Shirley Che

"I started as a volunteer at a local festival back in 2010, and I met the coach that founded the Delite and started paddling soon after that festival. But the story is not why I started, but why I stayed...

It wasn’t about fitness then; it was about the sense of belonging that I found with a group of like-minded teammates. We were all just emerging professionals, newly graduated from college, looking for ‘trouble.’ Now looking back, having a part in building up a team from scratch was absolutely one of the most rewarding and cherished experiences of mine. We didn't have overwhelming goals other than having a team in Dallas. It has been, indeed, a very DELITE-ful journey!

I credit my sentimental attachment to the sport to those early fun (and often drunk) years. I also must credit my transformation from a perceived frail twig to ‘Shercules’ to the more recent years, when our coaches took us to the next level of paddling. I started lifting for the first time when head coach @Paddle_addict set a goal for the team to go to Club Crew qualifiers in 2015. The team didn't make it, but I was very motivated to get stronger. A few years later, I made it to be part of the ICF-affiliated Team USA. You see, I owe a lot to this sport.

All my favorite memories in my paddling life involve travelling to races with fellow paddlers: the countless road-trips, the after-race celebrations, the poorly-executed human pyramids, the inevitable poor AirBnb renter reviews, getting lost in a new city, the smell of Tenderloin (shout out to San Francisco!), fire alarm in the middle of the night in Denver, oh and the team WOBBLE! 

My paddling friends and I share so many experiences and memories. I hope you and your friends do as well."

[Shirley Che (Dallas, Texas & Macau), paddler on Dallas United Crew Delite (aka DUC Delite), ex-paddler on ICF US national team.]

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