1 Sept, 2024

Bamsegjengen in the Union-Drachenbootcup for the second time

Report by Kristian Eikre

Finally, it was time for one of the absolute highlights of the year. The annual Union-Drachenbootcup, this year being the 21st edition. We (Bamsegjengen) had our own boat for the second year in a row. The setting for the day was perfect. After a calm S-Bahn ride out to S-Bahnhof Grünau, I happened to meet Espen and Marte at the S-Bahn station, and we walked together through the forest down to the rowing stadium. And what a fantastic day it turned out to be!

The race took place at Regatta-Stadion Grünau in the Treptow-Köpenick district. The regatta course in Grünau was used for the 1936 Olypics, so we were on historical grounds.

Numerous Unioners had been training hard in recent weeks to take part in this traditional dragon boat race of the Eiserner V.I.R.U.S. e.V.. The training in Bamsegjengen had probably been more mental than physical, but still, we were better prepared than last year.

Hannes had also done a great job with the preparations this year. A good "spot" was staked out already on Friday, and by the time we arrived around 9 a.m., our tent was up, and everything was ready. It was good to meet all the Bamse-friends again and there was quite a pleasant breakfast buffet, including the obligatory Bamsemums (Bear sweets). The first heat was already at 10:10 a.m. and we were ready. This year we were going to show the other fan clubs!

Last year, we started the first heat with a time of approx. 1 minute and 30 seconds and finished the last heat with about 1 minute and 10 seconds. The goal for this year was to improve on that, and we would not be disappointed. The first heat was on par with our best heat from last year, and we understood that we still had significant room for improvement. In the second heat, the left side of the boat paddled brilliantly, while the right side still receiving some constructive criticism from the helmsman. Nevertheless, the time was 1:03.57. Now we were in the competition! In the final round, we put all our efforts in. The rhythm on the right side was also significantly better than the previous heat, and we clocked in at 1:01.42!

At the end we came in at number 37 out of 50 boats in the amateur class, a BIG improvement from last year. Next year we aim to go under 1 minute.

However, our race results were not the most important thing. What mattered most was meeting other UNION'ers and other UNION fan clubs, drinking beer, eating pork chops in bread, and feeling the atmosphere of this great UNION family.

EISERN!