Sports
Alameda Dragon Flyers Excel on Quarry Lakes
The Flyers took honors Sunday at the Regional Sprint Race of the California Dragon Boat Association in Fremont.
Three Alameda teams placed in Sunday's race hosted by the California Dragn Boat Association and held at Fremont's Quarry Lakes.
The Dragon Flyer's Posey crew took first place in the A division, the Webster crew placed second in the C division, and the masters crew, with paddlers age 40 and over, took third.
"It was a great day all around," said Carol Beaver of Alameda Dragon Flyers.
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Beaver answered a few Alameda Patch questions on behalf of the Flyers.
How many members are there on your team? We have 65 active members at present. Forty-eight participated in the sprints on Quarry Lakes.
When was the team formed? And whose idea was it? Alameda Dragon Flyers started racing in 2000 as a city of Alameda employee team. At that time there was a Mayor's Cup race in Oakland and I was asked by the city manager to organize a team to compete in that race. As interest in the sport grew, our team morphed from an employee team to a community team. We still have a number of current and retired city employees who paddle with ADF, but we now have members from various cities in the East Bay as well. Being an island city, Alameda is a great place to paddle!
How many races have you been in, including this one? The Dragon Flyers participate in five or six Bay Area races each season. Several years ago we started traveling to out-of-town races. We've been to Long Beach for two years in a row and this year we're going to Victoria in August and San Diego in October. My sweetie and I have paddled with other teams in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C., Portland, Spokane and Tampa Bay, Florida, and have been spectators at events in Rome, Istanbul and South Africa. Dragon boat travel is great fun!
