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Annual dragon boat racing coming to Olympia

Daylong boat race begins April 30

For the 11th straight year, Saint Martin’s University is hosting the Dragon Boat Festival. Photo courtesy Saint Martin's University

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On your mark, get set, go.

The fun begins this Saturday, April 30, with the 11th annual Dragon Boat Festival, a daylong paddle boat race held on Budd Inlet near Olympia sponsored by Saint Martin's University.

About 52 boats and 1,200 paddlers will participate in the races, which take place in the Puget Sound adjacent to Olympia. At 9 a.m., the free fun day, which includes music and dancing, begins with some welcoming remarks by SMU president Dr. Roy Heynderickx and State Senator Karen Fraser at the Olympia Port Plaza.

Back in 2006, when Josephine Yung, SMU's vice president of International Programs and Development, started the Dragon Boat Festival, just 13 boats entered. The turnout has quadrupled since then, making it one of the most popular single-day events in Olympia.

Kathleen Thomas, SMU's director of event services and the Dragon Boat Festival planning committee chairman, is thrilled by the event's growth. About 4,000 spectators from the South Sound area are expected to come and watch.

"We are excited to continue with the tradition of the Dragon Boat Festival," Thomas said. "In the ensuing years, it has grown leaps and bounds with increased teams, vendors and festival attendees."

Racing begins at 9:30 a.m. and continues throughout the day. At 4:30 p.m., the final heats begin and the awards ceremony and closing remarks are made.

"Even if you prefer not to paddle, come out and experience the convivial atmosphere, enjoy the cultural performances, and cheer on your favorite team," Thomas said.

In addition to a day of dragon boat racing, there will be live music, traditional Chinese lion dancing in costumes and martial arts demonstrations. There will also be face painting for kids and Chinese art on display. It's a fun day of entertainment for both spectators and the paddlers.

Following an ancient Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing, each boat has a dragon-shaped head at the bow, the sides are painted with scales and the paddles represent claws. The dragon boat tradition goes back to fourth century China.

In each boat that will be racing in Olympia, there are about 18 paddlers, with a tiller in the stern and a coxswain in the bow. The coxswain sometimes bangs a drum to help the paddlers remain in sync.

It's not just local paddling teams that enter the dragon boat races. Teams come from Seattle, Vancouver and Tacoma. Rowing teams include the Seattle Flying Fire Dragons, Team Tsunami, and Rip City Paddlers. Saint Martin's will again have a team competing.

Saint Martin's started the Dragon Boat Festival because of its connection with China through education. Since 1995, Saint Martin's has sent faculty members to China to teach accounting, international business, and general education classes. Students from Saint Martin's also take part in education abroad in China and participate in internship opportunities in Shanghai and Hong Kong. There are currently 40 students from China enrolled at Saint Martin's.

For more information about the Dragon Boat Festival, visit stmartin.edu/dragonboat.

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