This past weekend, 13 members of our team raced in Wenzhou, China, where we received the best hospitality. All expenses of our trip were covered by the race organizers. We were given plenty of hotel rooms, enjoyed endless buffets for every meal, experienced efficient transportation, and interacted with friendly volunteers that helped translate and guide us throughout the trip.

On this trip, we were able to meet university teams from all over the world such as Canada, Australia, Italy, Taiwan, and more. This meant our competition was tough, as we were competing against teams that consisted of many members that compete at a national level.

We placed 2nd in both our 200m and 500m races. They were both close. In our 500m race, we were behind 1st place by only 0.8 of a second. Our racing resulted in our team ranking 12th overall.

Although we didn't rank the highest at the race, we still accomplished more than we expected and it was a great learning experience. We were up against the fastest, most competitive teams, and we were able to race them and interact with them and learn about their training strategies. The Wenzhou dragon boat competition was definitely memorable and we are grateful for such an amazing experience that allowed us to meet other paddlers from around the world and receive treatment that made us feel like celebrities.