Dragon Boat racing gives teams of various skill level chance at teamwork
Forty teams of various skill levels competed Saturday at the Walgreens International Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Arlington in Arlington Heights.
A cloudy morning gave way to warm sunshine in the afternoon as organizations like the Windy City Dragons, top national and world teams, and corporate teams working on team building all paddled their long boats.
Regardless of skill level, teams raced the standard 500 meter distance with 20 people paddling, one drummer helping to keep the pace and a steerperson.
"The magic of this event is you don't have to have your own equipment," said Aaron Soroka, chief operating officer of RWN Dragon Boat, the organization that put on the event. "We supply everything."
The Canada-based company works with different communities like Arlington Heights to promote healthy living and opportunities to give back. Saturday's event helped raise money for Adaptive Adventures, an organization that gives children, adults and veterans opportunities to participate in outdoor sports.
Some of the corporate teams that participated Saturday were trying dragon boat racing for the first time. RWN Dragon Boats had coaches on hand to help the greener teams out.
The more competitive teams train year-round, working on strength building during the winter months, and getting out on the lake and in boats in the warmer months.
Fox Lake resident Christopher Foltyn paddles for the Windy City Dragons. The team practices on Lake Arlington, and Foltyn says the sport takes both hard work from the individuals and from the team as a whole.
"It's a heavy boat, so everyone has to work together," he said. "Some people think this sport is easy, but the technique is not easy."
He adds that being part of the Windy City Dragons gives him a great opportunity to travel and see places that might not otherwise be on his radar.
The Windy City Dragons mixed team took first place in the A Division with a finishing time of 2:13.30. The DeKalb-based Paddlin for MB team was less than one second behind, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:13.80.
Full results can be found at www.gwndragonboat.com/results.