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The International Ice Dragon Boat Federation (IIDBF) recently held its first Ice World Dragon Boat Championships at Longze Lake, Duolun Nor, Xilingol League in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The world championship that was held in January saw approximately 300 participants from all around the world.

There were three race categories for both the 100m and 200m distances.

The 100m four-man Men’s straightway speed racing (rudderless) category saw Russia emerge tops with Chinese Taipei came in second and South Korea was in third place.

In the 200m Men’s category, Russia, Hungary and Chinese Taipei came out tops.

Meanwhile, China, Hungary and Germany dominated the 100m and 200m five-man straightway speed racing. In the 100m 12-man straightway speed racing category, Hungary, Russia and the Philippines were the dominant teams.

Malaysia was represented by the KL Barbarians, an open corporate dragon boat team based in Kuala Lumpur, and the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

Both teams gave their best despite facing strong competitors.

The odds were stacked against us from the very start due to our lack of formal training for ice dragon boat racing and the freezing cold conditions.

Nevertheless, the KL Barbarians secured a commendable top eight spot in three categories.

They emerged in sixth spot in the 200m 12-man category, seventh in the 100m 12-man category and eighth in the 100m four-man crew section.

IIUM, meanwhile, made it to the ninth spot in the 100m 12-man category and were placed 11th in the 100m five-man crew section.

The next Ice World Dragon Boat Championships will most likely be held in Harbin next year.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/spo...