2010 Dragon Boat Races and Asian Festival
By: Jeff Roux
August 21,2010 marked the annual Asian Festival and Dragon Boat Races held at Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. This year Hartford Young Professional and Entrepreneurs HYPE, entered two boats into the challenge. Also this year, Excel Fitness proudly offered the complementary use of its facility to all HYPE Dragon Boat paddlers with the intention of helping the athletes get into top condition which may have contributed to faster overall times over last year. The event has lots of attractions for people of all ages and ethnicities including Asian Martial Arts and Musical Performances, Art, Food, and of course the Dragon Boat Competition. More boats enter every year sponsored by corporations, non-profits, and private entries.
Although the two teams shared the common interest of HYPE and bettering Hartford there was still a strong spirit of competition between the experienced boat from last year and the first-timers boat. Jeff Roux was placed in the center of the novice boat known to paddlers as the “powerhouse” of the boat and Shoshanna Silverberg, yoga instructor at Excel Fitness, known for her fighting spirit was placed in the boat as well. After winning its first heat the two HYPE boats were placed head to head in the next heat with boat teams improving their times by 15 seconds eventually with the novice boat winning the heat by a dragon’s head. In the end both teams placed very well 12th and 13th respectively overall.
All participants look forward to next year’s races with another possible head to head rematch.
Jeff Roux and Shoshanna Silverberg Both HYPE Teams ready to go at it!