The CMCC team (in foreground) was the first from the college to ever compete in the annual Dragon Boat Festival.
LAKE ONTARIO, Toronto -- Whether by land or in the water, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College students are off to the races. Shortly after the college's annual run/walk event for chiropractic education, 27 CMCC students participated for the first time in the Toronto International Dragon Boat Festival, a Chinese cultural tradition which draws big crowds each year.
The race course is 640 meters. Each boat has 24 paddlers, plus a drummer and a steerer. The team was invited to race in the Mayor's Cup, where they placed third, and placed first in the semi-finals for the recreational category. The team was disqualified because of a false start in the finals.
Interns and supervisory clinicians offered chiropractic care to the racers. Spectators also stopped by the chiropractic booth for information on the profession.
The Chinese Dragon Boat Race Festival has been a Chinese tradition for over 2,000 years, marking the suicide drowning of Qu Yuan, a poet and philosopher. This year's event had more than 4,000 participants in 60 races.
