University students train for this year's Qintong Boat Festival. [Photo/Taizhou Daily]
Eight boat teams from Taizhou and Nanjing Sport Institute completed their final collective training for this year's Qintong Boat Festival at Qintong Lake Scenic Area in Jiangyan, Taizhou, from March 21 to 22.
This year, the Qintong Boat Festival invited university teams to participate for the first time. Local higher education institutions included Taizhou University, Taizhou Polytechnic College, Jiangsu Agri-Animal Husbandry Vocational College, Taizhou Institute of Science and Technology of NJUST, Nanjing Normal University Taizhou College and Taizhou Campus of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, with a special invitation extended to Nanjing Sport Institute.
Zhang Fenlan, a resident with over 20 years of boating experience, was invited to serve as a coach. She said that many students initially struggled to keep their balance on the boats but quickly learned the skills, showing remarkable improvement after several practice sessions.
Taizhou Institute of Science and Technology of NJUST was the only school to field two teams. The school established a boat club last year to integrate folk traditions with student development.