The Baby Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival, hosted on April 28th at Marine Stadium, Long Beach, CA, marked the final race of our racing season. Representing our colors were two boats from UCSD: UCSD Bae and UCSD Pookie, both geared up for the 500-meter race. Keeping with the spirit of the year, the team aimed to continue our streak and end on the podium for the final race of the season.

Continuing their strong performance this year, UCSD Bae was able to muscle their way into Division A finals and was leading the heat. However, a steering misstep led them to pass into the lane of another boat, forcing race officials to add a penalty of +20 seconds to the time. This unfortunately pushed UCSD Bae from first place to fourth with a final time of 2:24.249, but the team’s effort and strength showed through their performance on the water.

UCSD Pookie was able to secure a solid position in Division B, fighting hard for the podium. With a finishing time of 2:23.197, Pookie finished fourth but was only about 2 seconds away from their competitors in the heat.

Although the day was not without its share of challenges, the UCSD team emerged with heads held high, carrying valuable lessons learned and a strengthened resolve for future competitions. We hope to go into the upcoming year with the same energy that we approached this year, always improving our technique and our teamwork.