We're already planning for next year!

The OWLS Dragonflies are planning on joining the Northwest Challenge Circuit (consisting of the Rainier Dragon Boat Festival in May, the Salem World Beat Dragon Boat Festival in June, the Kent Cornucopia Days Dragon Boat Races in July, and the Portland Dragon Boat Race in September).

The team is also planning on making two trips to Canada. To the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival in Vancouver, BC (June 19-20) and the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival in Victoria, BC (August 14-15).
 
 
Apologies to those of you we missed at Voleur last Thursday. Apparently, it's closed for remodeling! Se we're moving the second information session (scheduled Tuesday, September 21st from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.) to Rock Bottom Brewery at 206 SW Morrison.

If you are interested in the team, but can't come Tuesday, let Gwyn know and we'll work something else out. Go 'Flies!
 
 
The OWLS dragon boat team, the Dragonflies, is hosting two informational meetings on Thursday, September 17th and Tuesday, September 22nd, each from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Voleur (SW 1st and Ash, Downtown Portland, on the MAX line), for those who are interested in learning more about joining the team. Drop in any time--happy hour goes until 6:00. We may wrap up early on Thursday if the Pub Quiz crowd gets to be too much.

Dragon boating is a great team sport that builds endurance, strength, and friends. We race in a big boat, with 16-20 paddlers facing forward, with half the paddlers paddling on one side and half on the other. There is a caller at the front of the boat, and a tiller in the back. When we race in the Rose Festival, we also have a flag catcher at the front who catches a flag to end the race. Check out our website to see pictures of our races.

No experience required, and no commitment necessary. If you're not sure if you want to paddle but want to be involved, we can also train you to call or till. Whatever your interest, just stop by one of the informational sessions and chat with us and see if you would like to give it a try! We'll fill you in on all the details of paddling with the team and answer the question that every new paddler asks, that is, what should I wear to practices?

The best way to determine if you like dragon boating is to come to a practice. Fall is a beautiful time to be on the river, so we'd like to give you the opportunity to get out on the water now. Practices for the remainder of the 2009 season are Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 and Saturday mornings from 9:30 10:30 on the Willamette River, leaving from RiverPlace. In November, we'll break for winter and start up again in February, with 2 hours of practice a week, working up to 4 hours. We may be switching our practice days to Tues/Thurs/Sat in 2010.

We usually participate in 3-6 race weekends in the summer. Most of our races are in Portland or around the Northwest. We usually travel to Victoria, BC for one race and sometimes throw somewhere like San Francisco or Vancouver BC into the mix.

For more information, please contact co-captains Robin Bellanca or Gwyn McAlpine. We hope to see you at one of our informational sessions!
 
 
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The OWLS Dragonflies are off to another race! We're heading north again, but this time all the way to Canada for the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival

This will be the 'Flies sixth year traveling to Victoria and it has to rank up there as one of our favorite races. This year, the festival organizers are trying something new--a women's division--so it will be interesting to see how we compete. Last year we were the top-seeded women's team among all of the teams and took second place in the women's final. We're hoping to bring home some serious hardware this year!
 
 
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The Dragonflies will be racing in the Kent Cornucopia Days Dragon Boat Races this Saturday, July 11.

Racing kicks off at 9:00 with our first race of the day in heat #9 (10:20 a.m.) against Portland teams Team Dragonfish, Wasabi Team SOAR and Mighty Women. Looks like we'll be facing quite a few of our local competitors this weekend with 12 of the 17 women's teams from Portland.

Way to represent and GO DRAGONFLIES!!!
 
 

All seats on the bus are now spoken for.

If you were interested in the bus, but missed out, please email us your name, team name, and email address. We may have folks that back out or, if we get enough names, we will see if we can arrange for a second bus and/or put you in touch with others for carpooling.

No one should have to drive alone!

 
 
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Be kind to the environment, spend time with your teammates, and avoid the parking headache and shuttle bus situation once you arrive. Sleep on the way up, celebrate* on the way home.

The Dragonflies are chartering a motorcoach (and can add another if necessary!) to transport Portland paddlers to the Kent Dragon Boat Races on Saturday, July 11. The bus features reclining seats, air conditioning, restroom on board, and even DVD players.

Details:
To and from Lake Meridian Park (Kent, Washington) the day of the race, Saturday, July 11.
Cost: $32/person
Departure/return location: Delta Park, former GI Joe's parking lot, 1140 N Hayden Meadows Dr.
Approx. departure time: 5:00 a.m.
~15 min. stop on the way to the races near Centralia/Chehalis
Approx. return time: 5:00 p.m (the awards ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 and we'd like to leave within the hour of the races ending)
~15 min. stop on the way back to Portland near Tacoma

*Alcoholic beverages (no glass containers) may be consumed on board by those of legal drinking age on the return trip. Please pack these items separately to leave on board during the race. A damage deposit has been paid for this express purpose and a charge will be assessed against individuals or teams leaving a mess or causing damage.

Payment:
Please email us to arrange to buy tickets for your seats. You may pay in person by cash, mail us check, or even pay online.

Cash or check: Please email us for a mailing address for checks or to arrange a meeting time down by the marina.

Paypal (preferred method): Go to www.paypal.com and click on the option to “Send money.” Enter “owlsdragonflies@gmail.com” in the “To” field and and the total amount you are paying for. Be sure to click on the “Personal” tab and select “Payment owed” or “Other” and then follow the instructions from there.

In all cases, we will need (in addition to your money) your name, email address, and your team name. You will receive confirmation via email upon payment that you have a spot on the bus and you will receive a follow-up email the week before the race confirming the above details. Your reservation is transferable, but we can't refund your money if you have to cancel (unless we sell all of the seats and need yours).

All reservations must be made by the end of the month, Tuesday, June 30th. First-come, first-served... once the seats are sold, you are on your own!

 
New website! 06/10/2009
 

Tell us what you think!

 
 

The OWLS Dragonflies are racing in the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Races this weekend.  The best place to view the races is from the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, just south of the Hawthorne Bridge. The race course runs from the Marquam Bridge to the Hawthorne Bridge (approx. 535 meters) and each race takes about 3 grueling minutes.  The Dragonflies will be racing at 9:06 am and 2:12 pm on Saturday, and we would love a whole bunch of screaming fans lining the river.  We will know at the end of the day Saturday when our first race on Sunday is, which will start sometime between 9:48 and 10:33 am. We plan to place well enough to make it into the Women's semi-finals, which will start anytime between 1:21 and 1:48 pm. We also hope to be in the Women's finals, which starts around 3:25.

Looks for us in purple and white shirts in our tent bedecked with our logo and sponsor banners.  A big thank you to the following for sponsoring us in 2009, especially in this economy:

PLATINUM SPONSORS
Cable Huston Benedict Haagensen & Lloyd LLP
Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP
Perkins Coie LLP
Yates, Matthews & Eaton, P.C.

GOLD MEDAL SPONSOR
Farleigh Wada Witt

SILVER MEDAL SPONSORS
Clif Bar
Gentle Dental
Weber Gunn, PLLC

BRONZE MEDAL SPONSOR
Next Adventure

PEARL SPONSORS
Barran Liebman LLP
Bodyfelt Mount LLP
Bullard Smith Jernstedt Wilson
Garvey Schubert Barer
Paradigm Legal Nurse Consulting