Dragon boat champions create a Buzz
Buzz stunned strong favourites such as the Bondi Diggers and the British Dragons to clinch the overall title at the Stanley Dragon Boat Championships on Tuesday.
'It was all a little bit unreal and we are all very surprised,' said Buzz team member Kelvin Wong Kai-hin.
Just 30 minutes before the overall final, where the five best Chinese teams took on the five top expatriate crews, Buzz had placed third in an energy-sapping race for the Expat title.
The British Dragons won that one, but Buzz recovered from the setback to prove they are the endurance champions by storming to a memorable victory in the day's final race.
'I think one of the reasons we won was because the pressure was off after a hard Expat final,' said Wong, 27. 'We felt relaxed and ready ahead of the final. Before the final, our captain told us he felt we had improved after the first couple of races, and that we would continue to get better. None of us expected to win. We had a great start and I think, in the end, all our training paid off.
'The Bondi Diggers are true sportsmen and came straight over to us after the race to shake hands and say congratulations. You don't expect that, especially after they had lost.'
Races were held throughout the SAR - including Aberdeen, Tai Po and Sha Tin - to celebrate the Tuen Ng Festival. Stanley had the largest event, where 153 teams competed. The Hong Kong Sea School, the youngest team at Stanley, won the Association Cup Final.
Tuen Ng Festival dragon boat results:
Stanley:
Martell Gold Cup
1. Buzz
2. Stanley Dragon Boat Team
3. Bondi Diggers
Sha Tin:
The Financial
Secretary Cup
1. The Hong Kong Fire Services Department
2. Hung Ching
3. A Kung Kok
Aberdeen:
1. Lamma Island Luk Chau Tung Hing Dragon (A)
2. Flying Tiger Dragon
3. Universal Candle Dragon
Tai Po:
1. Tai Po Li Clansmen Association Golden Dragon Team
2. So's Youth Team
3. Lucky (Cable) Engineering Company
