CrossFit Pottstown Tests Fitness with Dragon Boat Racing

They run 5ks, obstacle races, and compete in local fitness competitions, but the ladies of CrossFit Pottstown (www.pottstownkarate.com) were ready for a new challenge in 2013. At the urging of coach and owner Rob Matthews, 20 women formed a team for the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta (http://independencedragonboat.com/) on June 1. The team, like the CrossFit box, had a wide variety of ages, athletic ability, and CrossFit experience.

The Regatta is open to both novice and competitive teams. It is an all-day event, with paddlers racing three times: time trials, semi-finals, and finals. Each race is 500 meters, and at first glance, sounds like a breeze for a CrossFit athlete. After forming the Pottstown Dragon Warriors team, the ladies added 500m erg interval training to their training programs beginning a few months before the regatta. However, the Pottstown ladies quickly learned that dragon boat paddling and rowing in the gym are quite different.

The Independence Dragon Boat Regatta provides registered teams with three complimentary one-hour practices on the water.  The first practice, in April, put the women in unfamiliar – and uncomfortable – territory. Wearing bulky lifejackets and carrying paddles (not “oars,” as they were mistakenly called by the team at first), the team tentatively climbed into the narrow wooden boat. “SIT READY!” yelled the coach at the front of the boat. The CrossFitters blinked at her and waited for an explanation. Realizing she had true beginners on her hands, the coach gave a quick tutorial of the new lingo, and the basics of the dragon boat paddle stroke. A bit of panic ensued – this was nothing like holding the erg handle back at the box. Regardless, the team pushed off the dock and began to paddle.

After about five seconds of what the ladies thought was strong paddling, the coach in the back halted the boat. “RHYTHM!” she yelled. “You have to be IN SYNC.” More blinks and blank looks were exchanged. The CrossFit athletes were used to supporting one another with verbal encouragement, but nobody had ever required they do their box jumps or pullups perfectly in sync. This was a very different type of teamwork.

After an hour on the water practicing form, “start” drills, and arranging seating to properly balance the boat, the team was tired, but with a much better understanding of this sport. Interestingly, many of the skills learned in CrossFit were transferable to this. For instance, the coaches cued the team, “Use your core! This is much more core and legs than it is arms and shoulders.” And “FORM  is imperative for this to be successful!"

The coach encouraged them to do one more paddle – a few hundred meters, to get the women to experience the feel of the boat moving smoothly through the water. “Let’s do a start – paddle STRONG and with everyone paddling TOGETHER, okay?” The team sat forward in the boat (with fairly good form and synchronization). “READY ALL!... PADDLE!” yelled the coach. The women buried their paddles in the Schuylkill River and pulled – hard. Both coaches had to hold on with both hands to avoid being tossed into the water by the force of the (finally synchronized) paddling. “Wow! You guys are unbelievably strong!” said the front coach.

After two more practices on the water, with varying members of the team attending due to personal schedules, the team was as prepared as they could be. At the final practice, they did a 500 m nonstop paddle, to try and simulate what they would be doing race day. Time: 2 minutes and 45 seconds. A bit disheartening, as the competitive CrossFitters had already looked up last year’s winning times, which were under two minutes.

On June 1, the team gathered their supplies for race day: water (lots of water), ice, snacks, a grill, meat, and adult beverages. Travelling about 40 miles from Pottstown to the race on Kelly Drive in Philadelphia, the team and coach arrived before 7 a.m. to set up their tent (and claim their private “loo”). Race day was the first time all 20 women would be sitting in the boat together. The time trial race began at 8:30 am. The women stretched, chatted, and visited the loo multiple times each (attributed to nerves). At 8:30, they piled into the boat. With the help of a drummer and steerer, they made their way to the starting line. The wind was whipping on the water, much more than it had at any of the three practices. This meant the race would have a “fast start,” meaning that paddles would already be in the water. The horn went off and the women got started, albeit a bit off-tempo due to the fast start (which was a new skill). Paddling to the beat of the drum, the team finished last in their heat – but with a final time of 2:32! That was a 13 second improvement from their final practice two days before, and a highly respectable time for a novice team who spent a total of three hours on the water, and zero hours as a complete team before race day.  

During the few hours between that race and the semi-final, the team relaxed, fueled up with food (and maybe an adult beverage or two), and visited with friends and family from the box that had come out to support them for the day. The semi-final race started at 11:04. The wind picked up even more, making the start even more difficult. The front paddlers were required to “draw water,” another new skill for the team. They wound up having to pull away from the starting line, make a big loop in the river, and return to the line in order to ensure a straight start. This was slightly embarrassing, and many paddlers were having trouble focusing. One more cue that sounded suspiciously like a CrossFit coach’s: “Don’t worry about how fast the other boats are. Keep your eyes straight ahead and do your work and you guys will kick ass!” Having switched a few seats to ensure better weight distribution, this race seemed smoother to the athletes, who finished in 2:35 – and given the increased wind, the coaches on the dock assured them that this was respectable and consistent with the first race. All veteran dragon boaters were quite impressed by CrossFit Pottstown’s showing. Their time in the second place ranked them sixth in the women’s division of 14 teams. 

Returning to their tents excited by their performance so far, the women ate, hydrated, and napped. Many visited nearby tents set up by military groups – climbing rock walls and challenging servicemen to pushup contests. The “CrossFit Pottstown” on the back of the team’s shirts generated many conversations with passerby.

Around 2 p.m., the women gathered on the grass for a dry practice in technique and synchronization. Enthusiasm for the final race was building, and a positive atmosphere settled over the group as their confidence built. They headed down to the dock to wait their turn. The wind hadn’t abated at all, and the water was getting a bit choppy. Down at the finish line, a boat had tipped (apparently, this is common when teams get very excited at the end of a race and someone stands up in the narrow boat), so the next few races were delayed. Finally, CrossFit Pottstown strapped on their life vests, grabbed their paddles, and boarded their boat again. Some quick pep talks (“This is two and a half minutes! This is FRAN in a boat!”), and they were off.

Again, the team had trouble maintaining the boat’s direction at the starting line, and even after making a loop and returning, the boat was crooked. The race couldn’t wait for another loop, and the team had to put their paddles in the water while diagonally facing the lane they were supposed to be in – in other words, they were going to have to make up some distance on this race. The air horn sounded, the drum started, and the team dug in and pulled through the water. The drum kept a solid pace, and the boat flew through the water. The steerer and drummer’s voices cracked as they screamed, “You’re ahead! You’re so far ahead!! DON’T STOP!!”

But suddenly, another air horn sounded and the steerer gave a call to “Let it run,” which means to take the paddles out of the water. The race was being stopped. The CrossFit spectators on the shore were stunned and the team was devastated. A boat had drifted into another boat’s lane and caused a collision, causing the whole race to be halted. The team began a weary loop back to the starting line, and was given a reprieve in the form of a short rest while one of the men’s heats raced.

Once again, the four women’s boats approached the starting line. The CrossFit Pottstown team had finally gotten the hang of drawing water and was able to hold the boat where it needed to be. The horn sounded, and team gave it all they had. For 300 meters, the team was in sync with the other boats and the CrossFitters were screaming in their paddling effort. One boat pulled ahead, but CrossFit Pottstown was still neck-and-neck for second place. The drummer in the front yelled, “Twenty more strokes!” Nobody stopped paddling until they were well past the finish line. As the boat slowed, team members’ hands started popping up with two fingers raised. They had placed second in their heat as novices with a total of three hours’ practice. This landed the team fifth out of 14 teams on their very first race, and their time in the final race was 2:33. They were told their consistency was very impressive, as other teams’ times had gotten significantly longer as the day went on.

As they traveled back to the dock, spectators stood on the shore and cheered for the team. The drummer leaned in and told the team in a low voice, “That team you were neck-and-neck with? They practice on the water five days a week. And you beat them.” On the dock waited captains from other teams, handing out business cards – recruiting the novices for competitive teams, citing their strength and visible passion. The CrossFitters high-fived everyone in sight, saying “Nice job!” and “Awesome race!” (You can take the athlete out of the gym, but…)

Back at the tent, amongst more high-fives and the cracking open of some adult beverages, the team was presented with an award from the Army, citing teamwork, dedication, and perseverance. In the words of one team member, “this is more meaningful than any race medal.” The accompanying plaque now rests at the Pottstown box, awaiting a shelf that Coach Matthews will hang for it – and the team’s future trophies.

Diane Carroll is a CrossFit Pottstown athlete, and is also a Dragon Boat paddler for the Pottstown Dragon Warriors. She works for a large financial institution in order to support her CrossFit habit, and lives in Pottstown, PA with her boyfriend and two cats.