The Phantom Dragons crew was on hand for the pool/simulator practice session March 9, 2K13. In spite of weather conditions that had local businesses and schools announcing closures, the team, preparing to race in Arizona in two weeks, braved the snowstorm, and came ready to train hard! Paddle Salute to the Phantom Dragons!!!
Evaluation criteria and procedures have been announced for the 2013 USDBF National Team. Interested!? Check out this link:
Abbey Esbenson (Pumpkin Pie)
I am one of the youngest paddlers on the Phantom Dragons team. I have paddled for three years, and paddled in multiple competitions in Arizona and California. I have also attended a dragon boat camp in Florida. Dragon boat camp was one of the most fun experiences of my life. It is great spending a week just focusing on the sport. I have spread my love of dragon boating to others by helping start a dragon boat club at Regis University! I really look forward to building the team up here in Colorado, and want other people to love the sport as much as I do!
Below: Phantom Dragons paddlers, training hard in the pool simulator this morning. In one month, the team will be racing in Arizona! Paddle Hard or Swim Home!!! (Photo taken 23Feb2K13)
Regis is forming a dragon boat team to race in the 2013 Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, and paddlers who have signed up for the team have already started started to practice. This past weekend, they trained using a pool simulator built by DRACO President, Michael J. Boyd. A video clip showing the design and construction of this training device can be seen at the following link: DRACO Pool Simulator
Below: Regis Captains Daniel Ng and Abbey Esbenson assist new Regis dragonboat paddlers during a pool/simulator practice, with a little help from Phantom Dragons paddler Ellen Lee (photos 16Feb2K13).
Below: Regis Coaches Daniel Ng and Abbey Esbenson introduce one of their new paddlers to the pool simulator, while Phantom Dragons assistant coaches Rob Lewis and Tom Ging look on (photo 23Feb2K13).
Our DRACO Coaches, enjoying some well-deserved time at the beach in Florida, during a break in the action while attending Dragon Boat Camp in 2010!
When Colorado Dragon Boat Festival (CDBF) started in 2001, Tom was captain of a racing team sponsored by the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) of Colorado, one of the founding CDBF organizations. His team took the Silver Medal in their division. He switched to land duty during the years 2002 – 2007, when he helped, then directed the racing event, expanding the participation from 32 adult teams (2002) to 48 adult teams and eight youth team (2006), racing over a two day period. Tom retired from directing the races in 2007 and turned his attention to taking dragon boat racing in Colorado to the next level, desiring to form competitive teams capable of racing against teams in other cities. In 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012 he attended dragon boat training camps in Melbourne FL, offered by Great White North, and later by Jim Farintosh, of Toronto Canada. While learning and practicing paddling and racing techniques three hours a day in camp, he also participated in training sessions which lead to Dragon Boat Racing Coach certification. In order to establish an advanced racing program, he is working with other people with similar aspirations by forming the Dragonboat Racing Association of Colorado (DRACO). He is eager to convey his acquired knowledge to racers who want to paddle more than one weekend a year, enjoy the camaraderie of other racers, enjoy the excitement of competing with some of the premier racing teams in North America. Tom was able to return to the water in 2008 when he coached the Maestas TKD Dungeonless Dragons and raced with them as their drummer. “While we didn’t win any medals, and finished in the middle of the pack, we had a lot of fun and learned some lessons, one of which is ‘we can do better’!” Paddles up, take it away!!
Michael J. Boyd (Captain Bligh)
Michael Boyd (a/k/a Captain Bligh!) serves as Captain, Head Coach, and Lead Paddler of the Phantom Dragons dragon boat race team.
Mike got his start in dragon boating in 2003, when he formed a team to race in the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival as a fund-raiser to help send three students (including himself) to Brisbane, Australia to compete as part of Team USA in an International TaeKwon-Do Championship tournament. He was instantly hooked on dragon boat racing, and has continued to paddle, coach, and serve as captain for competitive teams since that time.
Mike has attended week-long dragon boat camps taught by world champion level coaches / paddlers in Florida for the past four years, and recently completed a Dragon Boat Canada Level II Competitive Coaching Course in Pickering, Ontario (certification currently pending).
Mike has led his team to successfully compete in out-of-state festivals in Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco and Tempe. In the 2011 Arizona competition, his team was awarded the prestigious Spirit of Qu Yuan award for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship and honor. More recently, he was recognized in a Letter from Senator Mark Udall for his contributions to dragon boat racing in Colorado, and the Phantom Dragons’ performance in the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival.
Mike’s journey recently came “full circle”, as he was the first paddler from Colorado to ever be selected to race on a World Championship level dragon boat team. He had the honor of racing in the coveted right stroke position on Team USA’s Senior C Mixed crew in the 12th IDBF Dragon Boat World Championships in Welland, Ontario. For dragon boaters, this is the pinnacle event – the equivalent of what the Olympic Games represents for more conventional sports.
Michael Boyd (Captain Bligh!) serves as President, and is one of the founding members of the Dragonboat Racing Association of Colorado (DRACO), who’s primary goal is to promote dragon boat racing in Colorado. As Head coach of the Phantom Dragons, Mike has an additional aspiration – to train competitive dragon boat paddlers to compete in local, national and international races. One of his dreams came true in 2015, when Mike became the first Colorado paddler to ever try out for and be selected as a Team USA crew member. He raced in the coveted right stroke position on Team USA’s Senior C Mixed crew in the 12th IDBF Dragon Boat World Championships, held in Welland, Ontario in August of 2015. He has now been selected twice, and was most recently part of the Team USA Senior C Open crew that won four gold medals in the 2019 World Championships in Thailand.
Mike got his start in dragon boating in 2003, when he formed a team to race in the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival as a fund-raiser to help send three students (including himself) to Brisbane, Australia to compete as part of Team USA in an International TaeKwon-Do Championship tournament. He was instantly hooked on dragon boat racing, 
and has continued to coach and serve as captain for teams participating in the CDBF and more distant venues each year.
Mike has attended week-long dragon boat camps taught by world champion level coaches / paddlers in Florida and Canada for twelve years, and completed a Dragon Boat Canada Level II Competitive Coaching Certification course in Pickering, Ontario in 2013.
Now Captain and Head Coach of the Phantom Dragons, Mike (a/k/a Captain Bligh) has led his team to successfully compete in out-of-state festivals in Las Vegas, San Diego, San 
Francisco, Portland and Tempe. In the 2011 Arizona competition, his team was awarded the prestigious Spirit of Qu Yuan award for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship and honor. More recently, he was recognized in a Letter from Senator Mark Udall for his contributions to dragon boat racing in Colorado, and for his team’s performance in the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival. He also led the effort to establish Colorado’s first Breast Cancer Survivor (BCS) dragon boat program, which has now been expanded to include all cancer survivors..
Contact Us, and see how Mike can help you and/or your team reach a new level of competitive performance in dragon boat racing!