The rain did not stop the excitement of the Barcolana Dragon Boat University Challenge, organised by CUS Trieste in collaboration with the University of Trieste, CUS Venezia and the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, with the support of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The third edition of the challenge between dragon boats — boats featuring a dragon’s head and tail — saw all four participating CUS teams take to the water: Bari, Padua, Trieste and Udine. Each crew consisted of eight female rowers and eight male rowers, plus a drummer setting the pace of the strokes.

On the 180-metre race course, laid out between the beginning of the Molo Audace and the breakwater of the Porto Vecchio, the home team, CUS Trieste, took centre stage, dominating the round-robin qualifying stage with three wins from three races. In the final standings, CUS Bari finished second, securing a place in the final thanks to its head-to-head victory over CUS Padua, which finished third in the group. CUS Udine finished fourth without a win.

After a short break, the two finals were held, with the three podium places at stake. In the third-place playoff, CUS Padua defeated CUS Udine to take third place. In the final for first and second place, CUS Trieste left no chance for CUS Bari, taking control of the race from the very first strokes and crossing the finish line with arms raised in celebration ahead of the team from Puglia.

“Seeing so many young people from different universities rowing together is a tangible demonstration of the strength and beauty of university sport,” said Donata Vianelli, Rector of the University of Trieste. “Sport teaches us that no important achievement can be reached alone: it requires trust, listening, commitment and the ability to put our energy at the service of the team. These are values that are also deeply rooted in university life, and this event expresses them particularly effectively. The Barcolana Dragon Boat Challenge is an opportunity for competition, but above all for meeting, friendship and sharing, bringing students and different universities together through a common language.”

“Now in its third edition,” added Michele Pipan, President of CUS Trieste, “the Barcolana Dragon Boat University Challenge has once again proved to be a celebration that our entire university community feels particularly connected to. The participants have the opportunity to experience the uniqueness of the Barcolana from the front row and to bring onto the water the idea of a community without barriers.”

UniTS at the Barcolana Village

Until 11 October, UniTS will be present at the Barcolana Village in Piazza della Borsa with its stand, themed “From the Deep Sea to Space”, which will host a series of free talks covering topics ranging from the depths of the sea to the surface, from the Earth to the atmosphere and into orbit.