The 2022 Dragon Boat Festival was held in Salford, Manchester on Sunday May 29th. As a key sponsor of this event, the biggest such celebration and competition in Europe, Bank of China was represented by Tim Skeet, who travelled north to support the Manchester Branch Dragon Boat team. There was certainly an air of celebration to the proceedings that day, as 36 teams took to the water to compete.
For those unfamiliar with the tradition, these boats have a crew of ten paddlers and a drummer to beat the rhythm and cadence for the race. An eleventh crew member is supplied by the organisers as the steersman equipped with a long oar and is there to ensure the boat goes straight! The Manchester Branch fielded a full team, suitably dressed in red t-shirts.
The day was opened by a series of speeches from the Chinese Consul General, the Lord Lieutenant, the Mayor of Salford and from several other guests and sponsors, including Bank of China. A large crowd of local people had come, many with their families from the Chinese community in the area, to enjoy the spectacle and watch the opening ceremony. Besides the speeches, this included dancing lions, a dragon dance and other aspects of Chinese culture. There were many other notable performances later in the day, which along with stalls and food stands, offered visitors a great day out. The sun even shone a bit.
The day was, however, mainly about the races. We are proud to announce that the BOC team came a strong 8th out of 36 in this year’s competition, a really good performance. Team captain Daniel Du from Manchester Branch, poised to lead his team out to the boat, offered this thought: “together we are not afraid of anything… including falling in the water!”. It should be noted that they did indeed all get wet and fall in the water at the end of their third race!
Sarah Gu, who is due to join the staff shortly, was the team’s first-time, novice drummer. Sarah admitted to being rather nervous, but also excited by her turn at the drum, in what was ‘an unforgettable experience’. As a final comment, Calvin Wang, another of the team, expressed pride at paddling ‘for China and for England’, a point well illustrating the importance and spirit of this East meets West day of fun.
With such a great result at the end of the day, Daniel and his team are to be congratulated for giving up their Sunday and competing on behalf of BOC. Teamwork and cooperation were clearly key elements in the team’s performance along with the encouragement and support of Branch Manager Linda Lin.
Of course, if any other Bank of China staff are interested in participating next year, EO will gladly point them in the right direction. Get in training now!
