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Thanks to the 2008 Regatta Sponsors!
AT&T - APCA
St. John's Middle School St. John's Upper School
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May 4, 2005, 11:35PM
Sugar Land woman focuses on teamwork
She's ready for annual festival of dragon boats
By DSP ROSEN
Chronicle Correspondent
When 20 people jump inside a dragon and try to make their way down Buffalo Bayou, one thought is going to be on Shirley Nguyen's mind: Teamwork.
"With some sports you play you have some people that are bench warmers and some people that are the MVP, but with dragon boating you can't have one single person standing out," said Nguyen, an internal auditor for Schlumberger who lives in Sugar Land.
"It's truly a team effort."
Nguyen, who is also a member of the Asia Society, is participating in this weekend's fifth annual Dragon Boat Festival as a rower in one of the dragon boats.
Last year, her boat lost a race by three seconds to a boat from Continental Airlines.
Nguyen said, "I just got into it initially because it was a different sport to try. It was new, and I've been hooked ever since then."
Area corporations and companies — ranging from the Houston Rockets/Comets to Randalls — have formed teams that will compete in the event, which takes place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday at Allen's Landing. Some community associations also have formed teams. Admission is free.
Participants will race down the bayou in 40-foot-long boats that are decorated to look like dragons. Each boat has about 20 rowers and a drummer.
The Texas Dragon Boat Association has held four dragon boating events downtown in the past and one in Clear Lake in October that drew 4,000 attendants, said Carolyn Wong, executive director and co-founder of the festival.
Dragon boating dates to about 277 B.C. and was popular in ancient times.
Nguyen said according to a myth, a poet from a Chinese village killed himself by throwing himself into a river after being ostracized by the community. Area residents then combed the waters on long boats in search of his body, which was never found. Nguyen said the sport began as a memorial to the dead writer.
Eventually, dragon boating events became more scarce. In 1970, a race was held in Hong Kong harbor, which "resurrected" the sport, Wong said.
Fueled by a large Chinese population in Toronto and Vancouver, flat water paddling then gained popularity in North America. Interest in the United States blossomed quickly after events in Iowa, the West Coast and the upper East Coast, Wong said.
"It's been very nice to see it grow, and we also want to see dragon boating develop in Texas," Wong said. Eventually, she hopes to see a competitive racing circuit in the Southeast part of the state.
Along with the racing, the festival will feature performances from the Shaolin Praying Mantis Group, Pagkaka-Isa Filipino Dancers, Blend32 Hawaiian Cowboy Dancers and the Rockets Power Dancers.
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The Texas Dragon Boat Association is a 501(c)(3) Texas non-profit corporation. Our mission is "to promote the tradition and art of dragon boating, increase awareness of Asian and Asian-American culture, and enhance cross-cultural understanding."
© 2008 Texas Dragon Boat Association
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