The Annapolis Dragon Boat Club’s mixed and breast cancer survivor teams at the Washington DC Dragon Boat Festival in May 2023
One festival, two teams, four medals
The Annapolis Dragon Boat Club brought two teams — a breast cancer survivor (BCS) team and a mixed team — to the 20th annual Washington DC Dragon Boat Festival on May 20, 2023. We joined nearly 40 other teams who registered for this event, including youth, mixed, community, and women’s teams.
While we had previously participated in the DC festival, it had been over five years for the BCS team, and it was the first time in the Club’s history that we registered a mixed team.
By the day’s end, we had won three gold medals and one silver medal.
200-meter time trials
<p”>The mixed team, with eight men and 12 women, went first for a 200-meter time trial. They posted a very nice time of 58.75 seconds for their first-ever race. The BCS team was in the final time trial of the morning. They battled some difficult course conditions and posted a time of 1:14 for their time trial. The day’s events moved quickly in the morning despite another team’s capsized boat as midday approached.
200-meter finals
We received two gold medals in the 200-meter finals! The BCS team’s 200-meter final pitted the Club against the GoPink!DC, a longstanding local rival, in a 200-meter showdown. We edged out GoPink!DC by 7/10ths of a second and the third team, The Rockets, by 12 seconds to win the 200-meter gold medal — with a blistering time of 1 minute and 1.4 seconds. The mixed team had a decisive victory in the 200-meter A Major final with a time of 57.6 seconds and the gold medal. The team edged out a youth school and corporate community teams by 0.7 and 2.6 seconds, respectively.
500-meter time trials
After a short lunch break, we competed in the 500-meter time trials in the afternoon session. The BCS team went first against the GoPink!DC and the Rockets women’s team again. This time trial also determined the BCS Cup. The race started clean and strong, with all three teams grouped together through three-quarters of the race. GoPink!DC pulled ahead in the last 50 meters to finish first in 2 minutes and 45.4 seconds. ADBC finished with a good time of 2 minutes and 48.1 seconds, 2.7 seconds behind GoPink!DC. This 2.7-second difference represents less than half of a boat’s length.
The mixed team’s 500-meter time trial was a two-boat race. We turned out a respectable 2 minutes and 33.7 seconds against the Hua Fu Youth Dragons Boat team, who finished in 2 minutes and 41.7 seconds.
500-meter finals
In the 500-meter final race, the BCS team earned a silver medal. They again got off with a clean, rapid start and closed swiftly to the finish line. GoPink!DC edged us out with a final time of 2 minutes and 45.4 seconds for DC versus 2 minutes and 50.6 seconds for Annapolis and 3 minutes 25.2 seconds for the Rockets.
Due to the sharp time posted in the 500-meter time trial, the mixed team was in the A Major final with the eighth-fastest time overall in the 500-meter trial. In the finals, we competed against a corporate car dealership team (Volksdragon) and a DC Club team (Soaring Dragons). Our paddlers were ready and approached the line, focused on the task before them. All three teams started swiftly, and the boats were grouped tightly together through the first 300 meters of the race. Then, Annapolis’s steer called out for a series of 10 power strokes. We separated from the group and dashed to the finish line with a time of 2 minutes 26.6 seconds, followed by Volksdragon with 2 minutes and 31.6 seconds and Soaring Dragons with 2 minutes and 31.6 seconds. Our first-ever mixed team won the A Major Division gold medal!
The teams performed admirably throughout the day, facing up to delays followed by quick turnaround times in the afternoon that had both teams dashing to races as the competition pace quickened and the race organizers worked hard to get the schedule back on track and complete all the races in the event. The awards ceremony was swiftly held, and camp broke before the rain started.
The result
Both teams from ADBC finished in the top mixed and women’s competitions available. The BCS team took gold in the 200-meter races and silver in the 500-meter races. The mixed team took home gold medals in both the 200-meter race and the 500-meter race. Go, Annapolis, go.
These were strong performances from the Club, and we were proud to support a mixed team for the first time.
