This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Dragons In The Lagoon

Dragon boaters flock to practice their sport in Foster City.

As a child in Foster City, I was always a little afraid of the lagoon. My friends and I would peer cautiously over the boardwalk in Leo J. Ryan Park at the abnormally turquoise waters and wonder how anyone would dare step foot in it.

I was forced to put those childhood fears to rest when I went to interview the Bay Area Dragon Boat team. I couldn't resist asking how they could tolerate such disturbing shades of blue (or green) and received an unexpected answer:

"Actually, the lagoon is very clean," quipped Dragon Boat member Justin Lien, "They put a lot of disinfectants and antibacterial chemicals in it."

Find out what's happening in Foster Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For those that are unfamiliar with Dragon Boating, a Dragon Boat is a long and narrow canoe powered by paddlers. The boat is usually headed by a leader who keeps the paddlers in sync with a beating drum. It is a racing sport that originated in China some 2,000 years ago and is still practiced in many parts of the world today.

Watching the team stretch and warm up as they got ready to board, I remembered my own little stint with Dragon Boating during my freshmen year of high school. I'd only joined it out of respect for the Asian Club and realized that I'd signed up for a little more than I bargained for.

Find out what's happening in Foster Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For somebody with the upper body strength of a kangaroo, I was not ready to Dragon Boat. The motions were strenuous; the sun, scalding. And all the while squinting and trying to avoid direct eye contact with the blinding reflection of sun on water.

Though the sport might not be for me, the Bay Area Dragon Boat—or "BAD", for short— members enjoy both the ups and downs of Dragon Boating.

BAD was started in 1996 by founder Alvin Wang when he moved to the Peninsula from Canada. Wang had been a Dragon Boat member while living in Canada and upon relocating, discovered that he'd missed the sport so much that he quickly started his own team.

Years later, his love for the sport has inspired people from all over the Bay Area to paddle in unison. Some travel from as far as Livermore to come to practice in Foster City three-four times a week. Others coming from San Francisco, San Jose and the East Bay are all as committed.  

BAD's intensive training during the year pays off between the months of May and September when they partake in monthly competitions. When asked how far they've traveled for a race, BAD veteran Sidney Tao replied, "The most recent one was the International World Championship 2008 in Malaysia. But we went to Rome [Italy] in 2002, and also to Hanover, Germany."

Free practices are offered every Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. by the water at the dog park. But if you happen to find that a once-a-week fix is simply not enough, the membership fee to officially join the team is very affordable.

"BAD welcomes people of all paddling abilities," says founder Alvin Wang, "We have members from [ages] 15 to over 60. The only thing we look for is an enjoyment of paddling."

For more information on the San Francisco Bay Area Dragons, you can check out their website at http://www.bayareadragons.org/ Email them at info@bayareadragons.org or call 650-918-6881.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?