For the first time, the poolside of SAFRA Toa Payoh was transformed into a colourful battlefield for the SAFRA Dragon Battle 2019. An inaugural event organised by SAFRA, the race was held on 31 Aug in celebration of SAFRA’s Dragon Boat Club’s 40th anniversary.
The competition was open to four categories: Open A (Heavyweight), Open B (Featherweight), Mixed (380kg to 480kg) and Invitational that included seniors. Indeed it was a hotly contested race that saw the participation of 40 teams, many of whom had interesting monikers ranging from Daddies and Har Cheong Gai to Cannot Don’t Do! and Kraken.
Two teams of six paddlers seated on both sides of a 20-seat dragon boat battled it out in a tug of war. The team which pulled its opponents 2m into its area wins! The event made it to the Singapore Book of Record as having the largest Dragon Battle Tug of War competition with 260 participants.
Besides teams supporters, NSmen and their families also came out in droves to watch the event. Young families even attempted the Paddle On! dragon boat tryout sessions as well as Race Against the Waves! experiential challenge organised by Families for Life. Besides sporting activities, there were also dragon puppet-making and photography workshops for hobby enthusiasts, as well as sports promotion and food booths.
The teams that prevailed and clinched the top prize of $500 each were Verigud (Open A), GAP (Open B), Milk Monsters (Mixed) and SAFRA Mixed (Invitationals). First and second runners-up also took home cash prizes of $300 and $200 respectively.
Congratulations to the winners and see you all at the next race!
