by Tina Woo
Paddlers! Drummers! ARE YOU READY? Attention, please. Air Horn, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Up, Up, Up , 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Up, Up, Up. READY AND REACH, REACH, REACH. This is a very typical race start chant to get the dragon boat from a stationary position and out of the water to a race pace. This is followed by a POWER 10, NOW! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, READY and REACH, REACH, which helps paddlers to focus and synchronize their strokes. And, finally, FINISH IT NOW, when paddlers “dump” everything we have into every stroke in time.
Live, Love, Survive is a dragon boat team founded in 2005 by Jenn Eng and is comprised of those who have been touched by cancer (survivor, caregiver, family member). We participated in the 23rd Northern California International Dragon Boat Festival held on September 15-16 at Lake Merritt in Oakland. This is the largest competitive dragon boat festival in the United States. The event was hosted by the California Dragon Boat Association and sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. The race included over 120 teams locally, out of state and international teams (one from Germany). The championship included novice, rec and competitive races for middle school, high school, college, corporate, mixed men and women adult, masters teams, and super masters who came together to participate in this annual event.
Origins of Dragon Boating
Dragon boat racing is one of the earliest known forms of boat racing and is celebrated at festivals and races worldwide. The roots of dragon boat racing go back 2000 years. Legend has it Qu Yuan, a scholar and advisor to the emperor of the Chu Kingdom jumped into the Mei Lo River to protest against government corruption. Local fisherman raced out in their boats to save him by beating drums and pounding their paddles on the water. They also threw rice dumplings (aka “joong”) into the river to distract water dragons from eating Qu Yuan.
Boats and Races
A dragon boat is a large, canoe-like craft made of wood and fiberglass that is colorfully painted and decorated with a dragon’s head on the front of the boat and a tail on the back. These boats hold an average of 20 paddlers seated two per row. A drummer and steersperson accompany the paddlers along the course. The average race course is 500 meters and usually takes anywhere from 2-2-1/2 minutes.
It’s easy to see why dragon boat racing is one of the fastest growing sports. It’s an impressive sight to see an elaborately adorned dragon boat surging towards the finish line with its engine of 20 paddlers pulling hard in unison. Combine the competition and excitement of the races and you have a great event for participants and spectators of all ages. It’s a great way to celebrate community.
Dragon boat paddling is a wonderful off-season ski activity. It builds cardio-endurance, strength in the “core”, lower back, legs, shoulders and arms. Are you interested in learning more about dragon boating? There are numerous meet ups which meet Saturdays mornings in Foster City and the Berkeley Marina. Please contact me if you’d like to try dragon boat paddling.
In the meantime, PADDLES UP!
