A three-member team from the International Canoe Federation inspected the facilities during a test event at the Xinglong Lake Wetland Park in Tianfu New Area, the venue for the Canoe Marathon and Dragon Boat competitions at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu.
ICF Canoe Marathon Committee Chair Ruud Heijselaar, ICF Dragon Boat Commission Chair Dr. Wai-Hung Luk and ICF Event Operations Manager Hoichan Kwon travelled to the capital of Sichuan province, where the next edition of the multi-sport event will be held from August 7 to 17 in 2025.
The Canoe Marathon and Dragon Boat test events hosted by the Chinese Canoe Association, Cultural Innovation and Exhibition Bureau of Sichuan Tianfu New Area, Chengdu Sports Bureau and the Sports Competition Department of The World Games 2025 Executive Committee on October 22 were branded a success.
“I think Xinglong Lake is very suitable for hosting Dragon Boat and Canoe Marathon events at the same venue,” Mr Heijselaar said.
“It has high-quality water conditions suitable for international events. It also has state-of-the-art facilities and a strong sports atmosphere.”
Races in Canoe Marathon and Dragon Boat will run on August 9 and 10 at the same venue.
A site visit was conducted in April this year by Mr Heijselaar and Dr. Luk.
“The test event is crucial to ensuring the smooth development of next year's World Games,” Mr Kwon said.
“The ICF conducted on-site exploration of the event to understand potential problems that may be encountered during the Games next year.”
A total of 360 athletes, high-level and recreational, took part in both disciplines in the test event.
Dragon Boat was an invitational sport at The World Games 2005 in Duisburg, Germany and the 2009 edition in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei.
Dr. Luk also gave his thumbs up to the preparations for the Games, which will see the debut of Dragon Boat as a medal event.
“Chinese Dragon Boats with a long history of more than 2,000 years will appear on the stage of The World Games for the first time next year, which is also a good model of the perfect integration of traditional Chinese events and international competitions,” Dr. Luk said.
Related links
