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
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
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
With all the Olympic events a few weeks ago, it got me thinking about success and how it is defined. Sure, we talk about gold, silver and bronze medals and the athletes who win them, but is a medal the ultimate symbol of success? Does a gold medal mean that you had more success than the silver medalist? Does simply being on the podium suggest that you are more of a champion? Success in Racing Consider the various regattas your team has entered. At some, there is little to no
Last year, the Kalispell Convention & Visitor’s Bureau had excellent plans for the 6th annual Montana Dragon Boat Festival in Lakeside which was to be held in September. They had carefully prepared everything, even down to every last detail and had an exciting event in store for dragon boaters. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Severe forest fires in the area caused unhealthy air conditions, which forced the organizers to cancel the festival. At the time the decision was made, air quality was categorized as “very unhealthy” by the Montana Department
As adults, we often find it difficult to ask for help or clarification when we don’t understand something. We are reluctant to appear weak or ignorant, and we are frequently intimidated by the very people we should be requesting assistance from. There is something frightening about asking for help from those who are better than us. We tend to put people up on a pedestal and perceive them as more important than ourselves, making it nearly impossible to request any assistance. All too often I have seen paddlers who need
When two online sources of paddling excitement meet, one of two things can happen. 1) They can compete for the same audience; or 2) They can unite and create something really special…together. And for those who know the energy of Paddlechica and Cali Paddler, it will come as no surprise that they chose the latter. Starting in November 2017, you will start to see some awesome authoring from each added to the other’s websites. Exposing more folks to the articles and excitement each website has created for the paddling community.
