The Osoyoos Dragonboat Team is ready to begin a new season and is looking to recruit new members. An open house will be held on Saturday at noon in the Kingfisher Room at the Holiday Inn. (Keith Lacey file photo)
If you’re looking to get in shape, have some fun and meet some good people, you should consider signing up to be part of the Dragonboat Team with the Osoyoos Paddling Club.
“This will be my fourth year with the club and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Betty Steinbart, who helps promote the Osoyoos Dragonboat Team throughout the year. “I was looking for something to do and a way to meet people when I moved to Osoyoos, so I joined this team, tried it and loved.
“We have a really great group of people involved with this club and we hope more people will want to get involved.”
With the 2015 season right around the corner, the Osoyoos Dragonboat Team is holding its annual open house this coming Saturday, May 2 in the Kingfisher Room at the Holiday Inn, beginning at noon.
“People can come out and we’ll give them a quick lesson and get them out on the water in the boat to give it a try,” said Steinbart. “Last year we had a solid club with close to 50 members, but we would like to invite more people to come and join.”
A dragonboat can hold 22 paddlers and the local club trains four times per week.
Considering many people can’t make all four training sessions, there is plenty of room for more members, said Steinbart.
“We’re out on the water two nights a week, on Monday and Thursday starting at 5:30 p.m., and then two mornings per week on Sunday and Wednesday, where we’re on the water at 8:15 a.m.,” she said. “We usually have a 15-minute warmup, 15-minute cool down and we’re on the water for about an hour, so it’s a 90-minute commitment for each training session.”
While the majority of members are retired, there are some younger members who still work and try and fit in training sessions whenever they can, she said.
“I would say the average age of our club members is between 55 and 60, but we do have some younger members and we would certainly like to get more young people involved in our club,” she said.
Dragonboat racing has increased in popularity across Canada for many good reasons, said Steinbart.
“It’s great to be out on the water getting some exercise rather than having to go to the gym,” she said.
“It’s a wonderful social activity where you get to meet some really great people and it’s also a heck of a lot of fun.”
The Osoyoos Dragonboat Team usually enters one team into a kickoff event in Penticton early in the season and will send a team to the B.C. Senior Games if there’s enough interest, but that is only determined once the membership drive is completed, she said.
The club will begin regular training sessions next week and will continue every week until the end of September or early October.
“If you’re new to town and are looking for a way to meet some new people, get some exercise and have some fun, we would love to see you out on Saturday,” said Steinbart.
If you need more information, go online and visit www.osoyoosdragonboat.weebly.com.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
