2,000 years of tradition

DRAGON BOATS: 24 teams take part in festival at Saint Martin’s University

VENICE BUHAIN; The Olympian | • Published April 27, 2009

OLYMPIA – Dragons skimmed Capitol Lake on Sunday as participants gathered for Saint Martin’s University’s fourth annual Dragon Boat Festival.

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Many were there to support or participate in the 24 dragon boat teams. Some of the teams were competitive squads from Tacoma and Portland; others were organized by local governments, nonprofit organizations and businesses.

Dragon boat racing originated in China 2,000 years ago. Today, it is a competitive sport worldwide.

The key to winning a dragon boat race is not necessarily having the strongest paddlers, but having 20 paddlers who can synchronize to the beat of the on-board drummer, said Josephine Yung, Saint Martin’s University’s associate vice president of international programs and development. Boats also have one person on board who steers.

The Saint Martin’s festival is friendly competition, and many paddlers were newcomers. The Washington Dragon Boat Association trained the local teams on how to paddle the shallow boats and time their strokes.

Kelly Chang, a South Puget Sound Community College international student from Taiwan, said with a laugh that before Sunday she had never paddled a dragon boat before going to school in Olympia.

“The funny part is, it is traditional in my culture, but this is my first time,” she said.

On the General Administration team, Ron Major, the Capitol Campus resource-conservation manager, said that although many on the team were experienced with kayaks and canoes, dragon boats require a different type of paddle stroke.

“It’s a good team-building exercise,” he said. He added that some paddlers were friends and family of the General Administration employees. “We want to make it a family affair.”

Lisa Hall, parking services supervisor with the city of Olympia, said one benefit was meeting city department employees she didn’t know.

“My department is kind of on the outskirts,” she said.

The Intercity Transit team was involved in a mishap when its boat capsized during the preliminary heat. The Port of Olympia rescue boat, which was standing by, plucked most of the team members from the water. A few team members and the nearby Saint Martin’s team bailed water from the boat.

Team captain Dave Finnell, Intercity Transit training coordinator, said that there were no injuries, but the water of Capitol Lake was cold.

“When we hit the water, it was so cold I could barely breathe,” he said. “This is our third year, and we’ve never had this happen.”

Yung, of Saint Martin’s, earlier this year credited the students with saving this year’s festival by raising nearly all of the $30,000 required for organizing the festival. The festival had been in jeopardy because many major business sponsors were unable to contribute at past year’s levels, she said.

Venice Buhain is the education reporter at The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5445 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Top three

Division I: competitive teams

Division II

For a gallery of photos from Sunday’s Dragon Boat Festival, go to www.theolympian.com/localgalleries.