Experience Thrills: Dragon Boat Races on Matylda

The thirteenth annual StarColor Cup dragon boat races will take place in Most at the Matylda Reservoir on Saturday, June 7th. While the main races are set for Saturday, you can already catch a glimpse of forty-five boats getting ready during Friday’s practice.

Dragon boat racing draws in a large number of visitors and participants every year. The racing course is relatively short, spanning only 200 meters, and you can register a team of 20 paddlers with any combination of members, including a drummer. This drummer is particularly important because at Matylda, there is an annual contest for the most attractive drummer—believe me, just having a pretty face is not enough to win! Additionally, there is also a competition for the most beautifully decorated dragon vessel, which refers to the crew’s boat. The actual races will begin on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., after the initial heats, the finals will take place, followed by an evening award ceremony.

So, what exactly is a dragon boat? It is an open canoe-shaped vessel that measures 12.5 meters in length and features a dragon head at the front and a tail at the back. The crew can consist of a maximum of 20 paddlers, meaning 10 on each side, plus a drummer located at the front, whose drum beats create the paddling rhythm. There’s also a helmsman positioned at the back, who is responsible for steering the boat and must not be absent.

Who is Lake Matilda named after?

Lake Matylda is comparable to Michal Lake near Sokolov, the recently established Milada near Ústí nad Labem, or the Barbora Reservoir located in Oldřichov near Teplice, as they are all artificial lakes created to restore areas affected by strip mining. This reservoir was formed in 1986 by flooding the old Vrbenský quarry, which was actually called Matilda back in the First Republic era. To honor the former Vrbenský mine, a smaller water body to the north of Matylda has been named after it.

For many years, Matylda has been a popular spot for fishermen, swimmers, and water sports enthusiasts. With an average depth of between 3.5 and 4 meters, it provides pleasantly warm water during the summer months. The surrounding area includes a four-kilometer in-line skating path, as well as a car camping area and facilities for various events, including ample parking space.