The Paddlefish had the third race of the season in Washington DC on August 23, 2014.
The Capital Dragon Boat Regatta was, at the last minute, renamed from National Harbor and changed to a different venue. This was done for financial reasons. The team was really looking forward to the overall wonderfulness of National Harbor. But we gave the new venue a chance. The water for paddling was fine. Loading the boats OK. The athletes village was dismal and, because of the marina between the supporters and race course, the only option for viewing was on a 17 ft jumbotron. We were also graced with a deluge and squeezing 22 people under a 10×10 canopy did not work. Look at the pictures and you will see many paddlers out there in the elements.
The team was prepared and performed really well given our boat configuration. With our age and male:female ratio, no amount of training will prepare us to match, stroke for stroke, the power of some of the competition. It was first class. The Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association, DCDBC Dead Presidents, Penn Dragons, Charlotte Fury………… but we held our own, stayed with the pack, and had very good times!
Charlotte Fury complimented us on the challenging them and paddling well! That was the race where we were neck and neck until they just had a little bigger surge at the end. Charlotte Fury was one of the top four teams at this race. That was a big compliment and THIS IS WHAT KEEPS US GOING! That surprise that we never fail to elicit from the other racers. We are totally stoked and proud to be part of this great team!!!!!
Sure, we have techniques to work on……we always will have those and this is not different from other teams. If dragon boating was easy, we would not all be coming back for more, watching videos, going to camp, taking videos, vigilantly getting to practice……..