On September 26, 2020, DRACO hosted the fourth annual dragon boat day on Lake Arbor for the Shining Stars Foundation kids and their families. Proper social-distancing was carefully observed, and the event proved to be a great success, and everyone had a wonderful time again this year.
DRACO Adapts Trailer to Haul Outrigger Canoes in Wake of COVID Outbreak
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of this season’s dragon boat events, and appropriate social-distancing making training in the close quarters of dragon boats inadvisable, DRACO is gearing up to train in OCs (one and two-man outrigger canoes) this season. To facilitate these practices, Head Coach / Team Captain Michael Boyd (Captain Bligh!) acquired a Yakima Trailer, and converted it to haul four boats, along w/ an inflatable dock. Coupled with the capacity of his rooftop rack, a maximum of six boats can now be staged for safe practices.
DRACO Awarded Cancer League of Colorado Service Grant
DRACO is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $6,000 Service Grant by the Cancer League of Colorado, in support of its BCS dragon boat program and activities that benefit Colorado’s cancer survivor community.
Many thanks to the Cancer League of Colorado for your continued support!!!
Michael Boyd, Head Coach and Captain of Colorado’s Phantom Dragons / Pink Phantoms dragon boat crew, recently returned from the IDBF Dragon Boat World Championships in Thailand with a handful of gold medals. Boyd raced as a member of the Team USA Senior C Open crew, an elite group of 60+ year old athletes who emerged victorious in every heat they raced in, capturing gold at each distance category (2000-meters, 1000-meters, 500-meters and 200-meters). The crew also set a World Record for Senior C competitors at 1000-meters. The Senior C Mixed and Women’s crews were similarly dominating; the Mixed paddlers won four gold medals, and the Women captured three golds and a bronze.
Team USA Senior C Crews in the 2019 IDBF Dragon Boat World Championships
For dragon boaters, the IDBF Dragon Boat World Championships is the pinnacle event – the equivalent of what the Olympic games represent to more conventional sports. Winning in Thailand was the culmination of a very extensive and competitive tryout and training process. The Senior C Crews’ formal training calendar began with well-attended tryout camps in California (October, 2018) and Florida (January, 2019), followed by a week-long training camp in April for those who were selected to the team. The final two months included “Train & Race” camps in Ottawa (June, 2019) and Long Beach, California (July, 2019) before departing for Thailand in mid-August for several more days of training/acclimation prior to the races.
The stellar performance of the Team USA Senior C crews at the 2019 IDBF World Championships took the international dragon boating community by surprise, as the senior divisions have historically been dominated by crews from Canada. Congratulations to Michael Boyd and the rest of the Team USA Senior C paddlers – IDBF Dragon Boat World Champions!
A video following the 2019 USA Senior C National Dragon Boat paddlers in their quest for gold at the 2019 IDBF World Dragon Boat Championships in Pattaya Thailand is at this link:
Jolane Fenner had the honor of racing as a member of the Team USA Senior B Women’s crew in the 2019 IDBF Dragon Boat World Championships in Thailand, bringing home two bronze medals. An article from the Montrose Press describing her quest to race w/ Team USA can be found at this link:
On June 29, 2019, DRACO hosted a dragon boat race on Lake Arbor for Epic Experience, a non-profit organization that provides outdoor adventures for cancer patients and survivors. The event was well-attended, and everyone had a wonderful time.
Members of DRACO’s Phantom Dragons / Pink Phantoms crew were honored to participate in Lutheran Medical Center’s BCS Pink Hat Tea again this year, an annual event for the benefit of newly diagnosed and long-term breast cancer survivors. This event is a wonderful opportunity to gain visibility and support for our breast cancer survivor dragon boat program, and to connect with prospective BCS paddlers!
DRACO is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $4,500 Service Grant by the Cancer League of Colorado, in support of its BCS dragon boat program and related activities that benefit Colorado’s cancer survivor community.
Many thanks to the Cancer League of Colorado for your support!!!
On September 22, 2018, DRACO hosted the second annual dragon boat race on Lake Arbor for the Shining Stars Foundation kids and their families. The event was a great success, and everyone had a wonderful time.
Shining Stars Dragon Boat Articles / Photos
Here’s a link to a Shining Stars newsletter, describing the event: Dragon Boat Races
Members of DRACO’s Phantom Dragons / Pink Phantoms crew were honored to participate in Lutheran Medical Center’s BCS Pink Hat Tea again this year, an annual event for the benefit of newly diagnosed and long-term breast cancer survivors. It was a wonderful opportunity to gain visibility and support for our breast cancer survivor dragon boat program, and we again connected with a number of prospective BCS paddlers!
