DC Dragons - Better than we believe (Lake Mercer Dragon Boat Festival)

by Stephen Li

On a cold breezy morning, DC Dragons arrived in Lake Mercer, ready to leave our mark on the final ERDBA event of the season. The weather was a bit grim and our tents was situated where no rays of sun can get through meaning it was desperately cold and everyone had to wrap themselves up. However a DJ blasting out tunes near the dock meant that race day was accompanied with some enjoyable music throughout the event.

Race 1 - 200m time trial

DC Dragons loaded up for our first race; the 200m time trial. It was crucial to put in a good performance in order to qualify for the 'A' division. The race itself began with a shaky start however the team fought hard to bring it back together taking us home in 2nd place. This was enough to be the 4th fastest time overall for the time trials meaning we qualify for the 'A' division and take us straight into the 200m A Finals.

DCH II 52.26, DC Dragons 53.07, Lake Mercer Dragons 54.47, PDBA Youth 56.98, Motley Crew 59.79

Race 2 - 200m A Final

Our team had come into Mercer with one woman short, meaning we had to borrow paddlers from our 'sisters,' GoPink, for each race. However, the schedule for this race placed GoPink's race right after us, which meant it was not possible to borrow a paddler this time round. Fortunately we had a nice visitor (victim) in the name of Sindy Chen, whom we managed to persuade to paddle for us in this one race.

Some issues with the front of the boat not able to hear the steerers start calls caused us to have probably the slowest start this season. It meant at one point in time the front of the boat was doing something different to the back. We had a power dip at the transition making it harder to power up again. The team while knowing of the poor start still gave everything we had, hoping to make up lost ground but we came in an agonizing 4th place by 4 hundredths of a second narrowly missing out on a medal. Heartbreaking indeed!

Manayunk 50.35, DCH 50.82, DCH II 52.38, DC Dragons 52.42, Wyeth Wyverns 54.47

Race 3 - 500m semi-final

The air of disappointment was apparent after the previous race. Everyone was now more hungry than ever to make up for what happened. It was time for the 500m races and we were more pumped up than ever. The focus on the boat at the start of this race was immense. Can we make amends? You bet! Incredible paddling from everyone - Amazing start, good transition and power maintained throughout, followed with a powerful, 'bring it home.' The result was a season's best time over the 500m and a place in the 'A' finals.

DCH 2.11.90, Wall Street 2.12.78, DC Dragons 2.13.00, Wyeth Wyverns 2.23.97, GSK Firedragons 2.??.??

Race 4 - 500m A Grand final

Final race of the day, with everyone motivated to do well, we were prepared to give absolutely everything we had left in the tank. Ready to race, all crews lined up for the start. The call came out “ALL BOATS ALIGNED, ATTENTION!!!” With adrenaline pumping and being focused on nothing but the task at hand, we had nothing in our minds but driving that paddle into the water. The boat surged with every stroke, with the starts being as strong as ever. This was a true fight and a fight well fought by us however at the finish line we realized we had only come in 5th. We had improved on our previous best time but it still wasn't good enough. No shame in the result as we knew we had given everything on the boat.

Manayunk 2.08.79, DCH 2.10.40, Wall Street 2.10.46, DCH II 2.12.43, DC Dragons 2.12.71

The hard work was finally over. The team had even taken part in a 2000m to finish off the day, which provided a fun end to a tough day's of work.

Reflection

Our team has certainly moved up another step in performance levels. It must be noted that some of these teams were over 10 seconds faster than us earlier this season in races. We've now closed the gap to only split seconds separating us. We've identified concentration lapses that could be wiped out with training and mental preparation. Above all, every single DC Dragon paddler, from new to old, played their part and that's what really counts.

Thanks to the amazing team that made Mercer possible. Special thanks to Alvin for captaining this race, job well done indeed!

DC Dragons - now for Philly!

Let Bring it in Mercer

In the races we go through each season,
All we ask for is a chance that's fair,
A chance to equal all our strife,
A chance to do or dare,
If we should win,
Let it be by the code,
With faith and honor held high,
And if we should lose,
Let us stand by the road,
And cheer the winners as they go by.
But day by day
We get better and better
till we'll become a team that can't be beat
A team that won't be beat!

GO DC DRAGONS
Lets bring it in Mercer 09