We were one of the first teams to compete. And we did really well. During that first race, we had a good start, lost rhythm somewhere, and then picked it back up. Either way, it was good enough to get a faster time than the team next to us.
On our second race, I don't know what happened, but our rhythm was really off. I blame myself. However, regardless of that flaw, we did super awesome! The team put their heart and soul into each stroke and really put 100% into it. We dug our paddles deep and pushed the water behind us....dig, push, dig, push, dig, push! Unfortunately, we lost to our competing team. Despite losing to the other team, we one of the fastest times out of all the teams in the second heat.
Let's analyze this! These are our accomplishments...
- We improved by 7 seconds
- We had the 5th fastest time out of the 20 teams that competed in the second heat.
A key element in Dragonboat racing is that the whole team has to row at the same time. When everyone's in sync with each other, you can feel the giant thrust of the boat plowing forward. It's beautiful! We felt that great wave of power a few times, but we couldn't keep it consistent. I admit that I was part of the problem. Being one of the leads, it's really important that I keep in pace with my partner, Mr. Navas. This was a difficult challenge. Firstly, I have trouble rowing with the proper technique (my technique was very improper), I couldn't row as fast as Mr. Navas, and my glasses flew off at one point.
Individual blame aside, we as a team worked really hard. We were the youngest team (most of us with zero experience), and we really kicked butt out there. I'm so proud of everyone! *cliché warning* I know we didn't place but in the end, we are ALL winners.
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