USC’s Dragon Boat Team
By: Camila Grases ‘21
Not many people know what dragon boat is. I didn’t either before I tried out. Little freshman me was looking for a cool new sport to try out, and when I read the word “dragon”, I was sold. Now, I can’t imagine having done anything different.
What is Dragon Boat?
Dragon Boat itself is a sport that originated in China. There are many legends surrounding the origins of the sport, ranging from a ritual to please the dragon rain gods to rituals about protecting oneself from these dragon gods who lived in the river. The sport itself is unbelievably exciting and fun. What shocked me the most about it, however, was the sportsmanship that existed amongst all the teams. Never before had I been a part of a team that relied so heavily on each other and on other teams to be a support as well as a competition.
Who is USC Dragon Boat?
USC’s Dragon Boat Team is a competitive club team that practices and races all year long. We compete regularly in Arizona, in San Francisco, in San Diego, and in Long Beach, and we sometimes even have the privilege of traveling to countries such as Taiwan and China.
We are relatively small compared to many of the other college teams, which include UC Riverside and UC San Diego. I am of the opinion, however, that our size is a strength and not a weakness. We are able to train and teach people thoroughly because we have the time to focus on everybody. Dragon Boat is a sport that requires a very specific technique that may seem complicated to someone who is just beginning, as it did for me my first few months. But having the ability to train not only with experienced paddlers on the USC team but also with other teams as well (as I said above, other teams are a massive support to us) has given me the ability to grow in the sport.
The team has become a tightly knit community of diverse people with varying passions. We accept everybody who is willing to learn, no matter experience level or even fitness level; if this was not the case, the team would not exist. What a tragedy that would be. We care about and trust each other, as one must do when participating in a sport that requires such an immense amount of coordination and connection. Like I said, I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
This Year’s San Francisco Race
This past weekend, the team squeezed into four cars and traveled the 300 some miles to San Francisco. There was a great deal of anticipation since the San Francisco race (AKA College Cup) is considered the most fun of all the races. After all, we are competing with teams that are the same age and the same experience level (mostly) as us. But as we approached the city, we suddenly came to the realization that the Camp Fires to the North were severely affecting the air quality. No worries, we came prepared.
As our practice was canceled, and, later, our race was canceled, we realized we had taken a small vacation in San Francisco. There was disappointment at the cancellation of the race, as we had worked hard to show these colleges what we could do, but no matter. We made the most out of our time together. This experience will always be a part of our team history and has only brought us closer together.
Should I Join?
Yes, yes, yes. And if not, if dragons don’t really speak to you, at the very least open your mind. Now is the time to explore and to try new things. It can be scary, but you can also be left with an amazing team, like this one, or an amazing job or an amazing hobby. That is something that we can all hopefully take from our college experience.
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