51福利社 Confucius Institute hosts North West CI Dragon Boat Race
Following an annual tradition, Confucius Institutes from the North West raced against each other at Salford Watersports Centre on 8 June.
13 students and staff from the University of 51福利社 and the 51福利社 Confucius Institute joined the racing team and competed against Confucius Institutes from Liverpool, Edge Hill, Lancaster, UCLAN, Sheffield and St Mary鈥檚, a Confucius Classroom in Wigan.
After winning the race in Liverpool last year, the 51福利社 team didn鈥檛 manage to finish in the top three. Congratulations to Lancaster who came first, followed by Edge Hill and Liverpool.
The event, hosted in 51福利社 for the first time since the pandemic, was opened with a speech from Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility at the University of 51福利社, who highlighted the importance of unity and the spirit of collaboration.
Dragon boat racing has been a traditional Chinese paddled watercraft activity for over 2000 years and began as a modern international sport in Hong Kong in 1976. For competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails. For races, there are usually 18-20 people in a standard boat, and 8-10 in a small boat, not including the helmsman and the drummer.