July 9 - 12, 2009

                                               Dragon Boat Races

                       Kent Cornucopia Days 2009 - "The Festival of the Valley" - A community service project of the Kent Lions, Kent WA
 

 

 

 

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9th Annual Dragon Boat Races

Benefiting the

Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight & Hearing

July 11, 2009

Lake Meridian

14800 SE 272nd Street, Kent, WA

 

 

Kent Cornucopia Days “Lion’s Cup” Dragon Boat Races

 Saturday the 12th, dozens of teams will come to Kent to race for medals and the coveted “Lions Cup”.  The races begin at 8:30 am until 6 pm.  Nearly 50 teams are coming in from all over Canada, Washington & Oregon, along with individual paddlers from California and across the nation!  There will be numerous local Kent teams racing for the honors.  The Kent Lions and the Kent Dragon Boat Association have spent all year planning for this event; it is the largest Dragon Boat Race in the State of Washington and part of the Northwest Circuit Challenge.  The beautiful venue of Lake Meridian provides the perfect location for this style of race while giving the team members and public an outstanding view. This race benefits the Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight and Hearing.

 There will be food, vendors, and displays for all ages. 

 

Racing begins 8:30 am, July 11th

Divisions: Women’s, Mixed Competitive & Recreational A & B, Corporate, Seniors, Juniors, Cancer Survivors

 

Go to the Kent Cornucopia Days Dragon Boat Races Web Site at

www.seattledragonboatraces.com

 

 

  Short Background on Dragon Boat Racing

Dragon boat racing is people friendly, and takes into team’s people of varying degrees of athletic ability and physical limitations.  Some teams are recreational, in condition, and others may be seriously athletic.  Some others may be blind, survivors of disease such as cancer, have diabetes, and have other special needs.  They learn about what they can achieve and do not allow themselves to be overwhelmed with any restrictions.  They celebrate life by being actively engaged with it, and having a great time living it.

The time spent in a dragon boat results in teams learning to work together in unison to race to the finish line first. The skills that are acquired have more to do with technique and synchronization, than brawn.  Upper body strength is achieved in the gym and increased in the dragon boat, however.  Dragon boats can go at a fast clip, rising upon the water, as paddlers do up to 90 strokes and more a minute, an amount for a well seasoned experienced team. In China a dragon boat team looks like an extremely fast perpetual motion machine. The lighter the weight, the more seasoned the paddlers, the faster they can go.