Meet the Oyster Point Dragons!
California is an amazing place for paddling from Outrigger Canoe, Stand Up Paddling, to Dragon Boat. Youth programs are essential to support the paddling scene. The Oyster Point Dragons are doing just that, and going beyond.
Talis Crew takes you to San Francisco, to meet a group of truly inspirational human beings, the Oyster Point Dragons. From their humble beginnings to their current achievements, they are using their paddle club to promote health, and positivity in their community.
Check out an inspirational story of these young paddlers as they build an amazing club, and give their members more than just paddling experience.
Tell us about the Oyster Point Dragons.
Oyster Point Dragons (OPD) was formed back in the Fall of 2012 by a group of twelve avid paddlers who had previously been with various other teams but who were in search of a new team and a new playground. Ten of the twelve paddlers came out of Ocean Dragon Diehards, a team organized solely to compete in the 2012 Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races in Kowloon, Hong Kong. OPD was subsequently incorporated on February 2013 under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes, and is a tax exempt organization under federal and California tax codes.
OPD’s legal purpose is to foster national and international amateur sports competition, and in particular, dragon boating. OPD is an all-volunteer organization consisting of a 5-member Board and two Committees: Coaching and Safety, and Maintenance. Now in its seventh season, OPD’s “Paddle for Health” flagship program continues strong. The program focuses on teamwork, safety, discipline, technique, and endurance in a family-friendly environment, which is all conducive to elevating and maintaining each paddler’s physical and mental health. OPD’s paddling program caters to both recreational paddlers who just want to enjoy the health benefits of a challenging outdoor team activity, and to more seasoned paddlers with a competitive spirit.
Besides its Paddle for Health program, OPD hosts or holds several other programs: land training, water safety clinics; featured talks by a Sports Medicine doctor and by Dietitians; an Urban Hike program; and fitness assessments. OPD also seeks out, and participates in, local, national, and international events, which all provide OPD paddlers, families, and guests with excellent team camaraderie and team travel opportunities.
OPD is a very inclusive team with paddlers of various ethnicity, gender, age, and health conditions. Many paddlers start at twelve years old; some even at ten. Most paddlers range from teens to septuagenarians, some of whom are cancer, stroke, and heart attack survivors, or with other health conditions. All these paddlers are regaining and/or maintaining their health, strength, and enjoying support, fun, and friendship as a result of joining OPD. Our school children learn about teamwork, discipline, leadership, and endurance. OPD currently has about 80 paddlers, half of whom are under 18, but enjoys the company of a much larger community of parents and supporters.
OPD is very involved in the dragon boat community and in its community at large. OPD’s vision is to expand and promote the sport of dragon boating as a health promotion program, an approach to leadership development, and a team building technique for schools, corporations, and communities in South San Francisco and the Bay Area in general.
Where do you practice?
OPD is the first dragon boat team ever to be based out of the beautiful Oyster Point Marina in South San Francisco. The marina is also the playground and habitat for some species of seals, pelicans, cormorants, and other wildlife. While the bay water may start calm in the morning, strong winds in the afternoon and evening make practice very challenging and intense but rewarding.
OPD currently has two Kahlua dragon boats and its practice site covers areas alongside Highway 101 towards Candlestick Point or San Francisco Airport’s boundary. The team also owns two outrigger-canoes (OC) and several land training equipment.
Tell us a bit about your club logo.
The club logo is simply the traditional Chinese calligraphy for ‘dragon’ with three of the strokes replaced with paddles. The team jersey has seen a constant evolution over the years. The latest version was designed by one of OPD’s founders’ nephew. The premise of the design was for it to be simple yet elegant with no more than three colors and with the dragon swooshing across the jersey in broad strokes.
What does your race schedule look like?
OPD participates in several races throughout the year: local and national or international. Races are totally optional for paddlers who simply want to enjoy and benefit from OPD’s health programs.
Local races typically include those hosted by the California Dragon Boat Association (CDBA) and by Oakland Renegades. Races include: (1) the Youth race in April at Lake Merced, (2) the Regional Regatta in May at Lake Merced, (3) the Sprint Races in July at Lake Merced, and (4) the Northern California International Dragon Boat Festival (IDBF) held in September at Lake Merritt in Oakland (held on Treasure Island prior to 2016). Oakland Renegades also hosts several races locally. OPD has been participating in their Halloween Howl fun costume race festival at Lake Merritt in Oakland at the end of October.
Besides OPD’s annual participation in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival in July, the team may decide to travel to other cities. In 2015, OPD selected New Orleans and participated in the Walgreens Greater New Orleans International Dragon Boat Festival.
Internationally, OPD has thus far participated in the 2014 Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong; the 2014 Sun Life Stanley Dragon Boat Championships, also in Hong Kong, the 2016 Boracay International Dragon Boat Festival, Philippines, the 2017 Concord Pacific Vancouver Dragon Boat Festival in Canada, the 2018 11th IDBF Club Crew World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, and the 2019 New Taipei City Speaker Cup Race in Taiwan.
What are the club’s plans for the future?
OPD’s paddler mix of youth and adults is conducive to sustaining its continuity over the long haul. With OPD’s youth growing to love this sport, our hope is for them to return from college and contribute to the cycle. OPD also continues to partner with the community and surrounding cities to offer classes and new experiences to middle school students and to the public. In addition to needing additional boats, OPD’s more ambitious future plan is to work with the City of South San Francisco and with all pertinent parties to avail itself of a multi-purpose center, which would allow OPD to offer expanded land training and classes to its paddlers and to the public at large.
Any last words?
OPD welcomes anyone who wants to have fun while fostering team spirit and friendship. For more information or to contact us, please visit www.oysterpointdragons.org.
ABOUT TALIS CREW
We are creatives, engaging our audience with clothing, art, and story telling. We find meaningful ways for paddlers to express themselves through our brand. Give us a shout if your club is looking to make team kits.
For more information, please visit our website at www.taliscrew.com.
