Dragon boaters' second festival pulls in twice as many teams

The Osoyoos Lake Paddle Club hosted its second flag race on Sept. 21. (Vanessa Broadbent / Osoyoos Times)

By Vanessa Broadbent

Osoyoos Times

Osoyoos dragon boaters hosted their second annual festival this weekend and welcomed twice as many teams as last year.

The Osoyoos Lake Paddle Club’s flag race took place at Safari Beach on Sept. 21.

The club’s mixed team, Desert Spirit, finished fifth after close 1:12.80 finish, just short of the Kelowna Dragon Boat Club’s 1:12.11 finish.

Osoyoos’ women’s team, the Osoyoos Sirens, finished fourth with a time of 1:18.65.

Twelve teams competed in the race, compared to six at the first event in 2018.

“The teams love coming in because we don’t have races like this up anywhere else in the Okanagan Valley,” club president Wendy Barlow said.

Most races are timed, but the winner of the flag race is determined by which team grabs a flag at the finish line first.

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Watching racers grab for the flags adds a visual component to the race, club member Betty Steinbart said.

“When you grab that flag you know who’s winning,” she said.

Although the club is on the lake regularly, each race is still unpredictable, Barlow said.

“The water will change in an instant, whether wind comes up or whatever, anywhere we’re at. It’s adjusting all the time and all the teams are adjusting.”

This year was the first the club has hired a race coordinator for the event, funded by $5,000 from the Town of Osoyoos’ share in the provincial Resort Municipality Initiative funding.

Teams are already booking their stays for next year’s event, which Barlow predicts will be even bigger.

“Words getting out,” she said. “We’re hoping to make it a two-day event.”

The club is coming to the end of its season, but is currently recruiting youth to add a junior team next year.