THE Penang Forward Sports Club dragon boat team, which is well known for its remarkable achievements over the years, is set to shake off its cobwebs when it takes part in an invitation competition in Kuala Kangsar, Perak on Sunday.
Like many other sports organisations, it has been inactive for the past two years due to the restrictions imposed on them due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The team will take part in the Dragon Boat Carnival, which is an invitational event by the Perak Canoe Association, this Sunday. The race is held in conjunction with the annual Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie) starting tomorrow.
In an exclusive interview with Buletin Mutiara recently, its team manager Lim Eng Wei, 42, said they had not been competing in any tournament ever since the pandemic struck.
“This invitational challenge is an opportunity for our members to compete in a tournament after two years.
“It is limited to teams from Perak, Kedah and Penang. This competition is divided into mixed group and open group categories.
“The number of our active members is also declining after the pandemic. We had about 70 people before but now, only about 40 are actively involved with the training.
“We hope there will be more new faces joining our team as this is one activity that promotes team spirit,” said Lim, a factory worker, when met during the team’s physical training session in Taman Bukit Dumbar, Jelutong recently.
Aside from the competition in Kuala Kangsar, the Penang Forward Sports Club dragon boat team is looking forward to a series of events in Sabah (July), Sarawak (October) and Penang (November).
“We train a few days per week, concentrating on strength training, rowing exercises, and other physical work-outs.
“It is important for us to maintain our physical strength, since our physical conditioning has been affected during the movement control order (MCO) period,” he said.
Lim pointed out that 40% of the team are mostly new members, with many of them going to compete for the first time.
“We do not expect them to win in the upcoming events, but we hope they will gain experience from the exposure.
“Their confidence and morale will increase after a few events,” he added.
Lim said dragon boat training is not only about physical preparation as some perceive, but it requires a strong mental preparation as well.
“Everyone in the team needs to have a strong mentality in order to keep on rowing during a competition, even though one is tired.”
When met, rower Lim Chin Kee, 33, told Buletin Mutiara that he is an active person and plays in a few other sports.
“I play badminton, run and swim. One of my friends kept calling me to join the dragon boat team.
“After a while, I decided to join the team after the Chinese New Year this year. I feel accomplished as I have improved a lot on my strength, stamina and mentality ever since joining the team.
“I hope more newcomers who are keen to challenge themselves can consider joining our team,” said Chin Kee, a content creator in a factory.
Familiar face Tan Bah Kok, 63, has been a pillar of strength for the team since its formation decades ago.
“I’d enjoyed many competitions in the past. I have been training consistently with the younger ones. We need to inject new blood into the team,” said Tan, a factory worker.
Fu Mei Sim, 28, proved the doubters wrong by showing that female rowers can contribute to dragon boat activity as well.
“Only 20 to 30% of women joined our team at the beginning, but there are a lot more women now.
“It is a good achievement,” the pharmacist said.
Story by Edmund Lee