After an opening ceremony that included a traditional Chinese blessing of the dragon heads, the races began. Three dragon boats — each with ten paddlers, a helmsman/helmswoman, and a drummer — lined up at the starting line. In three head-to-head sprint races against various universities, our team bravely competed against experienced opponents and secured second place in the B final.

On the second day, we explored Venice in traditional fashion: together with the Italian teams, our rowers paddled 6 kilometers to Venice in two large dragon boats and rowed along the Grand Canal to the university Ca' Foscari. Exploring Venice this way holds great cultural and historical significance, as the city was long accessible only by fishing boats.

After a tour of Ca' Foscari’s historic buildings, the teams were welcomed by cultural and political representatives of the city of Venice and warmly invited to participate in future regattas to continue fostering exchange between our universities.

It was a successful and incredibly rewarding weekend for our rowing team, and we eagerly look forward to the next Lions Explorer Regatta!

Hannah Koch

Team: Hannah, Katha, Phibie, Philip, Daniel, Benni, Martin, Max, Jana, Pia