The 2022 season is about to start! Want to come try dragon boat paddling? Want to meet some great new people? Well, here is your chance! Come out to our paddling kickoff and experience it for yourself! We will have paddles and PFDs ready for y’all. Click HERE to sign up and we will see you on the water soon!
Greetings paddlers. It is now time to renew your membership with Houston Heat. The Houston Heat Board has made the decision to maintain the same membership rates as the last several years.
For the 2022 year, the annual membership rate is $200. There is a one-time $20 Administrative Charge for brand new members.
You can submit a check to the PO Box or submit payment via QuickPay with Zelle to houstonheatdragonboat@gmail.com.
Please visit the Houston Heat Join Our Team page to learn more about how to become a member. You can also complete the online membership form and read the Houston Heat Code of Conduct at this page.
During the last week of August, 2019, the 14th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships were held in Thailand. Over 3,500 dragon boat athletes from 29 nations gathered in Pattaya for the 5-day, biennial event. Houston Heat athletes Jackson Lau and Joel Castaneda qualified to be on the National Team and helped Team USA bring home many medals from different race distances in the Senior A divisions. The United States ranks 3rd overall in medal count.
The competition in Thailand was fierce this year, with a couple of records being broken in the 200-meter race. China’s premiere open team broke the world record with an impressive 39.251 seconds; the previous record of 40.02 seconds was held for a decade by the Philippines National Team since 2009. Canada’s premiere women’s team also broke the world record with their finish time at 45.958 seconds.
Now that the World Championship in Thailand is over, dragon boat athletes around the world will start their training for 2021 when the next World Championship will return to Hong Kong, a significant city where many athletes believe modern dragon boat racing got its start in 1976.
It is that time of year again to provide paddlers the opportunity to take advantage of the Early Bird Specials for the 2020 year. The Houston Heat Board has made the decision to maintain the same membership rates as the last few years.
For the 2020 year, the annual membership rate is $200. There is a one-time $20 Administrative Charge for brand new members.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: For a limited time, Houston Heat is offering an Early Bird Special Discount if you submit your dues by February 15, 2020 with a completed and signed membership form to the Houston Heat PO BOX (address is listed in the form) – Memberships will be $175.00 for returning members and $185.00 for brand new members (50% off of the one-time admin charge). You can submit a check to the PO Box or submit payment via QuickPay with Zelle to houstonheatdragonboat@gmail.com.
Don’t delay. This discount will end at midnight on February 15, 2020. Your check/Quickpay and form must be post marked and delivered by this date. Please visit the Houston Heat Join Our Team page to learn more about how to become a member. You can also download the membership form and read the Houston Heat Code of Conduct at this page.
Our club wants to congratulate seven paddlers (plus Bong, Heather’s husband) on making the ICF National Team:
Jackson Lau
Christi Pham
Liying Zhao
Heather Mercado
Joel Castaneda
Ha Nguyen
Mas Nash, Master Women’s Coach
The 2018 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships were held at Lake Lanier, GA—the same location where the U.S. held the 1996 Olympics for rowing, canoe, and kayak events. The event was held from September 13—16, 2018. Over the 4 days, Team USA paddled fiercely and racked up medals in different divisions. The final medal count for Team USA was 15 Golds, 13 Silvers, and 8 Bronzes. Team USA also won the Nations Cup by having the highest medal count.
Each of these paddlers have dedicated a lot of their time, training to be on Team USA. Their hard work and dedication paid off when they all took home some hardware and even spent some time on top of the podium with the flag flying high, singing the national anthem. Mike Nguyen from our team was also part of Team USA as a volunteer MacGyver and photographer. Our Houston Heat’s head coach, Jeff Gee, also traveled to the race venue from Houston to cheer on the Heaters and Team USA Paddlers.
The next ICF Dragon Boat World Championship will be held in 2020, in India. If you want to train to be a part of Team USA, the training needs to start now! Each individual plays a small part in the making of a great team. When everyone on the team gets stronger, the boat gets stronger!
The Battle on the Bay staff and crew have taken the advice of Galveston officials and made the decision to cancel the August 26th date for Battle on the Bay, Galveston. Safety is priority for our participants and guests. We are in contact with Moody Gardens and will determine an alternative date as soon as possible. We are also in contact with the Moody Gardens Hotel. They are very aware of the weather situation. For those who have made room reservations through the Battle on the Bay discount code, we will have more information as soon as we receive it. For those who reserved rooms through other sites or methods, you will need to contact them directly about your cancellations. This also goes for those who set up AirBnb housing.
Once again, we will do our best to make sure Battle on the Bay goes on in the safest way possible.
Thank you for your patience and support!
Battle on the Bay Staff and Crew
We want to give a big thanks to all of our sponsors who are helping us make this Battle on the Bay event happen! Interested in being a part of this? Contact us for sponsorship opportunities!
Welcome race participants and fans! How about a place where both the sport of dragon boat and stand-up paddle racing meet and battle at an event like no other! With the combined forces of Island Paddle and Houston Heat Dragon Boat Club, we are excited to bring both paddling disciplines to one great event: The Galveston Battle on the Bay, held at Moody Gardens! We’ve taken our first-hand experience and input from fellow participants to put together an event like no other! This truly will be a paddling event run by paddlers! So gather your SUP and paddle! Round up your dragon boat crew! We’re gonna race until we see who comes out on top! Then at the end event, we’re gonna turn the top SUPs and the top dragon boat teams loose and see who is king! Not yet ready jump in on the races? Come out anyways! Spectator admission is free! Check out the website at www.battleonthebaygalveston.com
If the team wins a race, the paddlers usually believe that they did most of the work, which is true. But, the coaches also have a big part in determining the outcome of those races, since they must have done their homework well and got the most out of each paddler’s potential for that event. However, if the team doesn’t do so well, it is the coach who usually gets a lot of the blame!
Houston Heat has some experienced coaches who don’t mind helping their own HH teammates, as well as paddlers from other teams become the best that they can be. Most of the time, they are well appreciated by their teammates, but, sometimes, they are not.
For all the effort and preparation time spent by each of the coaches in getting ready for a particular event, let’s show our appreciation now for all the Houston Heat coaches: Jeff, Albert, David, Matt, and Jackson!
Also, our club has someone else who has been part of the backbone and strength of the club for a very long time… Mas Nash. For the last couple of years, she has been part of the Team USA coaches who have put together the men and women representatives to compete at the world level. We also want to thank her for being part of our organization, too!
Thank you coaches for your dedication, your leadership, and all the sacrificed paddling time just so you can coach/steer the teams. Thank you Houston Heat for 10 dragon years.
Attention ALL youths ages 14 – 17!
Houston Heat Dragon Boat Club is holding a free paddling clinic on Saturday, July 23rd at Clear Lake Park (Mud Lake side), on Clear Lake Park Road, Seabrook, TX 77586. The nearest address is: 5001 NASA Rd, Seabrook TX 77586. Meet and register promptly at 8:30 am and spend one hour on the water paddling with other friends, family or teammates around the same age.
Houston Heat is an established year-round dragon boat club and has experienced coaches to train and steer you through an exciting, fun filled session. Paddles and personal floatation devices are supplied, but bring sunblock and plenty of fluids. Dress accordingly for a water sport. Come learn first hand the ultimate team building sport, where every seat plays an important role in which boat gets to the finish line first.
Check the Practice Registration section, sign up, and look forward to some paddling fun!
(Flyer designed by: Bouncing Pixel)