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Blind rowers to attend int'l dragon boat contest

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-03 17:41

BEIJING - China will, for the first time, send handicapped players to compete in the upcoming Second International Dragon Boat Rally of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Tourism Festival, according to the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF).

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The Chinese dragon boat team, composed of 10 blind rowers and 10 non-blind rowers, will participate in the event, which will be held in Zigui county of central Hubei Province, on June 6.

The team's name is "Hand in hand and on the same boat," according to a spokesman from the China Association of the Blind (CAB), which is affiliated with the CDPF.

The formation of the Chinese team, which is co-sponsored by the CAB and the Yichang City Association for the Blind, gives these handicapped people an opportunity to participate in sports games together with non-handicapped people on equal ground, said the spokesman.

One of the blind players, Yan Changyu, is the chairman of the Yichang association and a successful businessman. Yan has trained over 400 blind massagists and opened of his own massage parlors.

The other blind members are either experienced rowers or businessmen like Yan.

Dragon boat races are a featured activity for China's annual Duanwu (Dragon Boat) Festival.

According to the most recent official statistics, China has over 12 million people with visual disabilities, including 5 million people who are completely visually impaired.