Paddlers Show Just How Easy Dragon Boat Racing Really Is

GREAT OUTDOORS: Paddlers at the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival teach the basics of the sport.

SUPERIOR, Wis.- Paddlers hit the water on Lake Superior for the 18th annual Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival.

What does is take to get a two thousand pound boat to glide 500 meters in under three minutes?

“It’s just like 20 of your friends in a boat paddling and having fun and team and sportsmanship,” paddler Mckenzie Macsarline said.

A dragon boat is much larger than a canoe or a kayak, but the main difference between dragon boat racing and other paddling sports is the way you get the boat moving.

“It can get really competitive and people do this all year round, practicing with about 20 rowers and one drummer and then we have a steerer who makes sure we don’t tip,” Macsarline said.

It takes a team following the beat of a drummer.

“The real way to do it is all trunk, it’s reach and twist. It’s not arms. It’s basically stick your paddle, lift it out, stick your paddle,” festival race announcer Scott Soderberg said.

Rhythm is the key to winning a race- you have to be in sync to glide across the water.

“It doesn’t matter how strong you are. I’ve seen people in their 50s, 60s beat a bunch of college guys because the college guys weren’t in sync,” Macsarline said.

After you paddle, you may be sore from hitting the sides of the boat.

“I think the most fun part is when you cross that finish line and we all just sigh in relief that we didn’t tip it, and we’re just cheering and having a good time and know we did it together as a team,” Macsarline said.

Racers swear it’s a sport anyone can do.

“Competitive juices start flowing and it’s such fun. At the end of it, it’s like look what we did together,” Soderberg said.

Dragon boat racing dates back two thousand years to ancient china.

Many racers today love that the simplicity of the sport has allowed it to keep its same basic structure after so long.