On the afternoon of November 15, the Organizing Committee of the Ngo boat racing tournament in the 6th Ooc Om Boc - Ngo boat racing festival in Soc Trang province, Mekong Delta region in 2024 held the closing ceremony.
This year’s race has 60 teams with nearly 7,200 athletes, coaches and service staff participating. Of which, 48 teams are from Soc Trang province and 12 teams from Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Hau Giang and Can Tho city competing in the men’s 1,200m and women’s 1,000m distances.
This year, all teams have invested and prepared carefully from building new Ngo boats to the training process. In particular, the Ngo boat team of Kos Thum pagoda (Bac Lieu province) brought a dugout Ngo boat (from a large wooden trunk carved into a boat instead of joining pieces of wood together). Thereby, it brought many exciting, dramatic and attractive competitions to the audience.
After 2 days of dramatic competition, the Ngo boat team athletes of Tum Nup pagoda (Chau Thanh district, Soc Trang province) excellently defended the No. 1 position in both the men's and women's boat races (in 2023, both the men's and women's Ngo boat teams won first prize). The Ngo boat team of Kos Thum pagoda (Bac Lieu province) won second prize, and Sro Lon pagoda (My Xuyen district, Soc Trang province) won third prize.
In the women's 1,000m distance, the second and third prizes were respectively awarded to the boat teams of O Chum pagoda (Soc Trang province) and Kos Thum (Bac Lieu province).
Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi - Vice Chairman of Soc Trang Provincial People's Committee - said that it is estimated that in the 2 days of Ngo Boat Race, about 200,000 people came to watch and cheer (an increase of 30% compared to 2023). Thereby, introducing and promoting the unique cultural identity of Soc Trang province to domestic and foreign tourists, contributing to preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, attracting investment in tourism.
