Kadena's dragon boat racing team makes history

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady
  • 18 Wing
Kadena Air Base, Japan --  The Kadena Shogun men's dragon boat racing team went from almost forfeiting due to a lack of team members to making history twice during the 38th Naha Dragon Boat Race at Naha City port May 5.

The men's team competed against the U.S. Army and Okinawa Airport Services in the A-group. With a time of 4 minutes, 58 seconds, the Shogun team edged out the two teams (5:04 and 5:20 respectively) - making them the fastest Shogun team ever, and the first Kadena team to advance to the final round after 18 years of trying.

"It feels great to be part of history and take part in this tradition for Kadena Air Base," said Air Force Master Sgt. Rusty Chase, 18th Component Maintenance Squadron and coach for the team. "We definitely felt the support from the crowd."

With family, friends, and the wing commander watching, the team rowed out to compete in the final race. In the end, the Shogun team finished third overall with a time of 5:05 in the A-group losing to Japan Air Self Defense Force (second with 4:48) and the Okinawa City Fire Department (first with 4:42).

The Shogun women's team finished third place in their heat with a time of 5:48 losing to the U.S. Army team (2nd with a time of 5:33) and a local team called the Crazy Girls (1st with a time of 5:22). Overall, the Shogun women finished third place among the U.S. military teams behind first place winner U.S. Navy (5:25) and second place winner U.S. Army (5:33).

"We were looking to be a team, winning is a great thing but if we didn't then we competed as a team," said Ms. Amy Woo, department of defense school teacher and assistant coach of the Shogun women's team. "We beat our time from last year and will continue to compete for first place."

Overall the Shogun men's team finished third place in the A-group and second among U.S. military teams. The Navy team took top honors of the military teams while racing in B-group.

Even though both teams ended with different results, one thing was the same - participating in this event was a memorable event for all involved.

"This is something everyone should attempt to do, or be a part of, whether cheering, rowing or coaching. There are so many things they can do," said Chase. "We're happy to win and bring a trophy back to Kadena Air Base."