Hundreds paddle down Schuylkill River for 15th annual Independence Dragon Boat Regatta

Practically 90 groups raced down the Schuylkill River for the occasion, which allowed each skilled and novice paddlers to compete.

“It is truly a Chinese language sport that was created over 2,500 years in the past,” defined Ken Wong, the co-chair of the occasion.

The dragon boat is a 40-foot-long canoe with 20 paddlers in it.

“The primary dragon boat in the US, the primary membership was right here in Philadelphia. It is our membership. The Philadelphia Dragon Boat Affiliation,” added Wong.

A part of what makes dragon racing distinctive is there is a drummer within the again. Every bang alerts the paddler to row in time with one another.

“He is drumming to the beat of the paddlers,” mentioned dock grasp Kevin McFadden. “Its extraordinarily exact. You are paddling, generally at 120 strokes a minute.”

McFadden says he is glad the occasion is again to full power for the primary time for the reason that pandemic.

“We had an occasion final 12 months, however folks had been very tentative. We most likely had half the groups we’d usually have, and it had a really feel to it,” he mentioned. “Lots of masks, you recognize. I do not assume I’ve seen any masks up to now at this time.”

The paddlers are excited to be again on the water too.

“It is a sense of group constructing and quite a lot of enjoyable, and also you get to see Philadelphia from a distinct viewpoint,” mentioned Amy Virus of the Schuylkill Dragons.

Lori Mertz of the Gloucester County Vixens mentioned, “It is quite a lot of enjoyable. It is only a bunch of mothers who determined we need to do one thing good for the group. All of us increase one another up, cheer one another, carry kindness to the world.”