DECATUR, Ala. (AP) - Cutting through the ripples of the Tennessee River, the long, slender, shallow boat - a rarity among the barges and motorboats frequently spotted on the water - passed beneath the steel and concrete bridges connecting to downtown Decatur.
Standing at the back of the 46-foot-long dragon boat, Mike Ward hollered commands to the paddlers moving in sync as dusk descended on north Alabama.
The Lynn Layton Cruizers, a perennial favorite of the Decatur Morgan Hospital Foundation Dragon Boat Festival - winning three of the past five years - were practicing to defend their title at the annual race May 12.
“We can’t look past this race. The pressure is on. We can’t get caught looking ahead,” said Phillip Fortenberry, echoing the words of high school and collegiate coaches.
Unofficially, though, members’ thoughts randomly drifted half a world away - to China.
In early June, 13 local dragon boat participants will leave the familiar water of the Tennessee River for Shanghai’s Suzhou River. By winning last year’s local races, the team received an invitation to represent the United States at the annual dragon boat festival in Shanghai.
“Maybe we shouldn’t say we’re representing the U.S.A. just yet. Maybe we should wait until we see how we actually do,” said Ward, team captain and steersman. “I watched the Canadian team that won last year and they were awesome. They were way ahead of all the other teams.”
The Shanghai festival June 9-10 will feature races among professional, amateur, school and international teams. Eight countries will compete in the international division.
“We have a lot of fun at our dragon boat event. Don’t get me wrong, it’s competitive, and that makes it fun, but it is nothing compared to China. Dragon boat racing is part of the culture there. The sport comes from China. This is a very big festival,” Ward said.
So revered is the sport, China declared the festival an official holiday in 2008.
“When they told us about the invitation to go race in China, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Fortenberry said.
After reading a blog about the Decatur festival, organizers in Shanghai invited the grand champion Lynn Layton Cruizers to the international competition. The invitation, originally written to Ward in Chinese, came via the Huntsville Chinese Association Confucius Institute of Alabama A&M, which competed as Kung Fu Panda at last year’s event in Decatur.
Unlike the local races, which feature 22 participants made up of 20 paddlers, a drummer and a steersperson, the smaller boats in China will hold 12 individuals.
The team traveling to China consists of Ward, Fortenberry, Lynn Layton, Jeff Rippen, Tom Adams, Dane Davidson, Michael Burnett, Brad Huie, Svetlana Champlin, Betsy Motsinger, Lindsey McCaghren, David Wallace and Hillary Blakely.
“I opened up the invitation to the whole team. There was no drawing straws or picking names out of a hat. Whoever wanted to go could go. We are going to compete, but we also want to have fun,” Ward said.
The competition will include three 200-meter races and three 500-meter races - twice the distance of Decatur’s 250-meter races.
“I told them, you better get ready, after May 11, we’re going to be paddling to the I-565 bridge,” said Ward, who was nicknamed the drill sergeant by team members.
Credit for creating the elite dragon boat team rests with Ward. After participating on the Decatur City Schools’ boat the first year, Ward reached out to Lynn Layton about forming a team. Ward is a retired high school principal and fitness enthusiast; he has hiked the Smoky Mountains, walked the Grand Canyon and climbed Mount Rainier. He scouted out potential dragon boat paddlers at the gym.
“I’d be working out and look over and see someone doing pushups on the wall or on the treadmill and think, they’d be good,” Ward said. “We have a lot of people involved from the original team and we have others who paddle when they can. I want them to put their families first. The dragon boat races are all just for fun.”
The team typically starts practicing six weeks before Decatur’s races. The hour-long sessions take place once or twice a week.
“I want to win, too, and am very competitive, but, really, I’m a glutton for punishment, because that’s what these practices are,” said Betsy Motsinger, who will travel to China.
The Lynn Layton Cruizers are not the only ones getting a head start on practice.
“There are two dragon boats sitting out at the Riverwalk Marina right now. The competition is fierce. Everyone is gunning for Lynn Layton. They are the team to beat,” said Noel Lovelace, president of the Decatur Morgan Hospital Foundation.
The foundation expects 65 teams, including past champions and new contenders, to compete in this year’s dragon boat festival at Point Mallard Park. Two groups, Deb’s Diamonds and Deb’s Dazzling Daisies, will compete in memory of Deb Blackmon. Blackmon, the former director of patient access at the hospital, died in February after battling cancer.
“She was a huge supporter of the foundation and a top fundraiser from the hospital,” said Larry Payne, foundation development director.
Since the event debuted in 2012, the foundation netted more than $700,000, which went to oncology services and buying panda warmers for the nursery department, defibrillators and maternal, fetal and cardiac monitors.
Funds raised this year will go to a mobile medical unit for community outreach.
“Going to China is exciting and we love to compete and win, but the reason we all started doing this is because it supports a good cause. The number one goal is to support and raise money for the hospital,” Ward said.
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Information from: The Decatur Daily, http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml
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