Think back to your first day on the dragon boat. Chances are, you were given a paddle, a life vest, and a whole boatload of directions. Do you remember much of what was said to you? Probably not. If you were anything like me, your whole focus was on NOT clanking paddles with the people around you. It’s a wonder I even came back for more. Forget about technique. Just getting my timing down was a bonus. How can you help a new paddler through those times when the pain and desperation of paddling make a person want to
Face it, being an active part of a dragon boat team requires a certain amount of commitment. Practices, gym time, races, committees, recruiting, fund raising. All of these things take time out of our regular lives. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love the sport so much. But at what point did you take vows to love, honor and cherish your team? We might not remember exactly when we got married to our team, but for the love of the sport most of us have said “I do” at one point or
Looking to improve your paddling skills this season? Here is a list of the top ten things that successful paddlers do on a regular basis which make them so outstanding. 1) Set goals Successful paddlers have a path of progress in mind. They set goals in order to determine the best route to achieving those objectives. Goals can be performance- or habit-based. Examples of performance-based goals might be aiming to make your team’s mixed boat, or shaving two seconds off your time trial. Examples of habit-based goals might be going
As many of us know, dragon boat paddling is an amazing sport. If you have been lucky enough to see a Breast Cancer Survivors’ team, you know how impressive the paddlers are. In 2014, I had the opportunity to volunteer for four days at the IBCPC International Breast Cancer Festival in Sarasota, Florida. I met teams from all over the world as I worked on the docks helping load and unload the boats. I even got to steer a practice for an Italian team. The next IBCPC international event will be
A Few of My Favorite Things If your family exchanges gifts for the holidays, your loved ones may be struggling with finding great paddling-oriented gifts. With the help of some paddling friends, I compiled a list of favorite gifts for dragon boaters. Hint: share this list with your family so they know exactly what you’d like this season. Happy Holidays! 1) A lightweight, carbon fiber paddle with tons of designs to choose from, Hornet Paddle designs are printed directly on the carbon fiber and you can even create your own design! 2) The Dragon Saddle is not
As it is Thanksgiving in the United States, I can’t help but think about all the reasons I’m thankful for dragon boating. Like most people, when I first picked up a paddle years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had never paddled anything more than a kayak, bodyboard or surfboard. I had never even heard of dragon boating before! I thought to myself, “People do this for FUN?!?” I still tell newbies the story of how on my first day of practice we paddled
A new dragon boat paddler doesn’t get many weeks in a boat until they’re asked, “But, have you ever tried outrigger?” An astute new paddler will note that dragon boating is but one fast, sprinty, splashy, corner of a very large and comprehensive paddling universe. Becoming a part of the broader universe of single-bladed paddling should be a goal of any dedicated dragon boat paddler. For many people, dragon boating is like a “gateway drug” to the paddling universe. Tweet it! A new paddler is likely to wonder, “What do I gain
Whether you are a “mouth breather,” a “heavy breather,” or a “silent breather,” the truth of the matter is: EVERYONE HAS TO BREATHE! But the question often is, “When do I breathe while I’m paddling?” Newer paddlers are often so focused on all the other complicated components of paddling that they completely neglect the importance of breathing. Yes, timing is crucial on a dragon boat, but so is oxygen intake! Breathing is the body’s way of bringing oxygen to the cells. You aren’t much use to anyone on the boat if you
We’ve all got teammates who aren’t even close to being on our list of “cool people we want to hang out with.” Some drive us crazy, some we can’t stand, and some we just wish would quit the team. What do you do about these teammates? I’m sure you are wishing that I would say to kick them out of the club, right? Sorry. You aren’t going to hear that. A team, like a family, involves all kinds of members with various personalities. And as much as these people might drive
If your team has recently become competitive, you are likely still working to grow and expand. On a relatively small team the pool of paddlers is not very deep and therefore can make it difficult to properly fill a race boat. Smaller teams are often faced with a dilemma. Should they use the top 20-22 paddlers available from the team, no matter what their ability? Or should they set the bar to ensure that paddlers on the race boat will have a certain amount of paddling proficiency? Which is best for your team?
