The  dragon boating season came to an end on April 8, earlier than expected. The plan was to finish the season by participating in a regatta at the end of April, but low participation forced a different course of action. Now, the team and NYU Abu Dhabi’s Athletics Department looks toward dragon boating’s future on Saadiyat.

Freshman Batu Aytemiz joined dragon boating early in the semester and has been a dedicated member ever since.

“I was really amazed by the synergy required to be successful ... I really enjoyed this aspect of dragon boating,” Aytemiz said.

His enthusiasm was shared by many others who joined dragon boating since September 2010. Back then, dragon boating was one of the few sports offered, and the team brought home NYUAD’s first-ever championship win. According to Wayne Young, the Associate Director of Athletics, Intramurals & Recreation, dragon boating practices drew between 35 and 40 students. The high participation allowed for two boats, one for beginners and one for advanced paddlers. This continued into this past year.

Yet, since Fall 2013, the numbers have been steadily falling.

“I think the biggest practice we ever had [this semester] was 14 people … we couldn’t fill a boat with that,” said sophomore Dean Shaff, one of the team captains.

Right before spring break, explained Shaff, the number of paddlers dropped to eight, the minimum needed to paddle the heavy boat.

Alexandra Jonker, an executive assistant at the NYUAD Athletics department who handles the administrative side of the team, said this year witnessed the lowest number of participants. However, this is an issue felt across many sports teams as NYUAD’s activities and sports multiply.

“We struggle for numbers pretty much in all of [our sports],” Jonker said.

Paddling through challenges

Particularly for dragon boating, the lack of steady commitment was only one of several factors that affected participation. Logistics also played a role, as practices were held at the Shangri-La Hotel, located a 40-minute bus ride away from Sama Tower. Although the Athletics department tried to bring practices closer, it was nearly impossible due to bureaucratic and governmental hoops. This year, the team also increased the practices from once to twice a week, which promised more improvement but also required a bigger commitment.

“[The] problem was when people would come, and then promise to come consistently and never show up again. That would happen a lot,” said sophomore Anishka Arseculeratne, the other team captain.

Shaff also felt that dragon boating was perceived as less competitive and less of a commitment than other sports teams.

“It seems to me that it’s just an activity that people go to when they think that they have time,” said Shaff.

Jonker, however, did not think it had been clearly established whether dragon boating was a competitive sport or a social activity. She thought this was a point to work on in the future.

“Looking ahead to next year, maybe that’s where we try and differentiate between the community sports club and the competitive team,” she explained.

Recruitment difficulties

Moreover, this year, the demands of study abroad meant the loss of many dedicated juniors who had been driving the team. Although the team put out an advertising poster campaign, it was not as successful as the team captains and the Athletics department had wished. The captains put out a poster campaign early in the semester.

“That perhaps didn’t happen as quickly as I was hoping they might have adopted it … It took a couple of weeks, but eventually they put some really great posters out,” said Jonker.

Reeling in new paddlers is no quick fix. They must be coached on the stroke, meaning that more advanced paddlers had to wait for the others to catch up. Since there were not enough members to separate the boats by level, everyone was paddling together. The new members did not all stay, which affected team spirit. Arseculeratne explained that she was often disappointed.

“I’d end up going from one person to another complaining … We knew we had to address [the absences],” she said.

“No one wants to join a team where they’re hearing negative comments,” Jonker said.

Bringing in the boat

Due to these difficulties, the Athletics department made the decision to discontinue the dragon boating season. The team captains received an email, and while initially upset, both understand the decision. Arseculeratne, however, wishes she had been more included in the process.

“I do understand the complications with [the season], but … I don’t feel that ... it was explained clearly enough [to me] where I was like, ‘okay, this is a reasonable argument,’” said Arseculeratne.

In reflecting on the season, Shaff was not sure why there had been such a lack of communication between the captains and the Athletics department.

Open waters

Young and Jonker confirmed that dragon boating will continue next year. They are currently trying to gain access to the water around Saadiyat, a process that has proven difficult.

“Instead of [saying] ‘we’re recruiting again for the boat’ … I think we [should] start from scratch: If you’ve paddled before, join us; if you haven’t paddled, join us. And it’s made very clear at the beginning that there’s no preconceptions about the team,” she explained.

Arseculeratne puts her faith in the next team captain.