[04.22.2007] -- My First Dragonboat Tournament

After a pretty wild night at J-Lounge, I managed to get a whopping 3 hours to sleep off the fun before dragging my carcass out of bed and down to Long Beach for my very first dragonboat torunament. Don't know what dragonboating is? No worries, Wikipedia to the rescue with a somewhat lengthy primer. The short version: 20 paddlers arranged in 2 columns x 10 rows + 1 steering guy + 1 calling guy. Races are relatively short distances of anywhere between 250m - 1000m, and typically don't last more than a few minutes at a time. Timing, power, form, and most importantly teamwork, are all keys to success during races.

Hanging out with some new friends.... yes, you aren't seeing things, that's Tamby #3 on my left.

Some pics of the team waiting their turn. Will's naked. As usual.

I've only been to about 4 practices up to this point, but like most competitive sports, the best part is race day. The intensity. The energy. The desire of everyone around you to push just a little harder. For just a little longer. All these things are highly infectious and its something that you can just feel in the air. I almost want to say its magical, but I think thats probably not the best word to describe the atmosphere. Its difficult to explain... but if you've done it before, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. Sitting on the boat with your teammates and putting it all on the line on race day is certainly the very best part of the whole experience... totally awesome hehe.

Now if only I could con another 4-6 weeks of vacation out of my employer, I'd be set to goto all the touranments :)

Paddling out to the start line for our very first race!

A quick video clip of Black Team destroying everyone else on the 250m