Early risers may need seen crews of younger individuals rowing boats and beating drums on Vasona Lake in Los Gatos, the place one of many few South Bay dragon boat groups was practising for an upcoming worldwide race.
Dragon boat advanced right into a aggressive sport from a conventional Chinese language vacation. Twenty-man groups sit in rows of two and paddle on all sides of the boat whereas the steerer directs the boat from the again and the drummer retains the paddlers’ tempo within the entrance as they race.
The dragon boat crew at San Jose State College traces its lineage from a bunch of paddlers that needed to proceed their coaching after highschool in 2013. After years of ebb and movement between aggressive and leisure targets, the crew is gearing as much as compete within the Northern California Worldwide Dragon Boat Competition in Foster Metropolis on Sept. 20 and 21.
“My goal is to make the team as competitive as possible while also keeping our recreational aspects, because that’s what I believe makes the community,” mentioned head coach Jimmy Qiu. “A community is what builds a team, what drives a team to go forward, and the community is what pushes each other to strive for more, strive for better.”
San Jose Dragon Boat, which refers to each the crew and the membership, has been practising at Vasona Lake since they began, mentioned Qiu. It’s the closest observe website authorised by the California Dragon Boat Affiliation, a nonprofit group that promotes the game of dragon boating within the Bay Space. There are solely three different observe websites listed by the group within the Bay Space: Lake Merced in San Francisco, Bair Island Aquatic Middle in Redwood Metropolis and Suisun Metropolis Waterfront .
Membership president Ashley Chen mentioned dragon boat paddlers are normally based mostly in San Francisco and the Peninsula, making San Jose Dragon Boat one of many few South Bay-based dragon boat groups, together with South Bay Synergy and Santa Cruz Dragon Boat. Moreover, they’re one of many few dragon boat groups based mostly out of a California State College; their native competitors contains groups from UC Davis and Stanford College.
“We definitely take pride because we represent a pretty big population or a pretty big area for dragon boat,” Qiu mentioned. “Obviously, it would be cool if there were more teams in South Bay, but I think it’s pretty unique that we are one of the main teams here.”
Workforce captain Julianna Ruidera mentioned San Jose Dragon Boat began as one thing of an “underdog” because it narrowly grew to become a membership sport round 2022 for funding causes. Since then, nonetheless, the crew has collected accolades within the sport. Most lately, they ranked first within the B-Division blended aggressive race at Regional Regatta in San Francisco in Could. Finally 12 months’s Northern California Worldwide Dragon Boat Competition, the crew got here in first amongst B-Division aggressive groups.
Hannah Li, a latest San Jose State graduate, has competed with San Jose Dragon Boat for the final two years. She mentioned she hopes that that the crew will qualify for races within the A-Division at this 12 months’s pageant and rank first amongst these groups. Ruidera mentioned she hopes to see the crew get a medal in an A-Division race.
“I just want our team to do the best that they can and put everything out on the water and not have regrets with the race, and also to have fun, of course,” Ruidera mentioned. “I’m pretty comfortable (or) confident in saying that we will at least get into A-Div and hopefully medal.”
Except for competing, crew members reward the social facets of the game. Chen credited it with including to her school expertise. Workforce constructing actions, like learning collectively, consuming collectively and practising collectively, contributed to a “super tightknit” group, Chen mentioned, including that her fondest reminiscences of the crew embrace staying in Airbnbs with different teammates throughout out-of-town races and making an attempt to outperform others in a yearly Friendsgiving potluck with present and alumni members.
“We try to aim for around one social per month to form a better team environment for both paddling and also the team building aspect of it because we do everything together, basically,” Chen mentioned.
Jacob Lowell, a fourth-year forensic biology main who has been on the crew for a 12 months, mentioned he had heard about it from Qiu and determined to hitch.
“I loved how welcoming everyone was. There was not one person who was turning me away,” Lowell mentioned. Everybody had open arms, and that’s in all probability my favourite half in regards to the membership.”
Members of the San Jose State College Dragon Boat membership crew observe at Vasona Lake County Park on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Space Information Group)
Members of the San Jose State College Dragon Boat membership crew observe at Vasona Lake County Park on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Space Information Group)
Members of the San Jose State College Dragon Boat membership crew train in a parking zone at Vasona Lake County Park on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Space Information Group)
Members of the San Jose State College Dragon Boat membership crew observe at Vasona Lake County Park on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Space Information Group)
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Members of the San Jose State College Dragon Boat membership crew observe at Vasona Lake County Park on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Space Information Group)
Develop
The crew practices between 9 a.m. and midday each Saturday and Sunday at Vasona. After the Northern California Worldwide Dragon Boat Competition this weekend, San Jose Dragon Boat will go on to compete within the School Cup races towards different school groups in Northern and Southern California in November.
