Dragon boaters head to China in search of a win
AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL
MEDIA RELEASE
19 May 2006
Dragon boaters head to China in search of a win
Dragon boaters from around the globe will be converging on Auckland’s Chinese sister city of Guangzhou at the end of this month for the Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Festival.
Among these will be the Auckland City Dragon Boat team which has been training hard since early January to boost its chances of a win.
The team of 23 people, mainly from Auckland City and Opus International Consultants Limited, is heading to Guangzhou on 30 May to compete in the race.
The team is supported by Cathay Pacific, which has sponsored part of the air fares, and Opus, who has substantially increased its usual annual sponsorship for the dragon boating team.
The Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Festival is a major event, with the 2005 race attracting 260,000 spectators who watched 101 teams from throughout the world. Over 8,000 participants competed in 2005.
Guangzhou is home to approximately seven million people. It is the largest, most prosperous city in southern China, and its commercial and international trade centre.
The Auckland-Guangzhou sister city agreement was signed in 1989 to encourage cooperation in trade, science, technology, culture, arts, education, sport, tourism and municipal administration.
ENDS