As you can see from our lack of posting, we were engaged in racing for the rest of the summer 2024 paddling season, then needed a break from it all. But here’s a recap of the remainder of our summer racing season from the other side of the winter solstice as thoughts of summer 2025 come to mind.
After taking Team Green (our mixed Team Blue/Team Gold) group to Fort Dodge, Iowa for the Badger Lake Dragon Boat Bash, we took Teams Blue and Gold to the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival in Superior, Wisconsin at the end of August and the N.E.W. Dragon Boat Festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in mid-September.
At Superior, August 24, our two teams performed well and met many of our club goals, although we didn’t make any of the finals for hardware. We had two races scheduled that day, and a variety of weather, including fog for the morning.
Our morning race times:
- Team Gold: 1:59.86
- Team Blue: 2:13.54
Afternoon race times:
- Team Gold: 2:00.61
- Team Blue: 2:09.58
That put Team Gold in 5th place overall, just missing the Gold Division finals. Team Blue finished 26th overall, 5 hundredths of a second too fast for the Bronze Division finals. Well done!
Then, back to Wisconsin, to the N.E.W. Dragon Boat Festival in Oshkosh on September 15. What a great way to end the season, on their dramatic 250 meter course between two bridges on the Fox River. We brought Team Blue and Team Gold to the Club division here and turned in solid performances, competitive racing, and amazing cross-team camaraderie there. The short course tested our sprinting abilities, and while neither team made the championship final (kind of a theme this season), we met our team goals, made new friends, and had a lot of fun. Thanks to regional teams Kilohana and Dragon Warriors for helping us round out our rosters with paddlers and a last minute drummer.
Team Gold:
- Qualifying round 1 – 1:15.31
- Qualifying round 2 – 1:15.74
- Semifinal round – 1:16.51
Team Blue:
- Qualifying round 1 – 1:23.68
- Qualifying round 2 – 1:29.26
- Semifinal round – 1:26.75
Full race results are online https://results.panamdragonboat.com/oshkosh/
We are getting excited for what 2025 will bring!
Comments by Ginny Moran