Dragon boat paddlers set for New York event

The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in the Queens borough of New York on Aug 13. The annual event drew hundreds of participants, paddling aboard painted boats. [Photo by Andres Kudacki / Associated Press]

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Dressed in her Catch22 team-logo tank top, Stacy Wu hit for a morning exercise on the lake of World Fair Marina in New York on Aug 13, together with her dragon boat teammates. For the past month, they have come for training twice or three times a week, preparing for a race less than one week away.

Stacy, a New York-based analyst, is the pacer in the team, sitting in the front row, observing the water conditions, and setting up the pace for the boat with her paddle.

As a Chinese American, she learned about the sport from the annual dragon boat festival in Flushing, a Chinese community in New York where she lives.

"I do really enjoy the cultural aspect of it," she said. "I would like to get in touch with my Chinese side."

This is the second year since Stacy joined Catch22, one of the most prominent dragon boat teams in the city. Born out of New York City's Flushing Bay in 2011, the team has been a breeding ground for dragon boat crews for years.

"Our teammates come from all over New York area, we meet them through our social media sites, through friends and family," David Woo, the coach and head of the team, told Xinhua.

Most of the paddlers are drawn to the team by its glorious competition record, not just Asian-Americans. It now has nearly 40 members. In New York City, there are quite a few competitive teams like Catch22, along side many other amateur and corporate teams, who can be spotted almost every summer weekend on the lakes in New York City.