27 Teams Compete in Kinmen's First Dragon Boat Competition
金門首屆龍舟賽 27隊競技人氣十足
The first dragon boat competition in Kinmen County took place on May 29, 2009 on Shuangli Lake at Guningtou. There were also duck catching, water treasure hunting, and an outdoor sketching competition. The events drew close to a thousand people.
2009金門縣第一屆龍舟賽,5月29日在古寧頭雙鯉湖舉行,還有抓鴨子、水中尋寶以及寫生比賽活動,吸引成千民眾參與,熱鬧滾滾。
Kinmen County Government Chief Secretary Lu Zhihui explained that the Shuangli Lake was chosen for first dragon boat races because 2009 happened to be the 60th anniversary of the Guningtou Battle. It added some meaning to the event. At the same time, the county government hoped, by organizing Kinmen's own dragon boat races, the county could train more athletes(1) to compete in and out of the country in the future and win honors for Kinmen.
主持活動的金門縣政府主任秘書盧志輝表示,今年是古寧頭戰役60周年,金門首屆龍舟賽特別選擇在古寧頭雙鯉湖舉辦,讓活動更有意義性,也期望在金門有屬於自己的龍舟後,未來培訓更多優秀的選手,參與國內外各項龍舟比賽,為金門爭取更多的榮譽。
Lu Zhihui and Kinmen National Park Administration Director Zeng Weihong fired the starting guns for the race. 720 contestants(2) made up the 27 teams-nine male adult teams, three female adult teams, nine senior high school boy teams, and six senior high school girl teams-and compete on Shuangli Lake. Close to a thousand people crowded around the lake to watch the races. Police were out there to maintain traffic.
盧志輝和金門國家公園管理處長曾偉宏共同鳴槍開賽,共有社男組9隊、社女組3隊,高中職男生組9隊、高中職女生組6隊,總共27隊,七百二十位選手在雙鯉湖參加競技,整個雙鯉湖四周湧入成千民眾觀賞各隊競技的現況,人氣十足。警方也出動員警在場維持交通秩序。
Also held was an outdoor sketching competition. Many parents accompanied their children to participate. The children were immersed in(3) their artistic creation. Most of them painted dragon boats and the landscape around the lake. The parents all looked proud and happy with the masterpieces of their children.
現場也有寫生比賽,吸引許多家長帶著小朋友來參與活動,在雙鯉湖畔,小朋友盡情的創作,構圖主題大都以畫龍舟搭配湖畔風光,展現小朋友的繪畫創意,在旁的家長十分滿意子女的作品。
In the preliminary(4) races that ended just before noon, every team worked hard to be qualified for the final. Then the entertaining water treasure hunting and duck catching followed. Led by the Director General of Political Warfare Huang Guanghui of the Amphibian(5) Battalion,(6) 28 frogmen dove into the water to look for treasures. It did not take them long to find the plastic bottles the organizer had thrown in the lake. In each bottle was a slip of paper with the corresponding prize written on it. The duck catching was the highlight that drew the crowds closer. Ten ducks were released onto the lake. The Army 101st Amphibian Reconnaissance(7) Battalion soldiers captured every one of them without much effort and take them back to the base to add to the Duanwu Festival menu. Chen Shuicheng, a 60-year-old swimming coach from Houyuan, also put on full gear and joined the frogmen in duck catching. Being a good swimmer, he caught one duck too and showed his prize to the spectators(8) with a big grin.(9)
上午的龍舟賽預賽,各組拚鬥十足,卯足全力來爭取晉入決賽的資格。在接近中午,預賽賽程告一段落,主辦單位也推出水中尋寶以及抓鴨的趣味活動,由兩棲營政戰主任黃光輝率領二十八位的「蛙兵」演出,身手矯健的海龍蛙兵躍入水中尋寶,很快將主辦單位丟入湖中的寶特瓶找出,瓶內有置放兌放獎品的紙條,可以兌換獎品。壓軸的抓鴨活動,更是吸引眾人的圍觀,主辦單位準備10隻鴨子放入雙鯉湖,海龍部隊官兵憑著高超的泳技,將鴨子全部手到擒來,蛙兵們開心不已,為部隊端節聯歡晚宴加菜。后園六十歲的陳水成,是游泳教練,他也全副武裝隨同蛙兵到湖中抓鴨,好身手的陳水成也有斬獲,擒拿一隻鴨子,高興的展現戰利品。
The Guningtou Community Development Association was commissioned(10) to prepare thin noodles and zongzi for lunch for the contestants. Association Chairman Li Zhengteng directed community volunteers to hand out the meal at the village office. After the break, the final race of the competition was on. It was an even match between the Fire Department and the Tadpoles(11)-the Amphibian Battalion Frogmen Team. Under the spectators' hurrahs, the frogmen beat the Firemen by a tiny margin and took the Male Adult Team trophy of the first Kinmen Dragon Boat Competition. They were overjoyed.
午間,主辦單位也委託古寧頭社區發展協會提供麵線和粽子予選手裹腹,古寧頭社區發展協會理事長李正騰帶領社區志工在村辦公處發放午餐,讓參與活動的人員享用有端午味道的午餐。龍舟賽下午決賽的賽事,最精采的一役,由消防局對上小蝌蚪隊「海龍蛙兵」,在眾人的注目眼光,實力相當的兩隊,僅以些微的差距,「海龍蛙兵」力克對手消防局,奪得首屆金門龍舟賽的社會組冠軍,蛙兵們樂透了。
The event came to an end around 4:00pm. A few accidents in the student team races happened, including an overturned dragon boat before the race and another one going off course and ending up in the bushes by the shore with a fallen dragon head. But under the protective measures taken by the fire department, no students were hurt. Most of the adult races went smoothly.
整個比賽於下午四時許順利落幕,雖然學生組的選手,有 發生「凸槌」的狀況,包括還未比賽,龍舟翻覆、以及比賽進行中,龍舟偏離水道,衝入湖畔旁叢草,導致龍頭掉落等小意外狀況,在消防局人員在水域高度「戒護」下,並沒有發生學生受傷的狀況;社會組的情況大都順利進行。
Kinmen Agricultural and Industrial Vocational Senior High School mobilized just about every member of the school for the event. Cross-department teams were organized to take part in the competition. Students from Kinmen Senior High School and Kinmen Institute of Technology also formed teams and entered the adult team competition.
金門高職配合首屆金門龍舟賽,可說是全校總動員,也以各科組隊相互競賽的方式,讓學生有參與比賽的機會;金門高中和金門技術學院學生也「共襄盛舉」,參與社會組的比賽。
Hosting the award ceremony, County Education Bureau Director Li Zaihang pointed out that, since it was the first dragon boat competition held in Kinmen, there were certain imperfections.(12) The boats used this year were too small. In the future, the county government would consider purchasing larger ones. He hoped more government agencies and private organizations would put together teams and participate to make next year's races more colorful and fun.
主持頒獎活動的縣府教育局長李再杭表示,地區首次舉辦龍舟賽,部份缺失會做改進,今年比賽用的龍舟船身較小,未來,縣府也會考慮購買較大型的龍舟,同時也鼓勵更多機關團體組隊參賽,希望明年的龍舟賽,有更多軍民一同來「共襄盛舉」,藉由龍舟賽活動,來達到寓教於樂。
■1. athlete-(n)運動員。
■2. contestant-(n)競逐者、參賽者。
■3. be immersed in-埋首於、專注於~。
■4. preliminary-(adj.)初步的、預備的。此處指「預賽」。
■5. amphibian-(adj.)兩棲的;水陸兩用的。
■6. battalion-(n)營;大隊;隊伍。
■7. reconnaissance-(n)偵察。
■8. spectator-(n)觀眾。
■9. grin-(n)露齒的笑。
■10. commission-(vi.)委託、委任。
■11. tadpole-(n)蝌蚪。
■12. imperfection-(n)缺點、瑕疵;不完美。
資料來源:金門縣政府
【本系列新聞英文解說,由金門技術學院邱佩蒂老師指導,本報編輯部提供,歡迎各界指正或提供建議】
本文原載於98年5月30日《金門日報》