China, Australia youth rowers, dragon boat racers build friendship

The inaugural Sino-Australian Collegiate Rowing and Dragon Boat Friendship Challenge opened recently on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, bringing together about 210 young athletes from 14 universities in China and Australia.

The event was co-hosted by the China Center for International People-to-people Exchange under the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Embassy in Australia, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education and the Nanjing Municipal Sports Bureau.

It brought Western-origin rowing and China's ancient dragon boat racing together on the same river.

Six Australian universities — the University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, the University of Adelaide and the University of Technology Sydney — sent 11 teams. Eight Chinese universities, including Tongji University, Nanjing University and Southeast University, sent 10 teams.

Yu Changxue, director-general of the China Center for International People-to-people Exchange under the Ministry of Education, said the event was not only a sports competition but also a dialogue between civilizations and a resonance of spirit. He expressed hope that the youth of the two countries would plant seeds of friendship for the future.

The dragon boat friendship race featured mixed Chinese-Australian teams. Twenty-two groups were paired by draw, and team names were designed at a welcome ceremony. For example, students from the University of New South Wales and Tongji University paired up, while those from the University of Adelaide and Nanjing University became a team.

In the 200-meter straight-course dragon boat race, each boat had 14 paddlers, one drummer and one helmsperson, with Chinese and Australian members seated alternately. The team of students from the University of Sydney and Soochow University won with a faultless performance. A 30-second dragon boat tug-of-war also drew loud cheers.

The rowing friendship race included men's and women's coxed eight 1,000-meter straight-course events, with 14 men's teams and seven women's teams. The top three teams in each category received commemorative gifts and applause at the award ceremony.

Anja Felderhof, an athlete from the University of Adelaide, said: "Sport can transcend language differences and bring people together. We not only enjoy competing, but also hope to learn and grow through exchanges and build friendships with Chinese youth."

Chinese participants said rowing in the same boat with Australian peers helped them understand the true meaning of harmony in diversity, and that "harmony amid differences and friendship amid competition" was the most moving note of the event.