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So, what do I like to do?
My Kind of Sports | My kind of Art | My Kind of Music |
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 OUTRIGGER
Aloha! Watch the Ama!
I guess my biggest passion in sports has to be Outrigging. I know I know, it's not the usual sport people are usually into, but hey, I like to be a little bit different. :)
Outrigger is a type of endurance canoe paddling that originated in Hawaii, but has now quickly gained popularity along the Pacific coasts. It is a long slim canoe about 40 feet long, and the only thing that keeps it from tipping over is the slim extended floatation device on the left called the ama which is attached by spars called iakos . But er.. believe me it STILL happens. :P
There are Solo Outriggers (which means you're all by yourself in the ocean, as the name suggets), or 6 men outriggers which comprises of a team of 6 to 9 paddlers. You're probably wondering now, how can a 6-men canoe fit 9 people? Well, here comes in the COOLNESS of this unique watersport.
Outrigging is a type of endurance sport. It is meant for long-distance ocean wave-breaking, so races usually last from about 3 hours to even 10 hours of solid paddling. Though there ARE IronMan categories, most people do Changeovers during races. That means tired paddlers are replaced from time to time by relief paddlers. And how do they do that? Well, you jump out and they climb in, literally! So basically you have to love swimming in the ocean to be in this sport, coz sometimes you'll be splashing about for a while in the middle of the water (sometimes you'll be miles away from the shore) before the support speedboat picks you up!
When I was in Vancovuer, Canada, I used to paddle in the Junior Team of the False Creek Racing Canoe Club which is the home of the World Champion False Creek Women's Dragonboating Team. I have recently started paddling again on Sunday mornings here on the east coast with the Philadelphia Outriggers, which is started by members of the FYI Philadelphia Men's Dragonboat which won the world title last year. (Yup indeed I have been very lucky!)
Now I have got you wondering about Dragonboating, right? Read on to find out more.
Also check out my cool Outrigger links.
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BADMINTON
To keep myself moving and jumping on weekdays, I indulge myself in another passion of mine (on land this time), badminton. It is a shame that this wonderful sport does not enjoy much poopularity on the east coast, as an "emerging women's sport" (whatEVER), people always mistaken it as a backyard kind of silly game only for girls too weak for tennis.
And oh boy are they wrong.
Badminton is a racket sport that involves a lot of agility, tactics, skills and power. Game play is very fast paced, requring tip top reflex and alertness, and on a competitive level, the physical intensity can be very demanding. There can easily be more than 40 rallying shots in a minute, each with a full body swing powerful enough to send a light-weight feather shuttle from end to end of the court (imagine throwing a crumbled up piece of paper more than 10 feet).
Go watch a professional men's doubles game. I guarantee you the nerve-wrecking intensity will make you drop your tennis racket. :)
I am currently on the Swarthmore Varsity Badminton Team as a second-doubles player, I'll probably have to take up the second-singles position this coming year though. Unrecognized by most Swatties, the Badminton Team performs extraordinarily well in the Swarthmore athletic scene. We regularly send teammates to the Nationals, and last year all those who went came back with medals.
Since Swarthmore probably will have the honor to host the Nationals this coming here, my goal is of course do well in the Regionals and head for some smashing in the Big Game on home turf!
Wait and see the upcoming Swarthmore Women's Badminton page, in the meantime check out my cool Badminton links .
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 DRAGONBOAT
Now we're back on the water. Yes indeed, more about paddling.
Dragonboating is something that I picked up in my senior year in highschool. Believe it or not, we actually have a team, which was affliated with False Creek Racing Canoe Club . It was there and then which introduced me to the world of paddling, which now has developed into my passion for Outrigging.
Dragonboating, as the name suggests, originiated in China. There is a whole legend surrounding the origins of these beautiful boats which says they were once fishing boats which raced out into the river to try to rescue a slandered drowning patriot-poet. Modern Dragonboats are about 38 feet long with room for 20 paddlers, a steersperson and a drummer (whose drumming motivates and controls the team).
Dragonboat racing has long since spread out from Asia, and is now celebrated in many parts of the world. Rumours even say it may become an Olympic sport. Unlike outrigging, dragonboating is a sprint sport, with races ranging from 400m to 800m. Nope, no changeoevers in this one, instead you have to burn ALL you've got in just a few explosive minutes.
Since moving on to Outrigging, I haven't done any dragonboating. But it being part of my roots and all, I would love to do that again, especially now I have access to excellent coaching.
Go learn all about this 3000 year old sport right here .
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