All posts by

Kristin Stickels

Dragon boating is a bit like a a cult. A good one, but nonetheless it is cult-like. And because of that, there are some truths that just aren’t spoken about enough. When I was brand-new to the sport, I wish someone had told me all of this. Not that it all would have sunk in at the time, but at least I would have been forewarned about this crazy, wonderful, painful, exhilarating, addictive sport of ours. 1. Your butt will never be the same. Ever. Face it, from your first

I recently read a nutrition blog post where the author answered a series of questions about her nutrition and wellness routine. It inspired me to think about my own answers to the same type of questions relating to my own fitness and workout routine, so I thought I’d share them with you. 1. What’s your favorite workout? Outside of paddling? Well, I’m a water-lover by nature, so I love to swim. Not only is it a whole-body workout, it’s also great cardio AND it correlates well with our sport. I

I thought about making a video of this for you, but I can’t carry a tune even if it were placed in a bucket with a superbly sturdy handle. So I decided to spare you all the horrors of my voice and simply post my paddler version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Happy Holidays to everyone. I wish you peace, health and happiness. This is inspired by and warmly dedicated to my coach, Chris Edwards. You know how the song goes, so I’ve skipped to the last part…sing along

It’s that time of year again (doesn’t it seem like this year went by WAY too fast?!?!). So right about now your friends and family are asking you what you’d like as a gift for the holiday season. Instead of getting some awful sweater from your Great Aunt Mildred or a bunch of other useless items, why not get something that every paddler would love? Pass this holiday shopping guide on to your gift-giving people and hopefully you will be the recipient of some gifts that every paddler can appreciate.

Winter training just started for my team and, I have to admit, I felt like I had lost my “mojo”. While I love my team and I love paddling, somehow having a break during the month of October didn’t seem like enough this year. Sure, I went to the gym and rowed on the erg during our time off, but I seemed to be missing some of that sparkly enthusiasm I’d had in years past. Knowing that I had lost a bit of my passion, I decided to find some

Let’s talk about confidence. I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately and so I decided to look into the relationship between confidence and performance. Why? Because I am frequently doubting my own abilities and I am always intrigued by other paddlers I see who seem to be incredibly confident. I really began to wonder not only how this affected my abilities, but also how I could get some of that self-assuredness. I truly hesitated publishing this post. In fact, I’ve been stewing on it for over a month. Examining

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about what makes a good team leader. This thinking led to a lot of research and quite a bit of reflection. I thought about good leaders I’ve known on teams that I’ve been on and I thought about what a good leader looks like. A few commonalities began to emerge. Leadership roles within the team seem to naturally develop. Some people gravitate towards doing the organizational tasks of the team, while others tend towards more of the planning aspect. Some drift towards

Our sport is based on teamwork. No one can do it alone. And that is why I’m asking for your help. If you’ve ever read one of my posts and enjoyed what you read, or even shared it with your team, please consider showing your appreciation by donating $1 to my Make A Champ campaign. Your support and teamwork can help me get to Hungary to compete at the Club Crew World Championships. Honestly, no donation is too small. I realize that the idea of donating one single dollar can

Summer is here (for those of us in the northern hemisphere), and that means it’s time to stock up on the very latest in dragon boat summer essentials. Here is a short list of my favorite items, as well as some great suggestions for traveling, as many of us are heading out soon to race internationally. Paddle Jewelry I was recently approached by Strokeside Designs who shared their beautiful jewelry with me. From the moment I received my heart necklace and earrings, I was in love. The company began with a

Many of us will be heading abroad to race this summer, either to the Club Crew World Championships in Hungary, or the IBCPC in Italy. Whether this is your first international race or not, hopefully you will find these tips helpful as you head off on your travels soon. Best of luck to all teams competing this summer and I hope to see some of you in Hungary! The main framework of this list was originally generated by Jim Farintosh and shared with the paddlers at his Bow Wave Clinic

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