In 2003, the idea for our Vintage SAKE team originated when Seattle
SAKE’s dragon boat team, Survivor SAKE, a women’s cancer survivor
team supported by Team Survivor Northwest, raced in events with
spouses and supporters attending as spectators. So much fun—we
wanted to paddle too! So we started Vintage SAKE, imitating
Vancouver BC and Portland clubs that had senior teams with members
over 50 years old. Even though dragon boat racing is more than two
thousand years old, it was new to Seattle so it took us a few
years to recruit enough members for our team to have enough
paddlers to practice and race.
We eliminated the age requirement as we found that younger paddlers
enjoyed paddling with us too, matching the strength, skill, and
experience of the senior paddlers with the enthusiasm of our
younger teammates. Our team now has 28 members. Our paddling
technique has improved with the help of several excellent coaches
over the years from Charlene Wee to our current coach, Willie
Stiles, one of the most experienced and enthusiastic paddlers you
will ever meet—so new members are welcome to try out the sport and
are able to learn quickly with the best coaching available. Since
not all our current members can attend all our races, there is
room on our race rosters of 20 paddlers for newcomers too! FUN!
FUN! FUN!
Every year since 2004 we have participated in races around the Pacific
Northwest—Kent every year, Portland usually once a year either in
the early summer or fall, and at least one race in Canada every
year, rotating between Victoria and Vancouver races. In 2008, we
were the first American dragon boat team to participate in the
Harrison Hot Springs race in Canada.
We were one of the first Seattle teams to practice all winter long on
Saturday mornings. In the summer we now practice three times a
week. Since Club SAKE is open to sharing, members occasionally
practice and even paddle in additional races with other teams as
Vintage SAKE, like all teams, has to focus on 3-4 races each
summer. In addition to having really great food at the races and team
dinners at the different race venues, we also have fun social
activities where we share some of our other interests as our teammates
have remarkable careers and experiences. It doesn’t take long for new
paddlers to feel that they’ve made friends forever.