PFP Takes the Silver at U.S. Club Crew Nationals

27 Jul 2010

Philadelphia Flying Phoenix remains the fastest all women's club crew on the Schuylkill River and the east coast after taking the silver medal overall in the U.S. Club Crew Nationals dragon boat competition held July 23-25 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Despite steamy temperatures and high humidity (a high heat index of 107), PFP got stronger with every day of competition.  Nationals kicked off on Friday with 500 meter races.  The PFP crew took the bronze medal in the final with a time of 2:16.88.  Dragonboat Charleston (a team out of South Carolina) came in second, and Wiki Wiki Wahine (a composite crew of marathon canoers primarily from the Midwest) came in first.

The second day of competition, 200 meter races, was held in conjunction with the Fourth Annual Chattanooga Dragon Boat Festival.  PFP came away with the silver medal in the final race with a time of 54.037.  We had a personal best time in the second race of the day at 53.19.  The Wahine team came in first with at time of 52.969.

A single 1,000 meter race was all that was left for the final day of racing on Sunday.  Really wanting to take home a gold, PFP dug deep and pulled out a win! The team's winning time for the 1,000 meter was 4:42.7, followed by Wiki Wiki Wahine at 4:43.03, and Dragonboat Charleston at 4:43.9.

Congratulations to all the teams who medaled and competed in the U.S. Club Crew Nationals, including several other local teams - Hope Afloat, Schuylkill Dragons, Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association, and Dragon Boat Club of Philadelphia.

ATW Makes Waves in Peterborough, Canada

15 Jun 2010

Against the Wind (ATW), the breast cancer survivors’ crew of Philadelphia Flying Phoenix, returned victorious from the International Breast Cancer Survivor Dragon Boat Festival in Peterborough, Canada. The Peterborough Festival was held on June 11 – 13, 2010.  This year, Against the Wind finished in fourth place out of sixty-eight teams from as far away as Italy, Great Britain Australia, and South Africa. Of the thirteen teams representing USA clubs, ATW posted the fastest time.

On Friday, the town of Peterborough hosted opening ceremonies for the festival, including a parade of teams.  Our own Trish Koons, leading the ATW crew and playing the harmonica and guitar at the same time, was interviewed by television crews as the ATW survivors entertained the spectators in song.

Racing started on Saturday, and ATW quickly established their position in the rankings by winning a berth in the A division. When the final race was over on Saturday, only Pink Sensations, Rowbust and Knot Abreast, all from Canada, were faster than our own crew. ATW Captain, Charlene Ostroski, PFP Head Coach, Diane Cloutier and ATW Coach, Julie Stapleton-Carroll voiced their praise for the efforts of this crew.

Sandy Smith, a dragonboater who passed away from breast cancer, is credited with the expansion of this sport for survivors and was honored with the Sandy Smith Global Race. Following this special race, a flower ceremony was performed. Two representatives from each team (Diane Cloutier and Jean Ettinger from ATW) boarded 5 dragon boats, which after racing were connected together drifting to face the shore. The crowd of spectators and paddlers listened to the Beatles’ In My Life, sung by a chorus of local singers while 21 doves were released, one for each Dragons Abreast, Canada paddler who has been lost to breast cancer.

ATW posted the fastest USA time and the fourth fastest time in World competition.