Feature

Story and photography by Maria Malandrakis

When I got off the airplane at Toronto’s Lester B Pearson International Airport to head for the Kiwanis Dragon Boat Festival in Waterloo, two things hit me:

• It’s been years since I’ve actually written an article.
• I don’t know anything about dragon boat racing.

And, as I learned, that’s pretty much how what the Kiwanis Club of Elmira, Ontario, knew when it began its first dragon boat race nine years ago.

In the mid-90s, dragon boat racing was just beginning to become popular in Canada, and the club seized on the trend, thinking it might be a good fundraiser. But like me, the members really didn’t know much about the sport, let alone hosting it as a moneymaker.

So, in the name of research, Kiwanians Bill LaRose and Dave Huck visited a dragon boat race staged by neighboring Rotarians, who trained the pair as steerpersons. With such basic skills and knowledge, their own club’s festival began to take shape.

Just like Bill and Dave, why don’t we begin by learning the basics as well? For example, just what is a dragon boat?

According to Wikipedia.com: “A dragon boat is a very long and narrow human-powered boat used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing which originated in China.”

Well that explains it ... not really.

Here’s what I found out in Waterloo: A dragon boat is indeed very long and narrow, and it is human-powered, but it also is fitted with fierce-looking dragon heads at the bow and ornate tails at the stern. Despite its Chinese origins, races are conducted worldwide.

The Elmira Dragon Boat Festival sets up a 500-meter course on a man-made lake at the Laurel Creek Conservation Area. Teams are categorized by skill level, and most heats consist of five boats vying to win the race for the chance to move to the next round.

A team of 22 to 25 people form a crew. Twenty or so paddlers (guess what they do?) sit two-by-two and propel their craft to the finish line. A drummer sets the rowers’ pace, and a steersperson at the stern keeps the 5,000-pound boat on its path to the finish line.

Teams are coed. Yes, coed. To compete, teams must have at least eight women.

The competition is a diverse representation of the Elmira/Waterloo communities. Team HMS Hawksville, for example, is a group of Mennonite farmers and carpenters. Two teams—Paddles in Motion and Royal Aquatics Waterloo—are composed of Research in Motion employees (inventors of the Blackberry) who just want to have fun and give back to their community. Another team, Normie’s Spirit, formed to honor a father and his country.

In fact, team diversity is part of what makes this event so successful.

“Dragon boat racing is a great equalizer,” says Bill. “There are crew members and people at our event who make a lot of money. But you wouldn’t know it. It’s about the race, fun, and the community.”

And that’s what this event is all about: supporting the community. The Kiwanis club gave the Grand River Hospital’s Child Services Program CAD$25,000 of the $32,000 raised during this past year’s dragon boat festival. The Kiwanians’ profits also support the Elmira Recreation Center, which offers a year-round pool and hockey arena.

Festival profits mainly come from the racers. Each team pays an $850 registration fee and seeks sponsorships and pledges. All of the money goes to the Kiwanians, unless a team raises more than $2,500 and qualifies for a registration refund.

Normie’s Spirit has been the club’s highest fundraising team, pledging more than $8,000 annually. This past year, though, the team surpassed the $2,500 mark but still donated the refunded $850 registration fee back to the club.

In addition, vendors pay $30 for booth space to hawk their wares and add to the day’s festivities.

Are you ready to row?

Contestants check heat assignments.

Beginners learn dragon boat rowing techniques.

If a dragon boat race sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is. But with 40 dedicated Kiwanians, about 100 volunteers, and months of planning, the race goes off with few hitches.

“In the beginning we didn’t really know what we were doing,” Bill admits. “But as the event has progressed, we (Kiwanians) found our rhythm.”

You might call Bill the drummer for the event. He sets the pace, keeping everyone on task and moving toward the common goal of putting on an engaging, safe, and fun event for the city.

And a fun event it is. The day is—as its name implies—a festival. Native Chinese dancers perform the “Lion Dance” ceremony to start off the day’s events. Area artisans and other organizations set up booths and food concession stands. Between races, patrons visit booths to purchase everything from Tupperware to dragon boat paddles to you-name-it. Though the Kiwanians hosted a food booth in the festival’s early days, they found they were spread too thin on duties; so, they’ve handed off food duties and their profits to the Lions club.

“Since the Lions club does good work in our community as well, we do not charge them a booth fee,” Bill notes. “It is reported that they net about $3,000 for the day.”

Still, the race itself is the festival’s central focus. This past year’s competition consisted of 58 teams, and the Kiwanians estimate 70 teams for the upcoming race year.

Though the race continues to cater to teams sponsored by local businesses, organizations, and colleges, it has gained respect with dragon boat teams across Canada and now also pulls advanced teams from Toronto and other towns. Teams see the Kiwanis event as a way to gear up for the rest of the dragon boat-racing season. Make no mistake: The competition is fierce.

Several teams return every year, forming solely for this event. Other groups take the skills they learned in Waterloo and apply them to other races in Canada.

Team Ruckus, for example, formed as a college team nine years ago and was trained by the Elmira Kiwanians. The team has stayed together and has grown right along with the festival. No longer eligible for the college and university division, Team Ruckus now enters gold-division races. This past year, it claimed its first title as grand champion of the Elmira Kiwanis Dragon Boat Festival. The win was a popular upset over some of the more highly trained Toronto teams.

That’s another thing you should know about this event: You don’t need to know how to work a dragon boat to enter this rain-or-shine competition. All you need is enthusiasm and willing teammates. The Elmira Kiwanians will teach you everything you need to know. They’ll even provide you with a steerperson for practice and competition.

“Teams without a steersperson receive two free on-water dragon boat training sessions, plus a qualified steersperson for three races,” Bill says. “Teams that have their own qualified steersperson receive a $100 discount on their registration fee.”

The Kiwanians make sure everyone can race. The final “race” of the day is a true community event. Anyone can pay $5 and get on a boat. The Kiwanians give a short lesson, and off you go with fellow first-timers.

That’s what I did—just as the Kiwanis Club of Elmira did nine years ago when it set out to learn about dragon boat racing. I observed the crews during my three-day stay in Ontario. I listened to the instructions. I joined a team. Though I was soaked by my teammates’ splashing oars—we didn’t quite get that rhythm thing down before we started—we lost, I absolutely had the best time.

Like the crews and patrons who visit the festival year after year, I’d do it again.

Maria Malandrakis is the art director for KIWANIS magazine.