Sandra Melendez

“I was born and raised in the beautiful Caribbean in Honduras. I have always loved the ocean and been close to it.

When I moved to Okinawa, the first thing I did was look for a sport that I could do while having the chance to meet other military wives and make new friends. On my first search, I found the US Army Dragon Boat team, and it was love-at-first-practice! Since that moment, I knew the team and the sport were for me.

I’ve had a lot of great memories on this team, but if I had to choose just one: my best memory with the Army Ladies was when we finished the 2016 Naha race (my first dragon boat race). We got second place, but the emotions and happiness during that race were overwhelming; it was almost 5 minutes of pure adrenaline, passion and love for our team. That feeling that made us want to show to all the public what we were made of, that our time practicing in the cold Okinawan weather really had payed off.

We didn't win the race, but having the chance to paddle with a group of 32 fearless women who love the sport and Okinawan culture, and feeling the support and cheers of the Okinawan locals were amazing factors that combined to make us feel like world champions.

One boat,

One beat,

Go Army!”

[Sandra Melendez (Okinawa, Japan & Honduras), paddler and head coach for the US Army Ladies.]

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