The 2nd annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage and Dragon Boat Festival happens this Sunday at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas. Teams from all over the state, and even a few from Oklahoma, will race dragon boats across White Rock Lake at the festival’s signature event.
Morning Edition host Andrew Garcia and I were curious about the sport and wanted to know more, so we got up bright and early a few Sundays ago and headed to a morning practice with a Dallas dragon boat team to find out more about the sport.
But first, a little history about how dragon boat racing originally started.
According to Cristine Kao, head coach of Dallas United Crew’s dragon boat program, the sport dates back to ancient China more than 2,500 years ago. It’s linked to the tradition of bringing the community together to celebrate the Chinese poet and scholar Qu Yuan. That tradition has evolved into the modern sport of dragon boat racing with numerous clubs and teams participating in international, national and local competitions.
DUC is one such local club whose team, Delite Dragon Boating, is participating in the festival, racing this Sunday, May 18. They let us tag along while they got in a practice at White Rock Lake.
The first thing we noticed, besides the dragon head at the bow of the boat, is that team members face forward in the boat and paddle, instead of facing backwards and rowing, like you’d see on a crew boat.
Another big difference is dragon boats typically hold twice as many people as crew boats: a total of 22 people consisting of 20 paddlers, one drummer up front and one steerperson in the back.
That’s a lot of people to coordinate. Coach Bob Yu explained the importance of staying in sync.
“The most important part for any team is to be able to stay together in rhythm and get that timing together.”
“Whenever our blades move as one through the water, that's how the boat is going to move the fastest towards the finish line,” Yu said. “The moment any one paddler gets out of sync or decides to speed up or slow down on their own, it's to the detriment of the forward speed of the board itself.”
The time finally came to get a closer look at how it all worked. That meant one of us was going to have to get on the boat.
Thankfully, Andrew volunteered. He climbed in with headphones on, microphone in one hand and firmly grasping the port side of the dragon with the other.
I got a perfect view of the action from a small motorboat that followed behind the team.
While balancing as best he could, Andrew talked with Oliver Ho, the boat’s steersman.
Ho broke down how the team manages to all paddle as one. And here’s a hint: It’s not the team member you might think who’s setting the pace.
“It's not the drummer that's setting the pace,” said Ho. “It's actually the first two paddlers that are setting the pace. The drummer is relaying what's going on and calling what's happening at the front, so the rest of the boat knows.”
Coach Yu puts into terms we Texans might be more familiar with.
“This is one of those rare sports where there isn't, say, a quarterback. Everyone has to paddle as one for this boat to be able to cross the finish line first.”
There’s no doubt that dragon boat racing is a great workout, but Yu says there are other benefits to the sport.
“It’s very nice. For one, most of the time folks don't have their phone with them, so they’re unplugged and get time out on the water, with just the team and no one else out there.”
“It's very peaceful, it's a chance for you to kind of focus on not only physical fitness, but also working together as a team,” Yu said.
If you're interested in giving dragon boat racing a try, contact Dallas United Crew online. The group welcomes folks from all fitness levels onto the boat and trains them to work together as a team.
DETAILS: The AAPI Heritage and Dragon Boat Festival is Sunday, May 18 at the Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, Dallas. Racing begins at 8:30 a.m. The festival is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
