Highland Roosters

• What should I wear? 

  Most paddlers come dressed in comfortable, athletic type clothing, tennis shoes or sandals. Know that this is a water sport and you will likely get a little wet. All participants are required to wear a mask at all times while on the dock or in the boat. 

• Is it like rowing? 

 Not quite. It is a long skinny, human powered boat but the stroke is very different than rowing. Instead of each person pulling two oars, dragon boat paddlers use one paddle and just paddle on one side of the boat with another paddler on the same bench, paddling on the opposite side. We work together and paddle in unison listening and watching the caller/drummer at the front of the boat. 

• My arms aren't super strong, do I need to have lots of upper body strength to paddle? 

 You don't need huge muscles to be a strong paddler. The structure of our stroke is designed to engage your core, back and legs so it's not just your arms doing all the work. Your arms will get a work-out but it's more of a full body exercise than just your arms. 

• How many people can fit on the boat? 

 Our boat can fit 22 paddlers plus a caller/drummer at the front and a tiller steering the boat from the back. 

• What if I have to miss a practice? 

 We understand people are busy and things come up. We hope you can try to be at every practice but understand if something comes up and you have to miss one or two. 

• What if it's raining, is there still practice? 

 Yes, sir! We sure do! Some of the most fun practices are in the wind and rain. Throw on a rain coat and come on down. The only thing we will cancel practice on account of weather is for lightning storms or extremely high winds. 

• How old do I have to be to join the team?

 Paddlers must be 16 years or older and will be required to have a legal guardian sign their waiver before paddling. 

• Do I need to be at every practice to join the team?

Ideally you would be, but we understand that everyone has busy summers and things come up. A few missed practices is not a deal breaker for team membership.