For a few hours on Friday, April 28, a 440-meter stretch of the Hillsborough River in Tampa’s Channelside District was overrun with dragons.
It was the site of the 2017 Pan American Tampa Bay International Dragon Boat Races, the latest continuation of a more than 2,500-year-old Chinese tradition. That day, Plant City showed it continues to have a growing presence in the sports community, with residents going oar-to-oar with racers from across the state and around the world.
It all started at the Plant City Family YMCA, where Lisa Kolakowski has been training the Plant City community for about 20 years. It was there that she met Joyce Fornero, a Plant City resident who works as a trainer with the Tampa-based Pan Am Dragon Boat group, and was convinced to try Dragon Boat racing four years ago.
“She was training a corporate team and she saw me at the Y,” Kolakowski, 59, says. “She said, ‘You need to be doing Dragon Boat racing.’ And it worked out great, because I’m still here.”
Kolakowski says she soon found herself racing with the corporate teams Fornero had been training. She eventually landed on Jim Ellis’ team, Invictus, founded in the wake of the HSBC corporate team Ellis used to race on. Ellis says being able to keep the spirit of his old team going inspired him to use the name Invictus — Latin for “invincible or unconquerable.”
The team, comprised of men and women ages 25 through 65, practices every Tuesday and Saturday at Rick’s on the River, a bar and restaurant along the Hillsborough River in Tampa.
Back at the Plant City Y, Bonnie Turner, one of Kolakowski’s spin class students, kept hearing her talk about the races.
“I’ve been a member of the Y for over 20 years,” Bonnie Turner, 60, says. “She’s my spin instructor. She talked about how she did that. I like to go kayaking, and I like the water … so I said I was going to come try it.”
Bonnie Turner says she watched Kolakowski in her first race four years ago and that she was participating in the sport by the next year, 2014. Her husband, Bill Turner, joined in 2015.
Dragon Boat racing is quite different than kayaking, Bonnie Turner says.
Dragon Boats are 40 feet long and seat 22 people. Twenty people man the oars, 10 per side, and the remaining two control the other functions. Up front, a drummer beats a large drum to communicate the pace of the boat as set by the “stroke,” or the two rowers in the first row. In the back, one person mans an oar to help steer the boat.
The boat’s “engine” is in its center, where the larger rowers usually sit. Stamina is a key attribute: while people of any shape, size and strength can help, keeping one’s cardio up is paramount for success.
“If you don’t do your cardio out there, it’s going to be tough for you in here,” Kolakowski says.
It’s also a full-body workout, Bonnie Turner says. A rower’s core is consistently engaged. Legs brace and push during turns while a rower’s arms and back operate the oars.
It’s not all about the racing, either, Ellis says. Invictus participates in charitable events. The team is a member of Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, sponsoring clean-up and beautification efforts along two stretches of the Hillsborough River, including one along the race route.
Turner and Kolakowski say they love the workout, teamwork and environmental efforts found in Team Invictus. And, as the sun shone on the bay and the wind blew mighty against racers chasing glory and medals, their competitive edge was not lost.
“If I’m going to be out here, working this hard,” Kolakowski says, “ I want a medal.”
“We like the bling,” Bonnie Turner added.
They laughed and they raced.
Contact Daniel Figueroa IV at dfigueroa@plantcityobserver.com.