No Alcohol Before Race, Boat Captain says
Boat captain Bean Touch explains that boat crews' healthy well-being serves as key of a boat racing success. Photo: Chhum Chantha
- By Meng Seavmey
- November 25, 2023 3:02 PM
PHNOM PENH – Health is one of the most important preparations for boat crews in the Water Festival to be held on Nov. 26-28. They are advised to avoid alcohol and night parties to get enough sleep and good hydration instead.
Boat captain Bean Touch said technical teams and crews have to prepare not only their boats but also their health because it will affect the teams’ effort as a whole.
Touch encouraged crews to get enough sleep and drink enough water to boost their energy for the race.
“We have to be careful with what we eat. We don’t consume alcohol. We don’t join parties and travel at nights,” he said.
Teams are provided with enough food, water and medical equipment for emergency treatment or pain and a substitute group is prepared in advance.
“In case some racers do not feel well, they will be replaced by the substitutes. For example, there should be 10 substitutes prepared for a 74-rower boat,” he said.
“We must not let sick ones continue racing. Their safety is important,” he added.
Touch is a farmer in Kampong Cham province and has been racing boats since 2009. He said most racers are farmers and take part because they love the tradition and have been involved in it for a long time.
This year, Touch has come to assist a boat carrying 75 rowers as a boat captain for Teuk Thla Pagoda in Phnom Penh.
For the upcoming festival, the team have made time meeting in the evenings and trained for two to four weeks together in a pond, but on a small boat.
