Gina Lee manages the pre-race practices for Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival.
When it comes to organizing dozens of teams and practice times — and roping in coaches, volunteers, steers-people, water time, and even gas for the safety boat — she not only does it, but loves it.
“I’m kind of a spreadsheet queen,” Lee says. “I love doing that. I have one of the earliest contact with the team captains. I get to welcome them to the festival.”
Registration for the Peterborough Dragon Boat festival opens in February, and that’s when team captains hear from Lee. The earlier a team registers, she says, the better choice for practice times it will have.
“I love working with the team captains. Everyone is there for the right reasons and the best of reasons.”
Once a team has a confirmed practice time, two other things happen: first, they’re offered the chance to buy a second practice time, and, second, Lee assigns the team a practice coach.
The practice coaches have trained specifically to work with community paddlers on the water. In late May and early June, Little Lake in Peterborough is dotted with dragon boats — some taking on the challenge of dragon boating for the first time.
“Safety is a key component,” Lee says. All paddlers wear personal floatation devices and are taught how to embark and disembark the boat safely.
They’re also taught how to hold the boat, and basic commands like “Take it Away” and “Paddles Up.”
Equally important, Lee says, is that every paddler feels comfortable.
“We want to make sure they have a great experience. The more fun they can have on the festival day, the better. We really strive to make the practices fun so the paddlers look forward to race day.”
And, for physical comfort, paddlers are also taught how to paddle without hurting themselves.
Lee says one of the most rewarding parts of her commitment to the festival is seeing a brand new team learn to paddle in synch.
“It’s really something to see a brand new team leave the dock for their practice,” she laughs. “They’re all over the place.
“Then you see them come back in, and they’re all paddling in synch and have complete control of the boat. It’s really quite amazing.”
