Teens, cancer survivors among growing dragon boat racing community at Mission Bay festival
San Diego nonprofit’s organizer honored with a volunteer lifetime achievement award by city council member
Written by Marco Guajardo, Edited by Kate Morrissey
Hundreds of paddlers and spectators gathered in Mission Bay on Saturday for the annual San Diego Dragon Boat Festival, where teams raced to the steady beat of drums.
The San Diego Alliance for Asian Pacific Islander Americans, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights of Asian Pacific Islander American communities, hosted the 18th annual cultural celebration on May 17 as part of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“It's just a wonderful thing to do to bring together all our communities, different Asian Pacific Islander communities,” said Linda Tu, a former president of the alliance who still helps organize the festival.
In dragon boat racing, teams of paddlers propel long, narrow boats bearing dragon heads and tails. Each boat includes a steerer on the back end of the boat and a drummer on the front end to set the pace for the paddlers.
During Saturday's competition, teams of 10 paddlers raced in heats of four as groups including Korean pungmul musicians, Japanese Taiko drummers and Wushu martial artists performed on the edge of the grass along the bay.
The festival's opening ceremony featured a Chinese lion dance procession in which attendees fed three dancing lions red envelopes with money for good fortune as they roamed around and entertained the crowd.
San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee attended the opening to present a lifetime achievement award to Tu.
Lee acknowledged the over 4,000 hours and 15 years of service that Tu dedicated to organizing the festival and serving the San Diego community.
Tu said that the future is promising for dragon boat racing because its popularity is growing and it is striving to become an Olympic sport.
“Passing on the skills of dragon boating to a younger generation, we now have these teams that they will carry on the traditions, more than 2,000 years of traditions,” Tu said.
The opening continued with the sport’s tradition of an eye dotting ceremony in which Lee used red pigment to dot the eyes of one of the participating boats. The ceremony symbolizes bringing the dragon boats to life, ensuring safety for the paddlers and inviting good fortune for the day, according to Tu.
More than 25 boats competed in the festival in four different divisions — women, youth, a community category for less experienced teams and a mixed category for more experienced teams.
Lead organizer for the event Christophe Chevallier said that the welcoming culture of the dragon boat community drew him into the sport.
“You go to a place you don't know. If you know how to paddle, sign up, and you've got 20 friends right away,” Chevallier said. “And I think you can do that almost everywhere.”
Twin 13-year-old brothers Marcus and Lucas Lei said that a friend recommended that they try paddling with the Courageous Young Dragons team. At first, they found practices too challenging and almost didn’t return, they said. But, a month later, they realized they were drawn to the camaraderie of the group and now enjoy competing with their crew.
“Now, our team and I are good friends,” Marcus, a Pacific Beach Middle School student, said. “We hang out sometimes, and we just have fun. And every time we row, we have a greater bonding experience.”
Besides developing his physical strength, Lucas also began learning leadership skills through his role as a pacer, a paddler at the front of the boat who shouts out the pace for the drummer to follow.
Marcus said that the brothers learned about the meaning of the dragon boats from a Chinese organization near Balboa Park.
“It shows us that we cooperate bravely and freely, and we just know how to communicate with each other better,” Marcus said.
Team Survivor SD, a women’s team of cancer survivors, debuted a temporary name of Suck It Up Buttercup for the festival.
Lori Plutchak, vice president of Team Survivor SD, said since its inception, the team, which placed second in the women’s division at the festival, has included over 100 women, all cancer survivors, from ages 18 to 84.
Many participants learn about the team through referrals from hospitals, oncologists or word of mouth, Plutchak said. In addition to local practices and races, the team plans to attend an international event in France that will bring together more than 3,000 breast cancer survivors.
“It's such a positive for, I think, as much for my body, as my emotions to be out there with other people who get it,” Plutchak said.
The San Diego Dragon Boat Team will host its San Diego International Dragon Boat Race on Sept. 27 and 28 at Tecolote Shores.
Upcoming Events
Dragon Boat Festival: The Hong Konger Club is hosting its Dragon Boat Festival for guests of all ages at the Rancho Bernardo Branch Library. The day will include storytelling in English and Cantonese, lychee-flavored snacks, dragon boat craft-making and rice dumpling decoration. Saturday, May 31, 2-4 p.m., 17110 Bernardo Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92128
