Competing against the best-of-the-best dragon boat teams in the world has been many years in the making, not only for the first Washington women’s team to compete in the international championships, but also for Bellevue resident and team member Becky Bottemiller.
“I’m nervous, excited, but I’m trying not to have high expectations,” said Bottemiller. “I’m proud how we’ve proven to people that we can compete at this level.”
Bottemiller is part of the Washington Masters — a dragon boat team consisting of women over 50 who will race at the world championship in Adelaide, Australia, beginning April 1. The team of 22 also includes Bellevue resident Lisa Rawas and Kirkland resident Laura Bean-Close.
The members come from five different dragon racing clubs in the Puget Sound area, and they are the first women’s team to represent Washington state in the world dragon boat competition and the first master’s team representing the state.
“These women are fantastic together, they’re one of the best teams I’ve seen. They’re so cohesive,” said Jim Sorenson, who helps out with the masters team and races with the Kent dragon boat team.
On the water, the women unanimously strike the water in powerful motions. It is hard to tell that half of the team is over 60 years of age, and some of the competitors are cancer survivors.
Bottemiller joined the team after her husband’s death from prostate cancer at age 55. When he was first diagnosed — and given just six months to live — she became his caretaker and spent all of her time with him for the three years he ended up fighting the disease.
Joining the dragon boat team was about getting back into life, she said.
Following her husband’s death, the South Bellevue Community Center fitness instructor became more active, joining a cardio boot camp at which she met a 78-year-old dragon boat racer on a cancer survivor’s team.
She decided to give it a try, and was immediately hooked.
“I just love being out there on the water, and the process of learning all of the nuaces,” Bottemiller said, adding that the team not only has to learn how to paddle in synch, but also how to balance the boat, use their body weight while turning and paddle using their core instead of their arms.
The vessels used in dragon boat racing are different than many other boats. Not only do they include a brightly colored dragon’s head and tail at either end, but the traditional dragon boat design has a “W” shaped hull where the bottom of the boat curves to two parallel runners along the length of the boat as opposed to the single runner seen on many other types of boats.
Because of the boat’s unique design, racing them can be highly technical.
The boat must be completely balanced, and the placement of rowers is very strategic. The strongest rowers sit in the middle, with rowers who can catch that water behind them.
Even on their last practice before the championship on March 20, the team’s coach was still making changes to the seating arrangement.
“Everybody is really accepting of everyone’s different strengths,” Bottemiller said. But, she added, the team initially had a difficult time building a team that’s competition-ready.
Despite that, when the team held a practice race against the Seattle Flying Dragons mixed-gender team a few weeks ago, their teamwork led to victory.
“The women just annihilated them. They completely whooped them,” said Sorenson.
The Washington Masters will be competing in three races — the 200-, 500- and 2,000-meter races — throughout this weekend. More information can be found at http://www.adelaide-dragonboat2016.com/.
