Calley Cloud

“I was born and raised on the Crow Agency Indian Reservation in Montana. I served Active Duty in the US Army from February 1995 to March 2016, deployed on six rotations to Afghanistan and Iraq, and retired as an Airborne Commissioned Officer. Immediately upon retirement from Kansas, I moved to Okinawa, Japan and wanted to learn about Okinawan culture and get the opportunity to join an all-female dragon boat team. 

Being an Army veteran, it made sense to join the Army Ladies Dragon Boat Team in 2018. The Okinawan Army Ladies Dragon Boat Team won the 2018 All Ladies Service DB Team Race against the Navy and Air Force teams. I then joined the Torii Ladies Dragon Boat Team (still an Army Ladies Team), and it was an amazing learning experience. That summer, I went from having no experience to becoming a pacer and winning the Strong Woman’s Competition with a fellow paddler!

 The next year, in 2019, I joined the Ladies Gunners Team and again had a great experience that season. I was also the first female to compete in both the Strong Man’s and the Strong Woman’s category in 2019.

I am now on my way to Kansas City and hope to get the opportunity to continue with the dragon boat tradition. I’ve learned so much and I’m so grateful I came across this amazing sport. I have made so many close lifelong friends in a number of countries through this sport.

My most memorable moment of dragon boat was competing in the Okinawa Strong Woman competition in the summer of 2018 and winning that race, since it was my first season.”

[Calley Cloud (Okinawa, Japan & Montana, USA), paddler on Gunners, ex-paddler on Torii Ladies & Army Ladies Dragon Boat Team.]

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