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Press Room
For
immediate release:
--April
16, 2005. Daffodil Parade
--April
17, 2005. Annual Dragons Awakening Ceremony
--May
7, 2005. Opening Day, Windermere Cup
Dragon
Boats to Race at Seattle Yacht Club’s Opening Day Festivities
Saturday,
May 7, 2005. Seattle, Washington. Montlake cut.
The
Seattle Yacht Club (SYC) is pleased to announce that the Tacoma Dragon Boat
Association will once again offer a demonstration dragon boat race as a feature
in this year’s Opening Day Festivities themed “Sentimental Journey.”
On
Saturday, May 7th, four 48-foot long dragon boats, each comprised of
20 paddlers, 1 drummer and 1 steersperson, will participate in the third annual
demonstration Dragon Boat Race to be a part of the Windermere Cup/ Seattle Yacht
Club Opening Day Festivities. The Tacoma Dragon Boat Association and invitee,
Seattle SAKE Dragon Boat Club, will engage in a friendly competition, each with
two boats. All four crews will include a mix of experienced and seasoned
paddlers—ensuring an exciting demonstration of this face-paced sprint racing
sport.
The
Dragon boats are scheduled to race just before the Windermere Cup Crew Races
begin at 10:20am Saturday morning. You may expect to see them race through the
1,000 meter Montlake Cut right after the SYC VIP Boats are settled in their
moorings. Look for them to start between 10:00 and 10:15am.
The
Dragon Boat racers will also participate in the “Parade of All Crew Shells”
back through the parade course that occurs at 11:45am, just before the Boat
Parade kicks off at noon.
Dragon
boats have participated in the Spirit Class of the Opening Day Boat Parade in
years past, entertaining spectators with their beautifully painted boats,
spirited drummers, and synchronized paddlers. This is the third year the 48’
boats will skim across the water (at as much as 9-14 mph) in an Opening Day race
to display team coordination, training and discipline.
The
Tacoma Dragon Boat Association has a Seattle location at South Lake Union.
Kenmore Air is the sponsor of TDBA@Seattle and provides moorage for one of their
five BuK boats.
CONTACT: Lee Bjorklund, Coach of TDBA @ Seattle,
206.523.4518, leebjorklund@hotmail.com
For
more information about Dragon Boat racing in Seattle and Tacoma, visit www.tacomadragonboat.org
For
more information about the Seattle Yacht Club and Opening Day, go to
www.seattleyachtclub.org.
Dragons
Awakening Celebration
Sunday,
April 17, 2005.
A
2,500 year old Chinese tradition celebrates the awakening of the mountain
dragons that come down to rivers and the sea in the Spring. Tacoma Dragon Boat
Association (TDBA) is conducting its first annual Dragons Awakening Celebration
in Tacoma on Sunday, April 17, 2005. This cultural event begins the dragon boat
racing season, which in turn commemorates the life and death of the ancient
Chinese patriot poet Qu Yuan, who lived from 340 – 278 BC.
The
awakening formally starts with an eye-dotting ceremony that awakens the dragon
boats on the Thea Foss from their winter slumber and prepares them for the 2005
racing season. Many Pierce County residents have seen these sleek 45-foot
vessels gliding across the Puget Sound year-round in the triangle formed by the
Thea Foss Waterway, Port Defiance, and Brown’s Point, powered by 20 paddlers
and directed by a steersperson. For the race season awakening, these racing
boats, which can attain speeds of up to 14 mph, will be decorated with colorful
dragon scales, heads, and tails.
The
Master of Ceremonies is distinguished TDBA past president, Mike Gehrke. Invited
celebrities for the Eye-dotting Ceremony are former Washington State Governor
Mr. Gary Locke and Mrs. Locke.
Events
are planned for the public at Petrich Marina, located under the Morgan Murray
(11th Street) bridge across from downtown Tacoma. Events include the
eye-dotting ceremony, short paddling try-out sessions from 2-3:30 p.m., special
games for children, food, and a one-hour paddle from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Paddling
is open to all people over the age of 18. Children from age 12 to 18 may paddle
with a parent in the boat. Prior paddling experience is not required. Life vest,
paddle, safety training and coaching instruction, led by our own Olympic roster
coach Clement Corbiell, will be provided free. Guests need only dress in layers,
bring water to drink, and expect to have a great time on the water with the best
views there are of downtown Tacoma.
This
environmentally sound sport is low noise, non-polluting, and low-impact. You
might also see harbor seals, sea lions, otters, bald eagles, salmon in season,
and other marine life.
“These outings are designed
to introduce people to a sport they can enjoy for a lifetime,” says head coach
Clement Corbiell. “It’s a sport that takes ordinary people and enables them
together to do extraordinary things. It’s one of a handful of true team
sports—there is no most valuable player. It is the blending of our strengths
that pull the boat.”
The Tacoma Dragon Boat
Association is a 501(c)(3)organization and has been a Tacoma landmark on the
Thea Foss Waterway since 2000. The association has competed internationally and
medalled in leading dragon boat races in North America and China.
Please contact Linda Simpson
(253-631-5975) for more information.
Daffodil Parade
Saturday, April 16, 2005. Tacoma,
Washington, Pacific Avenue between 9th and 20th.
The annual daffodil parade will
be joined by dragons from the Foss Waterway this year. Two brightly colored
dragon boats from the Tacoma Dragon Boat Association will join the floats and
bands this year.
Normally gliding along the
waterways from downtown to the zoo to the Brown's Point lighthouse, these boats
will be resting on their trailer and fully outfitted with dragon heads and
tails, drummer and steersperson.
If you haven't seen the dragon
boats on the water, you can view them in the Daffodil parade in downtown Tacoma
as well as in Puyallup. Please check the newspaper for details about the route
and times.
Please contact Linda Simpson
(253-631-5975) for more information.
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