Greetings

Welcome to the Newcastle Hunter Dragon Boat Club.

Founded in 2000, the Club has 3 squads consisting of energetic, enthusiastic people who come together from all walks of life and from the age of 16 years old upwards to take up the challenge and enjoy the dynamic sport, plus it’s a great way to get fit.

On the water we work hard but all work and no play is not ideal, hence we also enjoy each other’s company off the water. There are regular social activities and events in which members enjoy the company of each other and build everlasting friendships.

So what’s holding you back? Come on – give Dragon Boating a go and come paddling with us.

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What’s on the horizon?

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Dragon Boating is a great way of getting fit, keeping healthy and bonding with your mates. We are looking for Corporate / Community teams to participate in the regatta –  experience is not necessary (in fact we prefer no experience – it’s much more fun that way) – all you need is 20 people, a willingness to give it a go and be available on Sunday, October 14, 2018. Can’t get 20 people – no worries, you can nominate as many as you can and we will try to fill the gaps for you.

If you are interested, please email Natalie your details and we will be in touch.

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EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT

Come on down to The Albion and buy some tickets in our Meat Raffle. 4 meat trays must be won each Tuesday night. So why not make a night of it and have dinner and a few drinks as well.

The Albion – 72 Hannell Street, Wickham.

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DID YOU KNOW ….

The most important and interesting aspect of racing in the Chinese New Year Regatta is the ‘dotting of the eyes’, but do you know why?

It is generally believed that the tradition of “eye-dotting” originated from two Chinese stories concerning printing pictures. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty [314-420 A.D.], a painter named Gu Kai Zhi was famous for painting portraits. However, he had a strange habit of leaving the eyeballs out for several years after the rest of the painting was finished. When he was asked why, he said, “The most life-like strokes of a subtle portrait come from the eyes.” He was actually implying that even a single stroke should not be done casually.

A little later, a painter called Zhang Seng You was asked to paint a mural for the An Le Monastery in Nanjing during the Southern Dynasty [420-589 A.D.], when he had finished it was noticed that all the dragons on the wall paintings lacked pupils in their eyes. Wen the Abbot invited him to add the pupils, Zhang said, “It must not be done, otherwise they will fly away from the wall into the sky.”

The Abbot was not convinced. Eventually the dragons with eyeballs painted on them emerged and flew away, while those without stayed on the wall – (This is the origin of the Chinese proverb “Draw the dragons, dot the eyes”.)

In fact, when we dot the eyes, we are dotting out the essence. When extended to literature, we may say that the most vivid words are “the stroke that dots the eyes.”

When we dot the eyes for dragon boats, lions or masks, the meaning is the same: We draw the eyes, we give them life! We are conveying our personal feelings!

[Chinese Text from Ming Pao Daily, date unknown, possibly around 1993/94, Translated by Edwin Hou]