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By Destiny Vaughn
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Mar. 25, 2009 |
With each stroke of the paddle, members of the Dragonboat team
push themselves to far limits, leaning and rotating into the pulling of
their paddles to reach the finish line faster than the other teams.
Tiring out on fellow team members is not allowed.
With each stroke of the paddle, members of the Dragonboat team push themselves to far limits, leaning and rotating into the pulling of their paddles to reach the finish line faster than the other teams. Tiring out on fellow team members is not allowed.
Dragonboat is defined as a team sport that encompasses the elements of power, speed, synchronization and endurance, all of which takes place on the foggy waters of Lake Merced.
The synchronization comes from the steerer who controls the oar in the back of the boat, a drummer who is responsible for keeping timing precise, and the paddling of the 20 members on each boat. The team has four different boats that compete in different divisions. The A Division boat is called the Cardinal Crewzers, the B Division boat is called Red Tide, the C Division boat is called Big Red C, and the D Division boat is called Fai D. The names of the boats remain the same each year and were decided by the team in previous years.
Dragonboat boasts an impressive team with a total of nearly 100 members from all grades, which is an all time record high in its 10-year run. Yet the team has faced a partial decline in their winning streak since the 2005 season. In the past, the boaters had dominated the water with half of their boats receiving gold medals and very few placing silver.
At the Oct. 4 Kaiser Permanente San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival at Treasure Island, the team received a gold medal, two silvers, a bronze and their A Division boat, the Cardinal Crewzers, came in fourth in the championships.
Most schools would normally consider this standing great, but Lowell strives to continuously be at the top of their game. “The poor performance at Treasure Island led to a realization and refocus of energy and resurgence in drive to stay motivated and work hard,” senior paddler Bryan Wong said. “It acted as a wake up call.”
This is the first year that coach Brian Danforth and members of the team have implemented intense conditioning sessions to strengthen the overall fitness of the team. Previously, the team only had water practices three times a week after school at Lake Merced with occasional conditioning sessions on Monday afternoons. In February, the team agreed as a whole to add two more conditioning sessions during the week.
“The conditioning sessions were added because of the tough competition,” senior paddler Richard Luu said. With the new hard work ethic, the team hopes to return to its glory days.
Go support Lowell’s Dragonboat team and their return to greatness at 8 a.m. at the California Dragon Boat Association Youth Race on April 18 at Lake Merced.
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