The 32nd Manza Haarii Festival is scheduled to take place on July 5th at ANA Intercontinental Manza Beach Resort in Seragaki, Onna Village. The registration for participating teams of the Haarii, or Dragon Boat Race, will start on Jun. 1st.

The Manza Haarii used to have two separate races; the Challenge Race for teams from the general public and the Champion Race for local champion teams that were invited. However, this year the organizers have combined these two races into one ‘Manza Haarii Race’.

Any team can participate in Manza Beach Challenge Race.

A spokesman for the organizers explains, “This change will make it easier for the general public to participate in the race.” They are inviting as many people as possible to sign on.

There are many Haarii races and festivals every year throughout Okinawa, but the Manza Haarii is the only race to compete for the winner’s flag of the Prefectural Government. Lots of local people and tourists attend the races every year.

The registration starts at 13:00. Applicants need to send the registration form by fax to the festival office at 098-863-1849. The registration form (in Japanese) can be downloaded from http://www.anaintercontinental-manza.jp/information/pdf/hf2015entry.pdf. The registration fee is ¥3,000 per participant (11-member team is ¥33,000). The number of teams is limited to 84, and the registration will finish as soon as the applications reach the limit.

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