Although DW has consistently ranked among the top two teams in the Bay Area for the last decade and even making it to the World Club Crew Championships in Toronto, things change as teams evolve. With the recent departure of its captain, who set the tone of the team since its founding, as well as other long-time paddler departures, the team is facing a significant transition. Tough challenges, such as the always difficult decisions of selecting crews, motivating and unifying large numbers of members with different backgrounds, and maintaining the difficult balance of fun and competition are formidable.
Yet with change and challenge lies opportunities that will hopefully empower the DW spirit, which has been the hallmark of this team, to prevail. With more new and younger staff, you get a newfound source of energy that is refreshing and up-to-date on all the latest and greatest regimens to strengthen your conditioning and to avoid injuries on land and water. These include a variety of stretching exercises and tougher workout routines to improve your fitness as well as team-building games at picnics and bowling alleys. Having a younger club based in San Francisco enabled DW to fundraise over $2K from garage/yard sales. Finally, organization of trips, events, finances, and birthdays has improved with sweet treats from the team's talented new staff. Hopefully, all of this helps sustain the famous tradition of DW having the best food tent amongst all the teams given its cookbook, which was a signature fundraiser for the team.
Regardless of these changes, DW is a great way to improve physical fitness and to socialize by working and having fun as a team. As a true team sport where your performance depends on everyone blending together in harmony, not on superstars, it's hard to paddle effectively as a team. Thus, DW offers a unique opportunity to develop these important skills on and off the water that you can leverage in other aspects of your life in the workplace and at home.
Parking is ample in Harding Park except when the crew teams race and late in the season when corporate and novice teams need to practice for the annual San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival. (Coincidentally, a majority of DW volunteers to make this the most successful and largest dragon boat festival in the U.S. every year.) The ambiance can be sunny, but the weather is usually overcast, cold, damp and stinky due to bird poop. Rain or shine, there is practice given the DW mentality to paddle in anything except dense fog, lighting or hurricanes. This is what some would call having heart or paddling long and strong no matter what obstacles you face to make you a tougher warrior.
As DW rebuilds, grows, adapts, and matures to a different beat of the drum, it will be interesting to see how this team develops, where it goes, and how it deals with the growing pains. The success of this team has come from a positive spirit and heart to sacrifice for the team from all walks of life and ages. So, come on out and seize the opportunity to join in on the fun and to help shape this team in order to achieve a new dream with a stream of victories on and off the water! read more