Introducing 2018 Dragon Boat Teams

Aquaholics
Members of the Aquaholics Dragon Boat Team share at least a couple of traits; their passion for dragon boating and love for travel. Since 2000, the Aquaholics have competed in festivals throughout North America.  From Long Beach, CA in the west to Newfoundland in the east to Sudbury, ON in the north and Nashville, TN in the south.  The Aquaholics had fond memories of their last visit to Ithaca exactly 10 years ago. We're excited to return to the beautiful Finger Lakes area (oh and of course to enjoy the coinciding wine festival).
 
Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI)
Boyce Thompson Institute’s mission, “to advance and communicate scientific discovery in plant biology to improve agriculture, protect the environment, and enhance human health,” specifies that the goal of plant science is to benefit society. William Boyce Thompson observed that people’s basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter must be met before greater social goals of education and political stability can be met. He wanted the scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute to explore the mechanisms of the most elemental life processes, and knew that this progress would ultimately provide the foundation upon which many discoveries could be made.
 
Community Science Institute (CSI)
Community Science Institute tests the water quality of Cayuga Lake and its tributaries. We have a deep interest in the lake and look forward to churning it up.
 
Cornell Dragon Boat Club
The team is formed of Cornell students that are here during the summer and stay together throughout the year through social activities and training
 
Corning Inc. 
Corning Chinese Association
Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications
 
Everyone Says Hey!
An Ithaca miscellaneous collection.
 
Glimmerglass Dragons
Glimmerglass Dragons are a community team which came together 7 years ago to celebrate the Asian tradition of the Dragon Boat Festival in honor of our adopted children from China. We have continued the tradition every year, adding members of family and friends to our team. Our team consists of paddlers from the Cooperstown area, western NY, Montreal Canada, Toronto Ontario Canada, and Colorado.
 
Goldman Sachs Tritons
Team from New York City
 
Ithaca Women’s Soccer
We are soccer playing women of all ages who think dragon boating sounds like fun but have no idea what we are getting ourselves into!
 
Ithaca Youth Bureau (IYB)
It is a public multi-service agency established 1948, provides a broad variety of recreation and youth development programs to promote the health, happiness, and well-being of all youth and families in the greater Ithaca area. We serve more than 7,500 youth annually, aged 0-20 years, through a wide array of programs. In addition to recreation and after school initiatives that serve the general youth population, our youth development programs do strategic outreach to economically disadvantaged and under-served youth. ​The Ithaca Youth Bureau strives to provide youth with the tools they need to build a successful life for themselves and change the world for the better. We believe that all citizens can be physically, mentally and spiritually healthy, and socially and civically engaged. We help prepare youth to live successful lives as adults by providing a variety of recreation and youth development opportunities that will help youth develop to their full potential. We lend support to discouraged youth who are struggling to find their place in the world. We help our program participants understand that all people have a place in this world and together we can create a better tomorrow.
 
Multicultural Resource Center – Youth Organizing Fellowship
YOF, is a youth-led community organizing program that uses a racial justice lens to build the skills we need as young people to transform Ithaca into a more equitable and socially just community.  YOF brings together racially & culturally diverse High School aged individuals to co-create a learning community that develops the hard skills of community organizing & racial justice leadership, the analytic tools of political education, and the social consciousness of cultural intelligence to take effective action for social change.
 
Novice – South East sea Dragons, Trinidad and Tobago
South East Sea Dragons is actually a junior school team located in the heart of Port Of Spain in Trinidad. However, the adults and supporters have always enjoyed the sport on land and would like to explore the sport first hand. This senior team consisting of just 10 paddlers will therefore be participating in their first regatta during this event and is very excited about the opportunity.
 
Paddling Panthers, Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3)
After a strategic hiatus from the rigors of dragon boat competition, and having culled the finest talent from a wellspring of contenders, the Tompkins Cortland Community College Paddling Panthers are returning to the waters of Cayuga Lake to take on all comers. This sizzling collection of seasoned paddlers unite behind the ideals of unity through diversity in order to achieve goals greater than those possible as single individuals.  We are diverse in our population, but we pull our paddles in unity as a team fortified by courage, endurance, and focus.  You will be amazed at what you see on the water when the Paddling Panthers give it their all.
 
Pittsburgh Paddlefish
We are a group of paddlers, age 38 through 80's who enjoy the camaraderie and competitiveness of paddling. We have been together 15 years and have had a number of our members on the National Teams.
 
Port of Spain (POS) South East Sea Dragons
South East Sea Dragons is a high school team from Trinidad and Tobago, ranging from ages 12-16 years old. The team began in January 2010 with just 5 members, who trained together on land and on kayaks, then raced with other teams at competitions for the race experience since they did not have enough to enter their own team. By October 2010, the team consisted of over 50 members and we were able to take part in our first regatta together as one(1) team. Since then, Sea Dragons gained high rankings in the juniors categories and was most importantly admired for their great team spirit, sportsmanship and discipline. The team is coached by a young passionate woman who has been dragon boating for the past nine(9) years and has been a member of Trinidad and Tobago's national team for two(2) consecutive World Championships, Kirsten Shade, who was also a member of a senior club and past student of the school. She has been coaching this team since it's inception and the team is managed by former school principal Mrs.Patricia Charles.The team usually enters small boat races, but is not unfamiliar with paddling in a standard boat. In Trinidad and Tobago, the water training and races take place in the open sea, with typically choppy water. Because of this, the team is always prepared for an unpredictable water condition.The team currently has 26 bonafide junior members with 8 months to 4 years experience. To date, they have competed at 21 local regattas and 1 international regatta at the PanAm Championships in Canada in 2015 and is looking forward to their 2nd international trip to Ithaca, New York in July 2018.Sea Dragons shows a lot of passion for the sport of Dragon Boat Racing and is ready to explore and heighten their level of experience in this sport.
 
Seaduction, Leadership Program at Cornell Veterinary Medicine
Seaduction is composed of 11 members of the 2018 Cornell Veterinary Leadership Program. All are currently enrolled in vet schools, across the country (North Carolina, Iowa, Tennessee, and Oklahoma) and across the globe (Germany, Australia, and the UK), but are spending the summer in Ithaca to conduct research. They are thrilled to be participating in the Finger Lakes Dragon Boat Festival as a part of their summer fun. 
 
Speeding Turtle
We are Speeding Turtle from Boston, formed by a group of wicked awesome girls and guys from different dragon boat teams based in Boston. We come together this summer to rock the Cayuga Lake. You’d better watch out, the Speeding Turtle is on the fast lane.
 
XtremeNY
Our dragon boat crew came together in 1996, formed by a group of friends in New York City. Searching for an outlet for our irrepressible competitive spirit, we came together to test ourselves against the best in the competitions.
 
Wellness Warriors
The Wellness Warriors is Massachusetts' first dragon boat team for cancer survivors. We provide a paddling support group for men and women of all ages diagnosed with many different types of cancer. No matter where we are on the cancer journey, it is our rise to the physical challenges of dragon boat paddling, our love of this exciting sport and our deep care for each other that create magic in the boat. Our mission is to provide new opportunities for cancer survivors to heal - both physically and emotionally - by being active participants in their own recovery and part of a mutually empowering dragon boat team