Corporate Bits | Sands holds benediction ceremonies for its dragon boat teams

With Macau’s annual dragon boat races coming up in June, Sands China Ltd held benediction ceremonies for its dragon boat teams yesterday at Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre.
Four teams from Sands China will compete in this year’s races – one team in each of the categories of male standard dragon boat, male small dragon boat, female standard dragon boat, and female small dragon boat.
According to a press release issued by Sands China, the event brings its team members together in a “spirit of camaraderie and friendly competition.”
The ceremony also featured a dotting of the eyes of the dragon boats – a gesture made to symbolically awaken the spirit of the boats. Distinguished guests also presented red packets to the dragon boat team members for good luck in the upcoming races, which begin June 4 at Nam Van Lake.

mgm organizes a blessing ceremony for participants

MGM China Holdings held a  blessing ceremony for its dragon boat team this week at Nam Van Lake Nautical Center. The ceremony, led by a team of senior executives, extended best wishes to the company’s representatives who will take part in the Macau International Dragon Boat Races 2016 on June 4, 5 and 9.
Consisting of more than 95 percent of local Macau employees from both gaming and non-gaming departments, the dragon boat team will be split up into two sub-teams and will compete across four categories.
At the ceremony, senior executives performed traditional rituals, such as offering incense, carving a suckling pig and eye-dotting the dragon boats. This was followed by the launch of confetti canons to signify good-luck to the team, shortly before they began their practice session yesterday.
Additionally, an MGM dragon boat cheerleading squad was there to support the paddlers, providing a performance to onlookers.
“MGM has always encouraged [its members] to participate in various kinds of cultural, sports and community activities,” said Wendy Yu, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at MGM China. “It is through these experiences that we can build team-spirit, while strengthening the mind and body. We would like to thank the dragon boat team-members for their effort and contribution to the races, and we look forward to reaching new heights together.”
The team has dedicated their spare time to intensive training over the past 12 months. The team is striving to better their achievement at last year’s event, when they won the First Runner-Up prize in the female category for the 500-meters Macau Standard Dragon Boat Race.