Tempers and temperatures on the rise at Stanley
A HEATED dispute about starting procedures marked the end of yesterday's otherwise successful 1993 Stanley Dragon Boat Races, when one of the finalists in the Chinese Men's Cup competition was forced off the end of the starting line.
The judges' decision about the winner of the last race was delayed until part-way through the prize-giving ceremony, because several teams complained they had lost vital seconds at the start, and the Gym-Hongkong team claimed it had been forced off the end of the line.
Starter Matthew Morgan said it had been difficult to get the teams into a position from which he could start the race fairly.
''Four of the boats refused to pick up the starting line, even after going round several times,'' he said.
''And when we did eventually get started, [the Gym-Hongkong boat] was skewwhiff and was pushed off by the others.
''Still, we have done 43 starts today, so you'd have expected at least one to be difficult, and the Chinese men's final is always very heavily contested - each of the teams wants to get that little bit of an advantage.'' The Hongkong Sea School was judged to have come first, with Gym-Hongkong taking last place.
A record number of entrants paddled up the murky waters of the Shing Mun River yesterday as the Sha Tin Dragon Boat Race celebrated its 10th year.
Sudden downpours drenched the thousands of spectators lining the banks of the river and crowded onto the Sand Martin and Banyan bridges to watch the early races, but as the competition hotted up, so did the weather.
About 150 teams took to the water for the 400-metre and 600-metre races to celebrate the Tuen Ng Festival.
The dull thud of the drums was broken by the cheers of the male winners and the delighted screams of their female counterparts, and also by the groans of government department teams beaten by the Marine Department crew.
The Tsuen Wan races were a family event, with the elderly and disabled joining in.
