There is much that inspires me and drives me to get back into the boat for the next training session at 5:30am. The act of moving the boat forwards through the water is as much about team resilience and synergy as it is about personal strength and determination. That moment, in a close race, when everyone in the boat is physically and mentally synchronised and with each stroke the boat surges forward. It is a much cherished experience that cannot be beaten.
Christopher's paddling experience was initially with dragon boat. In 2000 he joined the dragon boat team, Team FEAR. (Far East Adventure Racers). In 2002, he was part of the squad that entered the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat races held in the Hong Kong harbour. Whilst the team didn’t do too well, it was an introduction to high level competitive racing. That year Team FEAR won the mixed race and came second in the open category in the local event.
In 2005, outrigger canoes were added to the paddling repertoire. This allowed for paddling to be all year round with the race season extending across the year as well. The inclusion of outrigger paddling meant that the paddling season was effectively all year and there were more races per year. The culmination of the outrigger race season is the Around the Island Race. A 45km change race around the Hong Kong Island. The race attracts overseas teams from Singapore, Germany, Hawaii, Spain, USA and China along with all of the Hong Kong clubs entering teams. In the recent years, as a member of LBC, Christopher has been in teams winning all of the Hong Kong races.
A culmination of Christopher’s dragon boat paddling career came with becoming a member of the TeamGB Premier Dragon Boat Squad in the Dragon Boat World Championships at Kunming, China in 2017; and Vice Captain of the Senior A squad for the Dragon Boat World Championships of 2019 in Pattaya Thailand. At both competitions he was a core team member competing in all race categories.
In the final years within Lantau Boat Club, Christopher's role became focused on coaching and managing the different levels and sessions for outrigger and dragon boat, focussing on the race squads. This involvd managing the different sessions, whilst also supporting the dragon boat and OC race squad coaching team in implementing the training programme and providing support in developing nutrition programmes for races.
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