LARD: It's more than pork fat. It's a family of hardcore paddlers based out of Los Angeles, CA, who rip through bodies of water in their mighty dragonboat.
Consider this: a mere hundred grams of LARD contains 900 calories of energy. We pack in a boat of 20 paddlers; that equals more than a ton of LARD.
That's a whole lot of power behind the dragon. The Los Angeles Racing Dragons (LARD) had its start in 1996. A group of parents and children from the Pomona Valley Chinese Association (PVCA) formed a team to participate in the first annual International Cultural Exchange Association (ICEA) Long Beach Dragon Boat Competition featuring more than 20 teams. Despite having had only a few practices, the novice PVCA team won Third Overall, finishing behind two well established competitive team; one from Taiwan and the other from the San Francisco bay area. The following year, the team competed in Long Beach and performed well again. The two years of local competition fueled a desire to become serious contenders in the dragon boat arena. The team dedicated itself to evolving from a team that only competes in local tournaments to an internationally competitive team; The Los Angeles Racing Dragons.
LARD is comprised of people from a wide range of ages, occupations, and backgrounds. What binds the team is our common passion for the sport, our desire to see the team continue to improve, and an interest to promote dragon boat racing.
In 2000, the team joined the Pacific Dragon Boat Association (PDBA), allowing LARD to compete in national United States Dragon Boat Federation (USDBF) tournaments. Our annual race circuit has included competitions in Long Beach, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, and Vancouver.
In 2002 and 2003, some LARD paddlers participated in international tournaments in China, as well as being invited to Taiwan. Also in 2003, LARD was approved for 501(c)3 Federal Non-Profit Status and helped founded the Los Angeles Pink Dragons (LAPD), an all breast cancer survivor crew. In 2004, LAPD officially joined the Los Angeles Racing Dragons Foundation.
In the past few years, LARD has established itself as the premier Los Angeles area dragon boat team and have gone head to head against nationally ranked teams in regional competition, earning the respect of our peers all over North America
The Los Angeles Racing Dragons Foundation is a non-profit tax exempt organization 501(c)(3). Please consult your tax advisor on the tax deductibility of your donation.
Come down to our Long Beach practice site and discover what makes our team unique, no strings attached.
Practices are held at Mother's Beach (Marine Park) in Long Beach, dates and times of upcoming practices are to the left.
The nearest intersection is 2nd Street and Appian Way in Long Beach.
Directions are as follows:
* From the 405, take the 22-W
* Exit Studebaker, turn left onto Studebaker
* Turn right at 2nd Street
* Keep to the right and exit Appian Way (past PCH, at the end of the bridge)
* Turn left and park in the metered lot OR turn right and the free parking lot is on the left.
* LARD meets by the first tree on the right corner as you walk through the metered parking lot towards the beach.
Parking
The parking lot immediately next to the practice area is metered starting at 10AM. We do provide a little time between laps to feed the meters. However, we do not guarantee that we will return to the beach before the meter maid arrives. Alternatively, down the street is a larger lot where you can park for free. Dragonboaters are highly discouraged from parking on the street.
Beach etiquette
Please clean up after yourself before leaving. We encourage recycling your empty bottles.
Boat location
The boats are usually beached near the Davies bridge and covered with a blue tarp. On the weekends, boats are usually beached at the waterline between use by the different teams.
Dues/Joining
All people new to LARD are allowed to practice 3 weekends before being required to pay dues. We believe that this time will give new people a decent chance to get to know us as a team and experience the sport. Advanced notice is not required before attending practice for the first time. We will never turn away a new paddler but we prefer the initial practice to not be within the 2 weeks before a race. We will be able to provide more and better instruction and aid outside of these time frames. Please print and sign the following waiver to practice. LARD_Waiver_2009.pdf
This website is designed to provide information and tools for team management and staying connected with our members and officers
Join LA Racing DragonsBy signing up for an account on the LA Racing Dragons website, you will have access to posting news items and discussion forums, sending out evites, and access to internal team-only web tools. These tools include:
* Membership status and payment history
* Attendance history
* Testing results
* Voting
* Access to documents and waivers.
TeamLARD participates in and promotes the international sport of dragon boat racing. We support a healthy lifestyle through regular exercise. We work to create a positive atmosphere that recognizes both the importance of diversity and of every teammate’s individual contribution to the team. We foster each member’s growth and development both as a paddler and as an integral member of our community. We encourage and assist the development and growth of new teams. We strive to compete at the highest level of dragon boat racing while promoting and maintaining our core values:
TEAMWORK we pull together as a team to attain our goals
ACCOUNTABILITY each team member is responsible for contributing to the operations of our team
FRIENDSHIP we cultivate a spirit of camaraderie and are dedicated to our teammates
GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP we demonstrate our spirit by being good losers and gracious winners
COURTESY we create an inclusive environment marked by the respect of others
HONESTY our conduct is straightforward and fair
LOYALTY we are faithful to our team
&
COURAGE we have the resolve to be true to our values in actions, as well as in words
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