Editorial
Front Page - Friday, August 13, 2010
River City Roundabout
Dragon Boat races
Erica Tuggle
During the blazingly hot summer weekends, Chatta-noogans are looking for ways to stay cool. These sweltering 99-degree days prompt visits to the Coolidge Park fountain that teems with the mini-locals. Using the natural water resources doesn’t seem like a bad idea for all ages, and many utilized the Chickamauga Dam, where water fun was a three-day long major event.
During this fourth annual dragon boat racing day at the TVA Park, many had the right idea of approaching the summer scorcher with a bathing suit and a dip in the lake swimming area that was within a stone’s skip of the finish line for the dragon boat racing heats.
From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. the long narrow boats cut swiftly through the water as group after group on the thin boats competed. The boats themselves were an interesting visual for those who, like I, had never attended this event.
Fitting 20 people on the 10 seats of this long boat looks to be a task. These things look like they could tip over at a mere jostle, but thankfully, I saw no boat tips during the races. These traditional Hong Kong style dragon boats have the face of a traditional Asian dragon figure on the masthead and the tail of the dragon on the rear. This makes sense in consulting the Chinese Zodiac, where dragons are traditionally believed to be the rulers of rivers and seas and dominate the clouds and the rains of heaven. You can sure hear these vessels coming too, as the so-called “heartbeat” of the boat is made loud and clear.
In the front of the boat there is a drummer, the smallest, loudest and most rhythmic person you can find, according to the Chattanooga Dragon Boat racing Web site, in order to keep the beat that the paddlers will follow. This makes the dragon boat racing something for the eyes and ears. When the boat is not in competition, the beat on the drum and the paddles are slow and smooth, but when the race begins, the drum beat is fast, frenzied and the paddles are dipping in and out of the water in time and in a blur. The Chattanooga Dragon Boat Web site agrees that this stroke the paddlers make is unlike any other.
There is also a steerer on the back of the boat who guides the boat with an oar. This makes for 22 on a dragon boat team balancing in this
thin boat.
There were the curious few, like myself, who attended the 2010 Dragon Boat races, but we were far outnumbered by the diehard fans of the sport.
Cheering their boat on from the shore, some brought tents to cover the grass area around the dock, and many were in homemade t-shirts. They were all braving the heat for the thrill seeing their team cross the finish line first. The teamwork, thrills, adrenaline, camaraderie or many other reasons these teams and fans came out, has made this the eighth fastest growing sport and is drawing larger numbers into its ranks with skill shows like this event provided.
According to the Chatta-nooga Dragon Boat Web site, “People are drawn to this sport, to each other in a setting that exemplifies human connectivity on a level comparable to nothing else. People who never thought of themselves as athletes can thrive in a dragon boat. People who are athletes discover a challenging alternative to general sports.”
The diversity of teams was also apparent in this sport. Teams comprised from local businesses, individuals that had banded together and out of state club teams were all there to enjoy the water and to try for a slot in the World Club Crew Championships as well as a piece of a $10,000 purse.
This year,?the U.S. Dragon Boat Festival Club Crew National Championships were held in conjunction with the Chattanooga Dragon Boat Festival. The next stop for the winning teams will be the 2012 International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships held in Hong Kong.
The event included shoreline support in raising funds for T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital Foundation, with music acts, other entertainment and a variety of food.
Last year, paddlers raised more than $93,000 in pledges for the T.C. Thompson’s Children’s Hospital Foundation and the company that hosts the Chattanooga Dragon Boat festival, Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC, netted nearly $200,000 for charity.
This year’s event appeared to be an equal success, and for the fifth anniversary of the dragon boat festival, there are sure to be several returning and new teams braving the heat
and paddling their vessels to-ward hometown and international glory.
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