(Event ID: 43)
Mid-Ohio Valley Dragon Boat
Tuesday's and Thursday's, paddlers gather at 5:00 pm, grab gear, stretch at 5:15. On the water at 5:30; off by 6:30 pm. For Saturday's gatherings one should arrive 7:45- 8:00 a.m. and be in the boat by 8:15.
Non-competitive
Partially ADA compliant
Duration: 1.5 hours
Tuesday are to be more technical and, eventually, more demanding. Saturdays are for newbies, guests and fun. Thursdays fall in the middle.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Dragon Boat is not limited to breast cancer survivors: it welcomes any cancer survivor or supporter of a cancer survivor to join the MOV’n Dragon crew and “awaken the dragon within.”
The Restorative Power of Modern Day Dragon Boat Racing
In 1996, Dr. Donald C. McKenzie, a sports medicine physician and exercise physiologist at the University of Vancouver, BC was doing research on cardio-vascular fitness of women and the restrictive activity levels approved for women after surgery for breast cancer. He had an interest in getting these women back to an active lifestyle. This goal was the impetus behind Dr. McKenzie’s idea to form a breast cancer survivors’ dragon boat team. Crewing on a dragon boat requires repetitive, upper body exercise. It provides an opportunity to work in a large group, and because it is fun, it provides valuable training stimulus that leads to improved fitness. With the help of the courageous women who volunteered for the first crew, Dr. McKenzie was able to develop a model for dragon boat crews for cancer survivors that is based on a paddling training program done in a slow and progressive manner to build the strength and competency of paddlers. His research proved the often prescribed restricted physical regimen had no basis in scientific fact. Dragon boats share these characteristics — adorned with a colorful dragon head and tail, the boats are just over 38 feet long and designed for stability. Each boat is powered by 20 paddlers, sitting 2 abreast, with a steersperson at the back and a drummer at the front. The drummer keeps the stroke of the paddlers in time and the steersperson keeps the boat heading on the right course. Every crew member is equally important. Timing is just as important as strength and working in unity is critical to team success. Dragon boat races are scaled at 250, 500, or 1,000 meters. There are usually 4 to 6 boats in a race.
Provided
-
Dave Becker
Email:
