Earlier, I had a chance to be a guest paddler with FDS. Some of my colleagues are thinking of organising a corporate paddle and I wanted them to see how it’s like to paddle with Filipino Dragons (Singapore).

It was nice of Daniel to mention (without me feeding it to him) that being with FDS feels like family. Yes, it’s very true with FDS. Having paddled with the team for four years, I learned many values like teamwork and relationship-building. We paddle as one. We have to be sync or we will fail. It’s something I apply in my career too.

Daniel introduced me to two of his friends (one of which is also my colleague from a different business unit). Glad they had fun! They commented later that they were so impressed with our women’s captain’s paddling form.

Definitely a beautiful day. I’m happy when I get to see my FDS family. They might not understand or see it from me much… but I miss them. ❤

Here are five reasons why I love dragon boat paddling:

You build your endurance. Paddling on weekends and doing additional training on Tuesdays and Thursdays builds not only your strength but your endurance. I noticed it’s helped me run faster and at greater distances. It works both ways. Running regularly has built my endurance and it’s made me paddle longer on the boat.

You learn the importance of teamwork. There are no divas on a dragon boat team. At least, there shouldn’t be. Teamwork is CRUCIAL. Everyone needs to paddle together and as ONE. When you paddle at your own pace, you break that teamwork and it will cause the boat to jerk. Being on a dragon boat team means you have to collaborate, listen, and do your part.

Your network increases with the number of friends you gain in a team sport. In the process of paddling, you expose yourself to a team filled with various professions and backgrounds. I’ve met teachers, architects, interior designers, IT professionals, retailers, call centre agents, advertising executives. It’s amazing.

You get a nice skin tan. I really don’t like pale skin… it’s a personal preference. I love the skin tan I get from dragon boating. It’s probably what I miss the most.

You can enjoy some occasional eye-candy and learn from it. This is true lol. Women and men. Gay, straight, lesbian. You name it. Such diversity and such eye-candy you’ll encounter. There are two ways to go about it. Be intimidated by those biceps. Or work your damn way to developing and building your own. In dragon boating, you’re surrounded by people who are dedicated to sports and fitness.

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The rest in photos from today’s session… paddles up!