Felicia

Arizona sunshine makes for a nice weekend of dragon boat races.  You’ve got teams from all around (even Taiwan), and good competition to get the season going.         

From my perspective things were awesome. A little more sleep would have helped, but that is beside the point. The goal here is to take a look at the Arizona race from my point of view.

For the second time, BAD went to Phoenix for Dragon Boat spring training.   We were the only Bay area team but there were a lot of crews from Southern California, 3 from Canada, and lots of local crews.  The usual SoCal teams were strong.  DPW is a lot stronger than last year. 

Our host team, the Gila Dragons, was a LOT stronger than last year.  They placed in all 3 divisions.  Wow!!   They were also excellent hosts and run a fine BBQ. 

BAD placed second overall to San Diego in the  Div A Mixed.  We also had a crew place 3rd in Div B Mixed.  Medals for everyone!!!  

Another great road trip with lots of paddling, eating, and hot sun.  Most races were 500M but they also had 250M and 1000M.

 Highly recommended.  Next race is Redwood Shores - May 12. 

Photos by Justin Lien

John

Dominic Shew

 

By John Herrera - "Long & Strong Column"

FOSTER CITY - Last Saturday 40 members of BAD attended a paddling clinic from a world class dragon boat extraordinaire Dominic Shew.  Excitement was in the air as BAD's members gathered in anxious anticipation of receiving some one on one tutoring from their new mentor.  By the time the clinic was over, BAD members didn't really receive any one on one mentoring, but instead learned a few new drills, one "crazy start," and the importance of timing.  Yes, all this was acquired in a clinic that clocked in at a whopping six and a half hours.

"I'm glad I brought my ass pad," exclaimed a very exhausted Ed Iovino once the grueling day had come to an end.  The importance of the butt pad did not go unnoticed after an entire day's worth of paddling with a new stroke that emphasized the importance of hip movement which forces one's rear end to slide back and forth on the seat.  "You're definitely going to have a lot of movement on the seat if you're doing the stroke correctly," explained Shew when South African born BAD member Marco Gabbiani asked Shew about how much one's butt should slide on the seat.  "In fact, sometimes your butt will even lift out of the seat," Shew further explained.  This was not good news for those of us who blister very easily where the sun doesn't shine; however, the news was welcomed with great enthusiasm by IKEA, who reported a 200% increase in sales of butt pads in the two hours following the clinic.