Sajan Lama

“IDBF 2015 World Championships in Welland, Canada, was approaching and I was determined to make it to the youth team. And the night before our PDBA Yutes team first indoor paddle pool practice, I was anxious and couldn’t sleep all night. As a result, I woke up late. Although it was December and we had a good amount of snow in the night, the roads were clear and I couldn’t use traffic as an excuse. There’s a saying, “better late than never,” but I walked in the room as if everyone else were early—with my chin held high, a big bright smile on my face, pumped to kill this practice. My coach didn’t say anything, handed me a paddle and assigned me a seat. 

As I was walking, I scanned the [paddle pool] room to check techniques of people already paddling and I saw her, the most beautiful girl paddling on my left; her technique looked so fluent and perfect, I needed a second look—I turned my head so quickly, I got a neck sprain that lasted a few weeks and a heart arrhythmia for a lifetime.

When I got to my seat, I couldn’t stop paddling restlessly. My coach instructed me to relax and keep my pace nice and steady; but my strokes followed the rhythm of my heart. Then, my coach advised me to look at the gigantic mirror in front of me and he even angled the mirror so that I could see myself better. However, the angle only made it better to look at her reflection in the mirror. I don’t think the practice went well, but my heart was content.

Even though we attended the same practice sessions, it took me six months to talk to her after the first encounter. We both made it to the youth team and the rest is history. 

As soon as the horn blows off during a race, we continue building our strokes to its peak, we continue building our strokes until we hit our long, deep, and hard strokes. When the team executes it perfectly, it feels as though you’re driving a stick-shift car and have just shifted onto the highest gear, the adrenaline kicks in, and you feel invincible. And my favorite thing about dragon boating is you get to share this experience with 22 other people on a boat!”

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[Sajan Lama (Philadelphia, PA, USA), paddler on Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association, Philadelphia Canoe Club, US Premier national team.]

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