Fishermen practice hard for the tournament

unnamed(1).jpg — Some pictures of the training session

Passionate and devoted to rowing, they are pure fishermen, not professional athletes, but the dream of conquest is always present in their steady oar-wielding arms.

Local people are also waiting for this special sporting event because it is familiar to people during holidays and Tet. Traditional boat racing is an activity in the series of events of the National Tourism Year 2023 "Binh Thuan - Green Convergence". And Bau Trang will be a memorable meeting place for tourists , of the spirit of sportsmanship that is not afraid of challenges for this time. The Binh Thuan traditional boat racing team will face many provinces and cities with extensive experience and strong technical skills such as An Giang, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City , Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc ...

The traditional boat racing team is mostly composed of fishermen, both male and female. Many have been involved since the early years of the traditional boat racing movement in the ward or commune.

The rowing team members have been practicing hard for nearly a month, regardless of rain or shine.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a long-time female member of the team, confided: "I have been with the team since 2002, I don't know why I like it so much, so in this tournament, like many other athletes, I encourage each other to practice hard to bring medals back to the province." Originally a woman, Ms. Hoa used to row a boat to sell goods on the river. When Binh Thuan hosted the traditional boat race, she was encouraged to participate, so she has been involved ever since.

For nearly a month now, the young girl from Ke Ga has been coming to practice with the team every morning and afternoon, rain or shine. This season, Le Thi Anh Dao will participate in the 12-man mixed boat and 22-man mixed boat events. Passionate and dedicated, Dao leaves her child with her grandmother to ride her motorbike to Phan Thiet to practice every day. “In general, when competing, we are determined to try our best with our teammates. We will compete to the best of our ability. First of all, we will try to train our physical strength because I am only a semi-professional. We will only gather and practice when there is a competition. Unlike other provinces, they are professional athletes so they practice every day. But we are not afraid because of that, we will compete with all our might for the flag and our teammates,” Le Thi Anh Dao shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Bo, who has many years of experience with the traditional boat team in many tournaments, happily said after the practice session: "Participating in this year's tournament is a bit stressful, because almost all provinces use professional canoeing athletes in the competition. The team itself is made up of fishermen, maybe young people, with good physical strength due to a lot of training, myself and the team only have experience, so the team is very confident to compete and compete with all their might". Mr. Nguyen Van Bo, started participating in the provincial team in 2009. After the tournaments, Mr. Bo and his teammates will return to normal life, with the sea profession.

The traditional boat racing tournament gathered nearly 300 athletes in the first season held at Bau Trang from June 20 to 26, 2023. This is also a new and highly dangerous location ever. Bau Ba - the place where the tournament is held, has an area of 107 hectares, the longest is 3.7km, the widest is 0.5km. The deepest is up to 22.5m. The shallowest area from the shore is about 5 - 6m, the depth is 12 - 15m. Meanwhile, Bau Ong has an area of 48ha, the shallowest is also 5 - 6m from the shore, the deepest is 14.5m.

It can be seen that, among the teams participating in this competition, only the Binh Thuan and Quang Binh boat racing teams are fishermen "competing" with professional athletes summoned from the province's Canoeing teams. Although there will be a difference in youth, in return, fishermen who have spent their whole lives attached to the sea and the fierce waves promise to make a difference in this season.

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