By: Stefanie Chu, Team Captain - We were up against 5 other tough teams- St. Mary’s, PG&E, Wells Fargo, Mills Peninsula, and OOCL. Each team’s times were all off by 2 to 3 seconds of each other, so we knew we were “facing the giants” in our division. At the starting line, we lined up in Lane #1. As we eagerly listened for the gun, I couldn’t help but feel like our team had “arrived”. That we had come very far in terms of practicing well, coming together like a family, getting to know our coaches better, and asking a wave of more questions on how to polish our techniques. To me, no matter what, I felt extraordinarily proud of the Delta Dragons. In my eyes, we already looked and felt like winners.

….And then, the gun went off! Though we had 5 other boats to the left of us, we immediately and completely built a wall around our boat and listened only to ourselves. We stayed in tune with the banging of the drum, stabbed the water with our paddles with the technique we were taught and hollered aloud to ripple the encouragement throughout the boat. There were shouts of “Together! Together! Come on! Do it! Keep it up!” We were neck-to-neck with the other 5 teams! Then mid-way to the finish line, it was as if a motor appeared under our boat and SURGED forward! The Delta Dragons became monsters with the yelling, hollering, and attitude of not giving up. We went from neck-to-neck to catapulting PAST our competition! As we got closer to the finish line, I could hear the announcer shouting “And here comes the Delta Dragons!!!” The crowd was going nuts! I could see all of this out of the corner of my eye. With all this excitement and still trying to paddle with all my might to the finish line, I seriously felt like I was going to need a paramedic! When we finally crossed, none of us dared to cheer. We wanted to see the final results before celebrating. Deep down, we all pretty much knew we won but didn’t want to jinx it. I think the Delta Dragons just all felt light-headed because of the power that was exerted in the last several seconds.

At the awards ceremony, we all sat together as a team and pretty much prayed for our name to be called as “1st place”. The announcer called for the “Novice Division B” (which we were in) and he called 3rd place and 2nd place….none of those were us. Finally he said “And 1st place winners are….the Delta Dragons from the Chinese Cultural Society of Stockton!!” We all leapt up in the air like crazy bullfrogs and ran up on stage!! We proudly draped the individual medals over us, raised our glass award of “1st Place Novice Division B”, and cheesed for the cameras snapping at us. At this point, we were REALLY light-headed and floating.

During my pep talk with the team, I cheered for them to “bring it home”. Well, not only did they REALLY “bring it home”, but they brought home gold medals, a 1st place award and bragging rights for a year! So my “sense” that I felt early on about this year’s Delta Dragons became a reality. This team really exuded a matchlessness and special drive for triumph and fun. As their team captain, I’m deeply rewarded to be a part of this exceptional team and what has been accomplished. Gold or no gold, I’d still be greatly pleased. But then again- having gold is very, very nice too.

For the 2008 San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival, the Delta Dragons made a statement on Oct. 4th. Not only were our bright orange T-shirts a loud clothing statement but it was a statement that has overjoyed the team and has made a place in Delta Dragons’ history. The team consisted of 22 paddlers (veterans and newcomers) joining from Stockton, San Francisco, and Sacramento. The vibe this year was very different, unique, and distinctive. Something was stirring in the team that was unspoken and unidentified; but as a team captain, I could sense it. Let me share with you from the beginning.

The attendance for this festival was the highest ever. Close to 110 teams competed, enlarging the Novice division from five categories to six this year. That means there were 30 Novice teams, the largest ever. We were expecting stormy weather and were advised to bring extra warm clothes. However, the clouds opened up and the beautiful blue shone on us the entire day. In addition, we got 2 tent spaces, making it extra roomy for 20 people! It was much better than the ONE tent space last year where we were cramped, miserable, AND rained on. The day was looking terrific so far!

We had 3 heats but the 1st and last one were the most important. In heat #1, we placed second. The winners were last year’s champions, but that’s pretty good- that we came in 2nd, next to some winning paddlers! In heat #2, we placed third. We trailed just 3 little seconds away from Team Panda Express. Our teams’ smiles started to droop….but just a tad. Before our last heat, I wanted to mentally “polish” up the Delta Dragons and really implement the saying “Give it all you got!” So during our warm-ups, everyone was pushing themselves through each exercise; our team chant was so loud this time- you could feel chills; and we marshaled together in 2 lines all the way to the dock- displaying organization and structure. As we waited for our team to be called to load the boat, I gave the paddlers some words of encouragement: “Don’t hold back! Give it all you got! Bring it home! Everything you trained and practiced for all boils down to this moment! And even if we don’t win, you get to take home this fun experience! Remember to give it your absolute everything…but don’t do it alone! Do not overdo it by yourself! We do it TOGETHER as a team!” After the nods of understanding, we gathered in for one final team cheer. I roared “WHO ARE WE?!!” And the team roared back “DELTA- DELTA-DRAGUNNNS!!”