For Kim Short, Cheryl Shannon and Dave Hunt, For Kim Short, Cheryl Shannon and Dave Hunt, racing dragon boats is more than a recreational activity. The sport has become the focus of hard work, dedicated physical training and coordinated teamwork – earning these retired teachers a place on the Canadian national team and taking them to the most recent World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, in August 2023. In their division, the Canadian Senior C team won 12 gold and two silver medals (out of 21 events), contributing to Canada’s complete domination of the total medal count. O Canada, indeed!
The trio are all on the Senior C national team, made up of athletes aged 60 and older. But within that larger team, they break out for different competitions: women, open and mixed, in four race lengths. Hunt paddles on the open and mixed teams; Short paddles on the women’s team. Shannon, a long-time competitive paddler, now steers for women’s, mixed and some open teams.
Hunt and Shannon are members of Evolution Paddling Club in Toronto; Short is a long-time member of the Knot A Breast team in Hamilton.
Dave Hunt in action.
Dave Hunt
“In the boat, I’m typically in the ‘engine room.’ The front section is called ‘the strokes,’ and they set the pace. The middle section, the engine room, are the big guys, and the back section, called ‘the rockets,’ are dealing with the fast water.
“Dragon boat started in China about 2,000 years ago. Millions of people participate in China, but over the past 40 years, the sport has become extremely popular in Canada. I understand there are about 150 teams in the Toronto area alone. Based on our medal count at the last world championships in Thailand, we’re actually the top-performing country in the world now.
“I started dragon boat in my late 50s, after a teacher came into the weight room at school and started talking about his team trying to qualify for the Club Crew World Championships in Hungary. There aren’t a lot of team sports for people in our age group, where you can still compete at a high level.
“Our national team isn’t like an Olympic team, say, where you live and train together for weeks. I train with some team members three or four times a week, but I only see the full crew together a few times before a major competition. When we all understand the racing plan and our coaches’ expectations – where we put the paddle in, where we finish, how quickly we come out of the water, how we pause in front of strokes – then we can come together as a competitive crew and sync up quite quickly.
“When I was in Thailand, I really felt I was in the best physical shape I’ve ever been in, but the benefits are mental, too. Paddling out on dead calm water from the Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club at 5:30 in the morning, seeing the sunrise and the Toronto skyline – it’s quite breathtaking, actually. And you don’t have to be a competitive person to enjoy dragon boat. There are many more teams that are mostly recreational. At a regatta, you’ll see teams in silly costumes and serious teams in matching athletic uniforms.
“For me, transitioning into retirement was a challenge without the structure of five clearly defined periods each day. Dragon boat has given me a new focus.”
Kim Short, right – proud Canadians in Thailand!
Kim Short
“There’s a big world of breast-cancer teams in dragon boat. For me, starting on a breast-cancer team – which we called a floating support group – provided camaraderie and very special connections with people who had gone through a similar experience.
“My husband took a photo of me stepping into the boat at my first practice. I look so tentative then, but through the sport I’ve become stronger at this age than ever before, with more mental confidence and belief in myself.
“Competing on the national team, the connections I’ve made with the other paddlers are somehow different than with other friends, because we experience extreme highs and lows together. The day before our first race at the world championships in Thailand last year, I injured myself. It was a silly fall and I’d worked so hard to get on the team, so I was really, really upset with myself. Since I couldn’t paddle, I took over as the drummer. I’d never been a drummer before, but the team roster was already entered and we didn’t have a lot of latitude.
“The drummer sits at the front, facing the paddlers. For the first time, I could see all 20 women paddling. Seeing their grit and determination, and how hard they were working, I was very emotional – and grateful to be part of it. We won, and I was able to tough it out and paddle again a couple of days later.
“I never imagined that one day I’d be wearing a Team Canada jersey, on a podium, singing ‘O Canada.’ Now I can’t imagine my life without dragon boat.”
ˮDragon boat started in China about 2,000 years ago. Millions of people participate in China, but over the past 40 years, the sport has become extremely popular in Canada.ˮ — Dave Hunt
Cheryl Shannon steering in Thailand at the World Championships.
Cheryl Shannon
“Dragon boat keeps me fit and keeps me working towards a goal, meeting new people who share similar goals. As I started competing internationally, dragon boat has taken me to places I wouldn’t have chosen myself.
“After paddling for many years on national teams, I was looking for a new challenge. I’m currently a steersperson on the team. It’s a skill I haven’t completely mastered yet, but it’s a way to push myself forward. Last year, I steered at the world championships on the national team.
“A steer keeps the boat on target around the course. The steer also uses strategy, especially on an oval course, where we can come inside like a runner in an 800-metre race. On many teams, steers also make calls, so if I feel the power getting soft, I might call for a ‘power five,’ or if we’re getting tired, I might call for the stroke to lengthen.
“When we’re in sync, we have more power. If we’re not all paddling the same, it’s not productive – it’s more like a tug of war. Teams come together when everyone has the same goal, and when communications and feedback are clear. Success as a team always helps too.
“Dragon boat is good for people who like to compete but don’t want to be the only person onstage, win or lose. You can compete, you can work hard, but you’re doing it as a group. When you do well, you share the win, and when you don’t, you support each other. That’s when we tell each other, ‘We’ll get them next time.’”
Paddling crew placement
The team coach decides where the 20 paddlers on a standard team sit, based on weight, strength and skill – the boat has to balance side to side and be coordinated front to back.
The paddlers in the front three rows are nicknamed “the strokes.” They’re the ones paddling into still, heavy water; on many teams, they set the paddling pace. All the paddlers have to move in a coordinated way, but it’s especially important that the front ones are very precise in timing. The drummer at the front helps communicate the pace to everyone else.
The “engine room” is the middle four rows. On a mixed team, it’s usually made up of heavier men with upper body strength, who provide a lot of power for the boat.
In the back three rows, “the rockets” need to be paddlers with strength, excellent technique and a longer stroke, so they can pull through more water when it’s already churned up and moving. “It shouldn’t feel like you’re cutting into soft butter,” Cheryl Shannon says. “The paddle should go into frozen butter, so you can pull the boat forward.”
The steersperson or “steer” is at the back, using an oar-like rudder to adjust the boat’s direction for the most efficient, strategic position at all times.
The strategy for seating paddlers and the role of each section can vary from team to team and coach to coach. Coaches have their own theories about how to get the most out of a crew – akin to hockey coaches placing different emphasis on offence and defence. And recreational teams with novice paddlers are often organized differently than experienced competitive teams.
