Pitt students to race dragon boats

Nearly 2,300 years ago, along the banks of China’s Mi Lo River, an exiled “patriot-poet,”… Nearly 2,300 years ago, along the banks of China’s Mi Lo River, an exiled “patriot-poet,” racked with despair after learning that his home region had been conquered, chose to ease his suffering by drowning himself.

Horrified, the local villagers raced to his rescue in rowboats, banging upon drums and splashing the water with their paddles to scare off predatory fish. Though they were unable to save him, the villagers returned to the river each year to race boats in memorial of this noble poet and his political ideals.

Today, this once solemn ritual has brought a new wave of culture down to Washington’s Landing, where teams of businessmen, members of local Chinese organizations and even Pitt students have joined in the highly competitive sport of dragon boat racing, which is based on the ceremonial races held in ancient China.

All over the world, and for the first time in Pittsburgh, teams of roughly 20 people race in giant boats outfitted with the heads and tails of Chinese dragons. The paddlers tear through the waves while being controlled by a coxswain, or a person who steers, in the back of the dragon boat and directed by the beat and commands of a drummer at the front.

Though the rowing is hard work and the paddlers usually end up soaked to the skin, both professional rowers and first-time paddlers have joined the new Three Rivers Dragon Boat League, established by the Three Rivers Rowing Association.

The development of Pittsburgh’s first dragon boat races is largely because of the efforts of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Three Rivers Rowing and Steel City Rowing. After doing some rigorous community fundraising and receiving seed money from the Southwest Planning Council, the URA was able to purchase the League’s first dragon boats and set up a system of practices and races that ran through the spring and summer.

The end of this year’s racing season will culminate in a massive Dragon Boat Festival on the North Shore Sept. 21, which will commemorate both the Harvest Moon Festival and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Pittsburgh’s economic, educational and cultural exchange with Wuhan, China.

In addition to the dragon boat races, there will be Chinese music, dance and tai chi performances, along with traditional Chinese cuisine and crafts. Many of the festival’s presentations and booths were provided by Pittsburgh’s numerous Chinese organizations, including Pittsburgh’s Chinese Restaurant Association and the Organization of Chinese Americans.

Seizing this opportunity to enrich Pitt’s cultural experiences, the Asian Studies Department helped to organize and advertise the races, drawing new teams from the Model U.N. Club, the Student Honors Activity Community and the University of Pittsburgh Law School, as well as other student clubs from Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University and the local area.

Though dragon boat racing was a rather new concept for most of Pitt’s paddlers, and the races on the 21st will include more experienced teams from Wuhan, Amy Eckhardt, the director of National Scholarships and International Programming and a future dragon boat paddler, wasn’t worried. “You have to be able to sit in a boat and hold a paddle,” she remarked, adding, “This is a way to highlight the rivers in Pittsburgh and show people what there is to do.”

The festival on Sept. 21 is open to Pitt students, staff and members of the local community. All are welcome to cheer on Pittsburgh’s new dragon boat racing teams and become better acquainted with Pittsburgh’s Chinese community.