Dragon Boats Return: Paddlers ply Flathead River

Women in pink, or wearing glitter from head to toe, lined up to slide into their seats in the 40-foot-long dragon boats.

“We’ve got a full boat,” shouted one.

“Right side, push away,” commanded the drummer (who was wearing a tutu and dragon tail). “Everyone lean out. Paddles up. Take it away.”

The vessel, adorned with a carved dragon head at one end and a tail at the other, quickly headed to the starting line, just south of the Polson Fairgrounds on the Flathead River. Two other dragon boats, each with brightly attired crews, followed suit.

Once the boats were lined up, the starter asked, “Are you ready?” then “Attention!” Five seconds later, with the sound of an air horn, the 200-meter race began. In under three minutes, boats had crossed the finish line and were circling back to the fairgrounds staging area to unload and reload.

It was just one in a series of races that kept the 10 teams participating in the Montana Dragon Boat Festival engaged Saturday morning. The afternoon session featured the 500-meter finals.

This year’s festival marked a return of dragon-boat racing to Montana after a five-year hiatus that began with COVID, and it was the first to be held at the Polson fairgrounds – Bigfork and Lakeside were home to pre-COVID events. The atmosphere was festive and friendly, with spectators on lawn chairs or standing by the river and vendors pedaling everything from raffle tickets to pastries, coffee and cotton candy.  

Billed as “a soft launch” by its organizer, the Silver Linings Foundation, registration was open to 10- and 20-member teams, as well as individuals.

The three dragon boats were brought to Polson from Lethbridge by veteran racer and coach Kevin Kwan and Elemental Racing. The Canadian vendor also supplied personal flotation devices, timers, paddles and instruction, with Kwan announcing each race.

While friendly competition was certainly part of the event, camaraderie and cooperation were the dominant themes.

Steerswoman Alex Severe arrived with the Lethbridge team and lent her talents to several different crews. The steerer, who stands at the rear of the boat and wields a large steering oar, sets the course, communicates commands and is essential to a boat’s safety and success – “like a human rudder.”

According to Severe, the job is all about “having a balance,” especially since she’s the only person standing up in the narrow boat, which typically measures four feet across at its widest point.

Nancy Taylor is a member of the Silver Linings team from Missoula, a group of breast cancer survivors who hosted this year’s festival.

The drummer, sitting at the front of the boat and facing the crew, keeps the pace, she explained. For inexperienced paddlers, he or she will count while drumming to help the paddlers find a rhythm.

“Some of these teams have never done this or we haven't been together before, so someone has to tell us the pace,” said Taylor, who has been involved with dragon boats for at least seven years. “An experienced team just knows their pace.”

In addition to paddlers from Canada, this year’s festival also fielded teams from across Montana, including Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman and Helena. The goal was to enlist at least 11 teams, but racer and MC Kelley Provost, also a member of Silver Linings, suspected they fell slightly short.

While a full crew typically consists of 20 paddlers, boats can compete with fewer – and several races Saturday had crews of 10. “It’s no big deal,” said Provost.

What’s more important is to be evenly matched with the teams you’re competing against, and to make sure weight is carefully distributed.

“So there've been times where we've been in competition and some of our strongest paddlers got out of the boat for the betterment of the team – which can be a scary thing when you're talking about women and self-esteem and self-worth,” she said.

According to Provost, the boat has three sections. The front, “which sets the pace for the whole thing. The engine room is what we call the middle six and they are the brute force and we have our strongest paddlers there. Then in the back we have people that can pay attention and keep you in line.”

She’s paddled all those positions on either side of the boat, but prefers the front “because I'm able to really use my strength.”

Provost, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2017, says this marks her seventh year of dragon boat racing. She was on board this summer when Silver Linings attended the Calgary Dragon Boat Festival in July and brought home a gold medal. 

They paddle, in part, to honor “our fallen sisters,” and have lost two members of their 20-member team to cancer in the past year. “We do it because we can,” she adds.

“It's just a fun way to be a part of something when you go through something that traumatic,” she said. “It's so beautiful to hop in a boat and feel your strength, feel your sisterhood.”

    Three dragon boats race for the finish line on the Flathead River in the 200-meter course, during last Saturday's Montana Dragon Boat Festival in Polson. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Women in pink give a fervent high five before boarding their dragon boat during Saturday's races on the Flathead River. The festival attracted eight teams from across Montana and Canada. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Dragon at the bow of the aptly name Montana Dragonboat Festival, held Saturday in Polson. The festival sprang back to life after a four-year hiatus, presented by the Silver Lining Montana Foundation. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Kelley Provost, MC of the Montana Dragon Boat Festival, is a cancer survivor and member of the Silver Linings team. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)