“Oh, east is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet; till earth and sky stand presently at God’s great judgment seat.”
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The opening to Rudyard Kipling’s “The Ballad of East and West” is often taken out of context; people forget the lines that follow, as Great Britain dragon boat team coach Tim Smith kindly reminds us:
“But there is neither east nor west, border, not breed, not birth; when two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth.”
With Team GB now comprising 37 Hongkongers – 50 per cent of the squad – Smith felt the poem was the perfect way to describe his team’s transition over the past few years as his three boats compete in this week’s International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships in Kunming, China.
Great Britain dragon boat team women’s squad training at VRC in Deep Water Bay before their competition next week. Photo: Jonathan Wong
“We had the UK-based people, the Hong Kong-based people, but now we have one squad, one focus,” said Smith. “This is us.”
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Smith has been scouting the Hong Kong seas for talented paddlers throughout his five years as GB’s premier team coach. Not a bad idea, considering the city has an annual festival devoted to dragon boats.
