Dragon boat racers make waves at Tempe Town Lake annual fest
Leslie Philp
The Arizona Dragon Boat Festival housed a number of in-state and out-of-state teams on March 28-29, including college teams such as Mesa’s very own MCC Thunderdragons whom won 1st place in their division.The San Diego Dragon Boat team, traveling from out of state to compete in the event held at Tempe Town Lake Marina, came in 2nd in their division.
“You have to belong to a club. The clubs bring their members, turn in a roster and then they keep track of who’s racing and what each division is doing,” said San Diego Dragon Boat team member Elizabeth Toro on how the team travels.
“We have 22 paddlers, a drummer, and a steer’s person and we also bring alternates.”
Toro also said there are a number of races for each team to compete in such as the 200 meter, 500 meter, 1,000 meter and 2,000 meter race which each should take two minutes to complete for each team.
“I am the coach of the woman riders team and I’m the captain of the Arizona Dragon Riders team. I also coach for the Mesa Community College team,” said Lana Walther of her position on each team.
“This is (a) wonderful sport, team sport. Nobody’s VIP in the boat. We all have to paddle at the same time, be in sync with each other and the team spirit has to be strong (because) this sport is a lot more than just muscle.”
Not only does Walther feel that dragon boat racing is a team sport, but people can get a whole body workout.
“(People) can come out and try our clubs a couple times, and if they like it they can join us. You need to get in the boat first to see if this is the thing for you,” Walther said.
Vendors for the event included Fuse, Thai and Thai BBQ, Chinese Cuisine, Paradise Hawaiian Barbeque, Old Fashioned Lemonade, and boutiques to sell gear and clothing to racers and the crowd. Southwest Airlines also offered the chance to win 2 roundtrip tickets to any location desired.
Julie Keith, a first-time dragon boat racer, is involved in three different races for the SRP corporate team, the Arizona Dragon Riders team and the Divas Dragon Riders, the women’s team for the Arizona Dragon Riders.
” I think for me (the most difficult) is the timing and learning to twist my body in a way that I’m not used to . and just getting down the timing with all of the other paddlers,” Keith said of the practice sessions leading up to the festival.
