United States Dragon Boat Federation Announces the Inaugural Team USA Paradragons to Compete at 2023 World Championships in Thailand

Fifty athletes with physical disabilities and support paddlers to compete at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Pattaya, Thailand

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The United States Dragon Boat Federation (USDBF) has assembled the inaugural Team USA Paradragons to compete at the 16th International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) World Dragon Boat Racing Championships (WDBRC) at the Royal Thai Navy Rowing and Canoeing Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand on August 7-13, 2023.

This is the first year that the IDBF is including a Paradragons division at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships.

"This is a momentous time for dragon boat racing. It is one of the fastest growing sports worldwide. We are excited for more competition, especially for the Paradragons," said Mark Kane, USDBF President.

Fifty U.S. para-athletes and support paddlers will compete in Full Paradragon (PD1) and Partial Paradragon (PD2) divisions, joining more than 400 other athletes as a part of the greater Team USA.

• PD1 is a competition division where all the paddlers must have an impairment, except for the drummer and steer.
• PD2 allows for up to 50% of the boat to be without disability as support paddlers.

Paradragon athletes will compete in a 10-person small boat and 20-person standard dragon boat in the 200-meter sprint, 500-meter mid-distance, 1000-meter and 2,000-meter races.

The team is coached by Lonnie Homenuk (Tampa, Florida), USDBF Paradragon Co-Chair, who has been paddling, coaching and steering since 2003. He has been coaching visually impaired paddlers in the U.S. and Canada for almost a decade.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be fielding our first national team of talented Paradragon paddlers. They have accepted the challenge to overcome their disabilities and compete at a world-class level on the international stage," said Homenuk. "We are looking forward to growing the program, starting with these stellar athletes."

Paradragon athletes come from Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Ohio, Oregon, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin. Their team motto is #ChallengeAccepted.

Team USA Paradragons captains are Jasmin Bailey of Alexandria, Virginia and Michael Yu of Long Beach, California. Both paddlers have visual impairment. Bailey is relatively new to the sport, having only paddled a few seasons. Yu has been paddling for more than a decade and is also a member of the Senior C (over 60) team this year.

Other Team USA Paradragon leadership includes:

• Assistant Coach Anne Becker (Fairfax, Virginia) is a coach of the Out of Sight Dragons, part of the DC Dragon Boat Club. She started paddling in Dubai in 2010 and was a member of Team USA in 2021.
• Crew Manager Marynka Rojas Gorgen (Santa Cruz, California) is a USDBF board member and the head coach of DieselFish in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been paddling, coaching and managing teams for more than 15 years.

A full listing of Team USA athletes' names can be found at https://www.usdbf.org/team-usa/team-usa-paradragon/.

About United States Paradragons

Paradragons Subcommittee is part of the Special Interest Committee of the United States Dragon Boat Federation (USDBF). The subcommittee is responsible for the training, resources and creating opportunities for anyone to compete in dragon boat regardless of their age, gender or impairment. Paradragon paddlers must have some form of physical, psychological, neurological, sensory, developmental or intellectual impairment that affects the way in which they participate in the sport of dragon boat. The subcommittee strives to foster an environment that encourages competition, greater participation and inclusion. Follow U.S. Paradragons on Instagram and Facebook. For more information, visit www.usdbf.org/who-dragon-boats/paradragons.

About the United States Dragon Boat Federation

The United States Dragon Boat Federation (USDBF) is the official national governing body for the sport of dragon boat racing in the United States and has been a Full Member of the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) since 1991. The mission of the USDBF is to promote the growth and development of dragon boat in the US for fitness, recreation, and teambuilding at all levels of competition. The USDBF is recognized by the IDBF as the national governing body for dragon boat racing in the United States. Follow USDBF on Instagram and Facebook. For more information, visit www.USDBF.org/.

Pull Quote

"We are absolutely thrilled to be fielding our first national team of talented Paradragon paddlers. They have accepted the challenge to overcome their disabilities and compete at a world-class level on the international stage."

Media Contact

B. Chan, USDBF, 1 2027353860, [email protected], www.USDBF.org

SOURCE United States Dragon Boat Federation