Anyone who's ever tried to maneuver a two-person inflatable ducky down the Youghiogheny River likely knows that man-powered watercraft and partners don't always mesh.
Now imagine trying to race a 500-pound wooden dragon boat occupied by 20 paddlers, one person to steer and another to keep time by using a drum to sound beats.
Done with precision, it is an impressive sight.
Done clumsily, that boat's going nowhere fast.
One group that has the art of dragon boating down is the Pittsburgh Paddlefish women's team, which will travel to Penang, Malaysia, on Saturday to represent the United States in the Club Crew World Championships from Aug. 1-3.
There they will race at least 20 other women's teams from around the world. The competition features almost 200 teams from 68 countries.
The Paddlefish qualified by winning the most points racing last year in the Eastern Regional Dragon Boat Association.
"This is definitely my biggest competition ever," said Lawrenceville's Kate Northway, 19, the youngest member of the team. "This is the first time that a team from Pittsburgh is representing the United States on an international level (in dragon boating)."
Northway started out as a kayaker before joining her mother, coach Laurie Butler, in the dragon boat. But few of the 25 women on the Paddlefish roster were athletes prior to picking up the sport.
"I had never done anything like this," said the Paddlefish's oldest team member, Lisa Kennard, who will celebrate her 69th birthday in Penang. "I got started in the spring of 2003 when a friend invited me to come try it. I got in the boat, and I was completely hooked. I haven't stopped since. It's a wonderful sport, I've met a lot of wonderful people doing it, and I'm much fitter than I was when I started."
Dragon boating started in China more than 2,000 years ago, but the modern era of sport dragon boat racing started in 1976 with the inaugural Hong Kong International Races. The International Dragon Boat Federation was formed in 1991, and according to the organization there are about 90,000 dragon boaters in the United States and Canada today.
Three Rivers Rowing Association in Millvale purchased its two boats with a grant from The Sprout Fund in 2002.
Butler, 50, said that the nice thing about dragon boating is that anyone can do it.
"It's very fast to learn," the Lawrenceville resident said. "You can get in a boat your first day and do it."
Doing it well, however, is the challenge.
The Paddlefish women practice three times a week, on the river from April to mid-November and then on indoor rowing machines in the winter. They have a weight training schedule to build strength, and once on the water they work on their timing.
"When you have 20 different people in a boat together, getting the timing down is always going to be extremely difficult," Northway said. "Everyone's always kind of focused on themselves at first, trying to get their stroke correct, but then they have to stop watching themselves and start looking at everyone around them. Even the most advanced crews are constantly trying to improve stroke and timing."
Team member Rachel Blair said that the Paddlefish are a diverse group outside of paddling.
"We are moms and grandmothers, we are students and retirees," she said. "We have architects, teachers, doctors, nurses, researchers and professors on our team. A few of us joined the Paddlefish because we paddled in other cities originally."
And a few, like Kennard, have been able to travel to other cities because of paddling.
"Isn't it amazing that we come from different backgrounds and different ages and stages in our lives," said Kennard, who paddled with another team in a competition in Taiwan. "We all come together with this great love for dragon boating and can work together to make a cohesive team."
Dragon boating: Give it a try
There are a number of opportunities to try dragon boating in Pittsburgh, beginning this Saturday with Venture Outdoors. The organization has an Intro to Dragon Boating trip planned at Fox Chapel Yacht Club, where participants will learn the sport from members of the Steel City Dragons. See www.ventureoutdoors.org for details.
Three Rivers Rowing Association, based at the Millvale Waterfront Park, also offers introductory dragon boat classes and dragon boat leagues, including the popular corporate leagues. Visit threeriversrowing.org to learn more.
Paddlefish women's roster
Twenty-five area women will be competing in the Club Crew World Championships in Malaysia:
Ada Ayala-Reyes, Carolyn Freeman, Carolyn Newkirk, Hongla Phan, Jeanne Sadler, Jennifer Wheitner, Joanne Watral, Judith Lesniewicz, Judy Robertson, Kate Northway, Kathi Robinson-Dassel, Kristine Miller, Laurie Butler, Linda Raschiatore, Lisa Kennard, Lori Swensson, Marie Hirsch, Mary Scanlon, Mina Hare-Rubenstein, Pam Howe, Rachel Blair, Rissa Witul, Sondra Krimmel, Sophie Jan, Stefani Danes
