Int’l dragon boat chair training local officials

A GROUP of 55 trainees are undergoing training from International Dragon Boat Federation chairman Dick Lim of Malaysia to further strengthen their capacities in preparation for the dragon boat races taking place at the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games hosted by Cambodia.

The 55 trainees are all coaches, technical officials and canoe paddlers who all have some previous knowledge of the sport.

The training sessions began on December 6 at the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) and are scheduled to be completed on December 11.

This session will be the final course held by the Cambodian Canoe and Rowing Federation to strengthen the capacity of technical officials so that they will be ready for the competitions at the SEA Games.

Srun Leang, deputy secretary-general for technical affairs of the Cambodian Canoe

and Rowing Federation, said the trainees had received both theoretical and practical training from Lim.

He said Lim had explained the statutes and rules of the competition in detail to the 55 trainees and they visited the site of the international dragon boat races at the Kampot River in Kampot province.

“We opened this training session for the National Dragon Boat Technical Committee to further strengthen the capacity of our technical officials by providing them with the opportunity to receive training from Malaysia’s Dick Lim, who chairs the international federation.

“We hope that our technical officials will all do a great job working with the International Dragon Boat Federation in preparation for the SEA Games 2023 as the host country,” he said.

Leang, who is serving as an interpreter and translator for Lim during the training sessions, said at least some of the 55 trainees will go on to take the licensing exam for dragon boat racing officials working international competitions so that they will be able to officiate at the SEA Games.

“We see that some of the trainees stand out in their ability and experience and those can continue on to take the licence exam as international technical officials. The best technical officials who have some ability with English will be able to continue to undergo training abroad and become technical officials for international boating races all over the world,” he said.