As the weather turns mild, water sports become more appealing and that’s what the Prince Rupert Rainbow Warriors dragonboat racing team is hoping for.
The team, which starts practicng in April, will hold its recruiting and information nights on March 30 at 7 p.m. and April 2 at 2 p.m., both at Prince Rupert Middle School.
“People will definitely see an improvement in their fitness because we do paddle hard. I find being outside and being on the water that I go out and lose two hours, I don’t think about anything else other than what I’m doing in the boat,” said coach Lori McWilliams, who coaches along with Joan Patriquin.
Dragonboat racing is a sport where 22 people sit in a long boat, with 20 paddlers, a drummer at the front and a steers person at the back.
The dragonboating team paddles every Monday and Thursday from 6:15-8:15 p.m. from April to July 1. The team hopes to participate in a race in Terrace in September. Other than that, the goal is to practice so that they can accomplish a 250 metre or 500 metre race at the fastest speed.
Although the main goal is to practice the sport, the group often goes on scenic mini-adventures.
“We’ll go across to Digby or over to Metlakatla or something like that … we do picnics, we always go across the harbour,” McWilliams said.
Anyone age 18 and over is welcome to register, which costs $150 for the season.
“You don’t have to have experience and you don’t need special equipment, other than maybe rain-proof stuff,” McWilliams said.