Tracey's Story for AAJA 2003

HOST INTRO

DRAGON BOAT RACING IS THE LARGEST COMPETITIVE TEAM SPORT IN MANY PARTS OF ASIA. BUT IN THE U.S., IT HAS A SMALLER BUT DEVOTED FOLLOWING. ITS POPULARITY IS GROWING, AND HERE IN SAN DIEGO, THE CITY’S DRAGON BOAT TEAM IS GEARING UP FOR THE DRAGON BOAT WORLD CUP COMPETITION.

THE BEAT’S TRACEY CHANG HAS THIS PROFILE.

[CHEERING]

AT THE LONG BEACH DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL, 5 LANES OF 40-FOOT-LONG BOATS SURGE ACROSS THE STARTING LINE, LIKE AN EXPLOSION OF COLORS ACROSS THE WATER. EACH BOAT IS PAINTED WITH BRIGHT RED SCALES AND AN ORNATE GREEN AND GOLD DRAGON HEAD EXTENDS FROM THE BOW. 20 MEN AND WOMEN SIT SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER, DIGGING THEIR PADDLES INTO THE WATER IN PERFECT UNISON. IT ALL LOOKS EFFORTLESS, BUT INSIDE THE BOAT, SAN DIEGO TEAM MEMBER STEVE DEGRAW SAYS IT’S A DIFFERENT STORY.

“You just crank the strokes to about 100 strokes a minute—which is very fast—then you settle down, you’re just going and trying to keep perfect timing and power down the course and it’s just a total rush.”

[POST RACE CHEERS]

ACHIEVING BOTH SPEED AND GRACE ON THE WATER IS A DIFFICULT TASK. BUT EACH BOAT HAS HELP. A DRUMMER SITS AT THE FRONT OF THE BOAT, BANGING OUT A CADENCE FOR THE PADDLERS TO FOLLOW. A STEERSMAN STANDS AT THE BACK, USING HIS OAR TO KEEP THE BOAT STRAIGHT.

[POST LION DANCING MUSIC]

DRAGON BOATING BEGAN 2000 YEARS AGO IN CHINA. AND ITS ROOTS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN AT THESE FESTIVALS.

[BRING MUSIC BACK UP]

LION DANCING IS ALWAYS INCLUDED AT THE OPENING CEREMONIES. AND CHINESE VENDORS SELL TRADITIONAL FOOD AND ART ALONG THE MARINA. EVERY FESTIVAL OPENS WITH THE RITUAL OF DOTTING RED INK ON THE DRAGON’S EYE TO “WAKE” IT UP.

“Since the dragon boat’s been sitting there—traditionally they don’t race year round—it looks like the dragon’s been sleeping there for a year.

DR. HOWARD CHEN IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CULTURE EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION, WHICH SPONSORS DRAGON BOAT RACES. HE SAYS THE LEGEND BEHIND THE SPORT INVOLVES A CHINESE POET, CHU-YEN, WHO SERVED UNDER THE CHU DYNASTY. THE POET FLUNG HIMSELF INTO A RIVER TO PROTEST CORRUPTION WITHIN THE EMPIRE.

“A lot of local people really liked him, they don’t want his body being eaten by the fish…so people rowed the boat and hit the drum…tried to rescue his body…but they just found his clothes left in the water.”

[SNEAK COACH TALKING TO TEAM]

AND SO ACCORDING TO THIS LEGEND, EVERY TIME A TEAM RACES, THEY’RE COMMEMORATING THE SEARCH FOR CHU-YEN.

[POST COACH TALKING TO TEAM]

TIME? “We’re gonna do a little warm-up…your shoulders are relaxed, take a deep breath.”

AT THE LONG BEACH FESTIVAL, ASSISTANT COACH CHENCE ADAIR LEADS THE SAN DIEGO GROUP THROUGH A PRE-RACE VISUALIZATION.

“You’re in total focus, your eyes are forward. The communication between your steersmen and your drummer is key. Voices carry in the wind. If there’s chatter in the boat, you cannot hear what the commands are.”

BUT EVEN INSPIRATIONAL VISUALIZATIONS DON’T ALWAYS SAVE YOU FROM THE MORE BIZARRE MOMENTS IN DRAGON BOATING. TEAM MEMBER STEVE DEGRAW RECALLS A RACE ON THE HUDSON RIVER IN NEW YORK CITY.

“Big freighters and ocean liners were going by, putting up these huge waves, and these waves were swamping the boats. We planned to have middle guys in the boat jump out. It turned out that all of the boats in the race swamped…so they had about 120 people floating down the Hudson River. It was total chaos.”

IN LONG BEACH, THE SAN DIEGO TEAM DOES WELL, WINNING THE GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP. EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE ONE OF THE HIGHEST-RANKING TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY, THEY’RE VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN IN THEIR HOMETOWN.

“It’s unbelievable the difference between the way dragon boating is perceived, especially in the Asian countries, versus here. When we go over there, we’re treated almost like rock stars. The sad thing is we come back to San Diego and the San Diego people don’t even know they have a world-class championship team right in their backyard.”

THE SAN DIEGO TEAM HAS 70 MEMBERS, RANGING IN AGE FROM 18 TO 60. DESPITE THE SPORT’S CHINESE ORIGINS, SURPRISINGLY, THE SAN DIEGO TEAM DOESN’T HAVE MANY ASIAN MEMBERS. TWO-THIRDS OF ITS ATHLETES ARE RECRUITED FROM OTHER WATER SPORTS, LIKE OUTRIGGER PADDLING.

[SNEAK AMBIENCE FROM PRACTICE—WATER SPLASHING]

“Feel the rhythm of the boat…” (And other coaching commands to team) water splashing underneath.

BACK IN SAN DIEGO, TEAM MEMBERS ARE TRAINING UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF COACH RENA HOR-KA-JOE. THE WOMEN’S TEAM IS GETTING READY FOR THE WORLD CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS—THE OLYMPICS OF DRAGON BOAT RACING—LATER THIS MONTH. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HELD NEAR SHANGHAI, BUT DUE TO SARS, THE RACES WERE MOVED-----TO MALTA LAKE…IN POLAND.

[AMBI OF WATER SPLASHING, PADDLERS COUNTING DOWN THEIR STROKES]

FOR THE BEAT, I’M TRACEY CHANG IN SAN DIEGO.