Dragon Boat Festival delivers a healthy dose of charitable competition
Paddles up!
It’s time to hit the water as the Rotary Club of Shreveport hosts its sixth annual Dragon Boat Festival on Sept. 13.
This year, 33 teams will soar along the Red River in 41-foot-long dragon boats as they sprint from the Texas Street Bridge to the first railroad bridge by Sci- Port: Louisiana’s Science Center.
Each team is composed of a minimum of 20 paddlers and a drummer who beats the cadence.
But the Red River Dragon Boat Festival is not just a fun competitive sport, it’s for raising funds for local nonprofits and organizations who apply for the money through grant applications.
Over $22,000 was raised during last year’s competition for nonprofits in Shreveport-Bossier City to fund projects in the areas of education, social services and community development.
“We hear from so many in our community that they look forward to this unique event each year,” Scott Wysong, event chairman for the Dragon Boat festival, said.
Proceeds from the 2013 festival were awarded to Volunteers for Youth Justice, Martin Luther King Health Center, The Fuller Center for Housing, Shreve Island Elementary School, Caddo Career & Technology Center Foundation and Northwest Louisiana Food Bank.
The festival is free to the public and will kick off with an opening ceremony at 8:30 a.m. The races begin at 9 a.m. and will continue through 2:30 p.m.
The main staging area is at the Shreveport Riverfront Park. All teams will meet below RiverView Park’s Rose Plaza’s steel roses in downtown Shreveport. Registered teams will have the opportunity to schedule on-the-water training and practice times the week prior to the races.
New this year is a sports TV viewing tent where spectators and racers awaiting their next race can view nationally televised sporting events, sponsored by Sound Minds. There will also be a misting tent to help keep folks cool in between racing.
The Rotary Club also held an exhibition race during Shreveport’s 4th of July downtown festivities in which two teams competed to show the local community what dragon boat racing is all about.
“Benteler Steel is a newcomer this year as a sponsor and has entered two teams,” Francesca Benten, president for the Rotary Club in Shreveport, said. “We have returning teams from Barksdale Air Force Base; emergency first responders; out-of-town teams from Houston, Lafayette, Austin and Dallas.”
Returning this year is the Shreveport Fire Department, known on the Red River as “Team Blazing Inferno.”
“Firefighters are occupational athletes, and when you comprise a team of individuals that count on each other every day to complete their mission, great things happen,” Barbara Sellers, captain of the SFD team, said.
She said many of the same team members will return this year and have been a part of it since the beginning.
“It has been a privilege for the SFD team to participate in this worthwhile event,” Sellers said. “Team Blazing Inferno will be ready to take the heat on race day.”
Bucky Crouch, a paddler for Cajun Invasion (Shreveport’s first and only self-proclaimed dragon boat team), will return and compete in this year’s event. He said he’s always excited to be a part of the race because his team paddles for breast cancer awareness.
“Paddling in a dragon boat is always a fun athletic event for a good cause. Shreveport’s event benefits our local education system while other races generally benefit cancer charities,” he said. “No matter what, you are experiencing great camaraderie while having fun, being athletic and all while raising money for charity.”
–Derick Jones