Whenever I see people rowing dragon boat, it usually reminds me of the Chinese festival. What can be so difficult rowing a dragon boat with so many people doing it together at the same time? Not until when I joined the staff team to row for the institution.
It may seem an easy job but till you know and appreciate each team member's effort in rowing, together. During one of the recent DB training, I just felt that the boat was so heavy. Not sure how the rest felt but it suddenly struck me so hard about what team dynamics are. Rowing a dragon boat, if you are seated in there, you have to row your weight. You can't sit in there and expect others to row and you do nothing.
I began to realise and respect that this is a sport which teaches beyond rowing and techniques. We may not know each other well or maybe not even able to stand each other at normal time but we all have 1 common goal - to row the boat as a team and reach the end point as smooth and quick together. On the contrary, even if we know each other very well, the row may not have been as easy or co-ordinated. People still need time to fine tune the strokes as we have individual styles, strengths and weaknesses.
At Saturday's training, a colleague reminded us in our training that we need to shout and echo on some commands, some to motivate each other. I thought it was quite useful for myself, not sure about others. It is true that in tough times, if we just hear some encouragements from each other, it may just push you through the challenges.
If we can just row forward together, stroke by stroke, following each others' pace, it is an achievement. Making it into round 2 is a bonus.
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