NSG 2024

In Year 5, I was part of the Junior Boys Team that competed in the 2024 National Interschool Dragon Boat Race, where our team achieved a commendable 5th place, surpassing all the other Year 5 teams that competed as well as quite a few Year 6 teams. Given that Dragon Boat was relatively new to all of us and we had only been training for the past 4 months, reaching the Finals was a significant achievement that highlighted our determination and growth over the season.

Pesta Sukan 2024

Moreover, in the same year, I represented the school in the Pesta Sukan Dragon Boat race, in a mixed crew. Although we did not make it to the finals, given that this competition had far more schools competing with many non-school affiliated teams as well, this experience was a valuable lesson in sportsmanship and team spirit. It taught me that in life we have our ups as well as downs and such setbacks are purely opportunities to reflect on what we could have improved on rather than dwelling on it and getting upset over it. It taught me that loses are merely just opportunities to pick ourselves back up and bounce back twice as hard. This was a key motivating factor in me pumping double the amount of effort into my trainings for the 2025 National Interschool Dragon Boat competition.

NSG 2025

Most recently I competed in the 2025 National Interschool Dragon Boat Race, where we clinched 3rd place in the 12-man race, and 4th place in the 22-man race, with a few of the junior boys racing in our team. Our podium finish was a testament to our improved endurance, coordination, strength and cohesion as a team. I feel like that this race was the most memorable throughout my time in RI Dragon boat, as unlike majority of the other school teams who had signed up, our team was one of the few that had signed up for both categories. However, the problem with this was the fact that our races tended to be back-to-back, essentially a 200-metre sprint where we gave it our all, followed by another 200m race almost immediately. Even though at the end of the day, even though we may not have achieved our goal of the gold medal, like the saying “aim for the moon and land among the stars”, I have no regrets and although we had high hopes, I’m proud of our placing since each and every one of us gave it our all.