National Inter School Dragon Boat Championship

National Inter-school Dragon Boat Championship

We knew the time was tight. There were only six trainings before the race and the secondary one students had never even set eyes on a dragon boat paddle before. Everyone was getting frustrated as our formation was not in order. However, as each training passed, we got better and stronger. Each of us gave our one hundred percent every time we went down on the water, pushing hard on every stroke. This race was important to all of us. Slowly but surely, we managed to pull it together and made a pretty fast team!

As race day rolled around, many schools gathered in the morning at Bedok Reservoir. As our race drew closer, we started to warm up. Finally, it was our turn to race. We grabbed our paddles and life vests and proceeded to the start line. “Stand by. Are you ready? Attention!” And at the sound of the horn, the race began. The atmosphere become more intense as schools shouted out their commands but we remained calm, remembered what our coach had said and pushed towards the finish line. It was a close finish, inseparable by the naked eye and we were ecstatic. The official result was published and although we came in second by less than half a second, we knew that we had done our best. We agreed to work harder and come back stronger next year.

From this experience, we learnt that teamwork is crucial. Unlike our regular kayaking experience in smaller crafts, this was a 12 to 22 crew boat, meaning that every single person had to put in their best, and one mistake would mess up the whole boat. We were in this together, and we fought until the end together.

Written by: Faith Lam (3C1)