Fire in the belly Fire in the belly (July 29, 2005)

Mountain View High School dragon boaters show 'synch and harmony'

By Jenny Baer

When incoming senior Kristine Lesyna tells people she is a member of the Mountain View High School Dragon Boating team, the only one of its kind in the South Bay, "They usually look at me and say, 'What the heck is that?' and 'How did you get into that?'"

But Lesyna says this ancient Chinese sport, which stresses teamwork and strength as well as fun, is well worth a few quizzical remarks.

Dragon boating shares many similarities with the more widely known sport of crew. The team competes in 250- and 500-meter races, sometimes including turns or slaloms. Between 18 and 20 paddlers at a time work to propel the boat.

So what's the difference between dragon boating and competitive crew?

"This is a very serious sport, but there's a big element of just wacky fun that's involved," states team coach Claro Arzadon. "It's a serious sport, but it's a sport that we don't take too seriously."

One look at a dragon boat makes this apparent. Not only are the brightly painted crafts decked out with dragon heads, tails and drums, but team members may also be seen wearing crazy hats or outfits.

However, all of these seemingly decorative items serve a purpose. The head and tail each add two feet of length to the boat. A designated drummer sits in front of the boat to create a beat and yell commands, thereby keeping every paddler in synch.

"The key is to have all 20 people work in synch and harmony to get the boat across the water, obviously against the other teams, and also against time, and to do it with minimal interference in the boat," said Arzadon.

The sport requires immense physical strength. Junior Claudia Lam, who also competes in track and cross-country running, admits to getting "pretty tired out there" during the two hours spent in the boat.

The MVHS dragon boating team, which celebrated its first anniversary last Sunday, July 24, was started almost on a whim by senior Luke Cassereau and recent graduate Ben Chen. Cassereau, the team captain, began paddling for an adult team at age 13, in the footsteps of his dragon-boating stepfather.

"I had seen other high school teams racing, and I figured there was no reason why Mountain View couldn't have a team," he says.

"We asked a few of our friends and had them ask a few of their friends and we had our first practice one Saturday last July," recalls Chen, the club's president, who plans to enroll at Princeton University in the fall. "We had about 10 people on the first day, and since then it's been pretty successful."

The coaches, Arzadon and Jason TeWhau, are also members of Cassereau's adult team, Diesel Fish.

Many students were initially motivated to join the team because of its ancient Chinese origins. Coach Arzadon said that some of the first team members would skip classes at Chinese school to attend dragon boating practice because they found it more rewarding.

History aside, Arzadon says team members are instilled with themes and values behind the dragon boating legend, such as "helping each other out, believing in each other, and working as a community to achieve a common goal."

Teamwork is an essential part of the sport, and an aspect that many MVHS paddlers note as their favorite.

"Twenty people being perfectly in synch is a hard thing to accomplish, and when you can do that it shows a great effort and cooperation between everyone," said Cassereau.

Their hard work has paid off. The MVHS dragon boaters paddle in the top high school division, and have performed well in more competitive events that included adult teams.

"It's like a fraternity for a lot of us," said Chen. "Not like a college fraternity, but like a family, you know?"

E-mail Jenny Baer at jbaer@mv-voice.com

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