate to take home that day were most definitely very earned!

December is usually the month during which our dragonboat paddlers relax, reflect and recharge for the difficult preseason training that typically begins in the first week of January. 2022 has not been a typical year in any sense. This year the HKCBA who hosted the 2022 Hong Kong Dragon Boat Championships threw us for a bit of a loop by scheduling the in early December. This race, which is normally held in September or October, is the territory’s defacto national championship every year as well as a qualifier for various international competitions. Given that covid has prevented this race from happening for awhile, we were all very happy to have the opportunity to compete despite the minor inconvenience of having to postpone some year end holiday celebrations.

The weather on the day was fantastic. It was slightly overcast to start the day with very mild temperatures and little to no wind. It only got better as the day progresses turning into full sun shine by the time the final races of the day took place.

The weather conditions were oddly aligned with the performances of the Club’s crews that day. The open got us started with a bit of a shaky run. Many of the men in the crew had not had the opportunity to race in Shatin given the long break between competitions there. This mean that many of them needed time to get familiar with the boats and water conditions. It was unfortunate that there simply wasn’t enough time for the boys to get sorted. They battled through the opening heat finishing a disappointing 4 and having to go to the repechage. The second race was significantly better with the crew coming in a respectable second. However, it wasn’t enough to make the final and the day sadly ended there. This was a valuable learning experience for the paddlers in the crew and something that will definitely fuel off season preparations. We are all looking forward to seeing how they respond in the next edition of the HK Champs. Our mixed crew also claimed an overall championship for the Club, albeit in a different path. The mixed category was typical knock out format in which winners from opening heats proceed to a final and the results of the final determine the overall rankings. The Royal X mixed crew got started with a strong opening heat recording the 2nd fastest time of all mixed crews on the day. The team that achieved the fastest opening race time was, similar to the women’s competition, comprised of HK National team paddlers. This meant that we were slotted next to each other in the final race of the day. Having represented the Club in hundreds of races across dragon boat, outrigging and rowing at this stage, I am reasonably assured in saying that this was one of the finest performances of any Club crew. The start was strong and well timed with the crew growing stronger with each passing stroke. We crossed the line in

what seemed like a safe margin of victory. However, we awaited the official race results to be posted just for good measure. When the race official posted the results she turned to me and said, “it was very very clear.” This was when our off season celebrations truly started!

That’s a wrap on 2022. When this article gets published we will have moved into 2023 and strated training for what we all hope is a “normal” year of training, racing, and celebrating victories. Until then, thanks to everyone who has committed to the Royal X crew this year either through training, racing, doing race management, helping with activities behind the scenes or volunteering for our various community outreach events. This group is an outstanding example of what the Club can achieve when everyone is working together. This isn’t just the national championships talking. The race victories will continue to mount, but let’s be honest, they are usually forgotten the following year. Who other than a few of us who were there remember the last one? It’s the friendships and memories from our activities that will remain in everyone’s hearts and minds. That’s the true championship! Well done all!

It is worth noting that many dragon boat races in Hong Kong have premier and junior race categories for men’s, women’s and mixed crews. Very few events include “senior” or what some would call “master’s” categories. The HK Championships is one of the few that offer Senior A, B and C races with competitors in these events being 40, 50, and 60 years of age respectively. We were fortunate to enter a senior A crew in the event for one of the few times in the Club’s dragon boat racing history. Similar to our men’s boat, the Senior A crew fought hard on the day and performed very well overall. It was just simply not enough for them to make the podium. The competition was fierce and they ended the day 4th overall.

The Royal X Women’s crew had a similar experience to the men. However, the end result was much different. This year the racing rules changed from previous iterations of the event. The women’s category was comprised of 2 races. The winner of the race was determined by points with the tie breaker being the total combined time of both heats. This was a small, yet notable change in rules. Our ladies got off to a slow start in the opening race and fell well behind the leader. They battled through it and as usual were near the top of the pack by the middle of the race. Roaring to the finish they came up short of a strong crew comprised of mainly Hong Kong national team paddlers finishing 2nd. This meant that we not only had to win the final to take the overall victory, but also had to beat the opening heat winner by more than a second. The women responded to the challenge with flying colors. They powered home to a win in the final heat crossing the line well ahead of the competition and claiming another HK Championship win for the Club!

CONTACTS

Rowing Manager rowingmanager@rhkyc.org.hk Coastal Rowing coastalrowing@rhkyc.org.hk Shatin Men’s Racing shatinrowingmen@rhkyc.org. hk Shatin Women’s Racing shatinrowingladies@rhkyc.org.hk