It is said that sport is a great leveler, and for a few hours on a late summer evening in Hamburg titles, status and age mattered little as KLU students, staff and lecturers took to the water for the maiden voyage of the university’s brand new dragon boat ONE FOR ALL.
Having been christened by Associate Professor of Supply Chain and Operations, Sandra Transchel, ONE FOR ALL, which was donated to the university by the Pollmann Stiftung, a foundation promoting water sports in Hamburg, was launched onto the handsome Isebek canal to a mighty cheer from KLU staff and students on Tuesday evening.
“The dragon boat is named ONE FOR ALL, because it is a boat for everybody,” said KLU president Professor Thomas Strothotte from the dock at the boat’s new home, the Hochschulsport Hamburg Ruderbootshaus Isekai in the central city suburb of Eppendorf. “With this boat, our very international student body has the possibility to network not only with other students, but also with staff and professors, to paddle on some of the most beautiful inner-city waters in the world, expand their sense of team spirit, respect and fair play, and make friends.”
Out on the water, the 12-metre-long ONE FOR ALL was put through its paces by crews of 20 with the help of members of the Hochschulsport Hamburg dragon boat team and cheered on by KLU staff and students from the banks of the canal.
“It was amazing,” said student Tinatin Kikalishvili (MScGL) over drinks and snacks on the dock of the Hochschulsport afterwards. “We got shown how to paddle the boat by paddlers from the Hochschulsport Hamburg before we went out on the water and then they helped us on the boat as well. We had two crews of students, university and professors and we had a little race against the other crew in another dragon boat. We really had a lot of fun together.”
Given the success of the event, the university plans to hold another practice day open to all its staff and students in the near future.
