The steady rhythm of drumbeats and shouts of ‘one-two-three-four’ could be heard all around Lake Sumter Thursday morning as 30 Camp Villages teens joined experienced members of The Villages Grand Masters Dragon Boat Clubs to learn the sport of racing.
“This was kind of hard when we first started out,” said Megan Broekel, whose granddad, Wayne Hoff, from The Village of Tamarind Grove, was watching the event. “It got easier as we went along and practiced with our paddles,” said her team mate Simone Robertson, who is visiting relatives in Palo Alto Village. Tyler Zwolenik, 14, and his sister Hannah, 15, visiting grandparents Bob and Lois Zwolenik in Belvedere Village were wet and smiling after the first instructional session.
A few youngsters were winded, but most were smiling as they disembarked from the first on-water training foray.Team leaders made sure the teens drank lots of water to keep hydrated as they continued lessons on shore. “They taught us everything we needed really quickly,” Tyler said. “This is really fun.” “This is a great experience,” his sister Hannah added, “especially if you are a first-time learner. They took us step-by-step and made it all easy to understand.”
Then a second on-water training session began in earnest. Village of Hadley resident Larry Reid’s deep voice resounded over the waters as he guided half the participants through turns, starts and stops. “We started off with the basic strokes,” Larry said, and (club members) Alice and Claudia acted as ‘visuals’ for the kids to watch and emulate. The gals demonstrated how to control the paddles in simple steps. They learned up and down paddle commands and how to move in synch.” “Once they had a handle on the basics,” Palo Alto Villager Claudia McNichols added, “we continued to add more types of strokes.” “After that, we started to talk about where our starting line would be for the race, and how we would proceed,” said Alice Micchelli, from Hillsborough Village.
AÂ second boatload of youngsters paddled alongside.
“We’re all very proud of Alice and Claudia,” Larry boasted. “In September, they will travel to Ravenna, Italy, to compete for the international dragon boat racing championship.”
All in all, the kids were on the water for about three hours. Noontime temperature was hot and very humid, but a cool breeze and mist from the lake kept the boaters comfortable. One boat came in a bit ahead of the other, but as in life, it’s not about who ‘wins’ and who ‘loses,’ it’s about enjoying the journey!
Strollers on the boardwalk were enjoying the unexpected boating spectacle, including Pennecamp Villager Jay Williams, who with his daughter Carrie, from the San Francisco bay area, was showing grandson, Mathew, 5, a swimming tortoise. “We have a great climate out west,” Carrie said, “but we always love visiting The Villages. There’s always something exciting going on, and It’s cool down here by the water.”
