High-flying opening ceremony for Dragon Boat world championships in Sarasota

The International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships began with its opening ceremonies Monday along with more testament about the value of sports tourism.

Among the participating athletes were Bindi Clark, Kim Meade, Mark Slater and Dale Whitley, all Gold Coast residents from Queensland, Australia.

The four paddlers said they have booked 11 nights in Florida hotels, most in the Sarasota-Manatee counties region. Most of their trip was booked into the EVEN Hotel in Lakewood Ranch.

They said they already had "pigged out" at the Lucky Pelican in Lakewood Ranch and had many more restaurant visits planned. They already had visited Warm Mineral Springs Park in North Port, and trips to the beach would be a must later in the week.

Although they said they would consider many venues around the world because they love to compete in dragon boat racing, they admitted the Suncoast region, which they called amazing, cemented their plans to participate. They aren't considering a move to the area, but they might well visit again. They noted July is Australia's winter.

PUSHING THE PARK

Sarasota's Beth Turconi won't be surprised to see that kind of reaction over and over at Nathan Benderson Park during the world championships.

Turconi, who competes in Women's Senior A Class dragon boat events for Nathan Benderson Park as well as being on the Senior B Mixed team, attended the International Dragon Boat Federation 2019 congress meeting in Thailand along with Nathan Benderson Park executives Bob Whitford (then operations manager), Stephan Rodriguez (CEO) and Sarah Kupiec (then the park's director of events and event services).

Turconi didn't work for the park, but she was in Thailand to compete as a paddler and she went to the IDBF meeting to offer testimony about Nathan Benderson Park's value as a competitive venue.

"They asked me to sell it to the 42 delegates," Turconi said of Nathan Benderson Park's executives.

Nathan Benderson Park was competing with Hungary and Canada, the two finalists in line for the 2022 IDBF Club Crew World Championships.

"What I said was that I hadn't paddled in Canada or Hungary, but I had paddled all over the United States and this, by far, was the best water. This was paradise."

Not only was Nathan Benderson Park the best facility for racing, according to Turconi, but the park itself was promoting all kinds of activities, such as running, rollerblading and fishing. She said the region had phenomenal restaurants and great places to visit.

Of course, Nathan Benderson Park received the bid.

LOTS TO DO

Now, many of the visitors will be enjoying the area's restaurants and entertainment options, Turconi will stay focused on the competition. At 60, she will be competing against paddlers as young as 40 in her senior women's class.

"I've already seen a lot of posts on social media from people visiting," she said. "They said how beautiful it was on Sunday, then we had a thunderstorm, and then a short time later it was beautiful again. They were posting about how excited they are to be here."

Venice Joni Carone, who competes for Nathan Benderson Park's Survivors in Sync team as well as the Women's Senior A Class team, said she expects most of the paddlers to be all business when it comes to the races.

"It is an honor just to compete here," she said. "The feel is very different. This is the world stage. This is the world competition."

Carone is anxious to see how the home field advantage will benefit the Nathan Benderson Park teams, if at all. She said she feels comfortable knowing she is at home. And it has been a bonus that many restaurants and stores in the area have posted signage in support of the paddlers.

She knows her teammates have done the work.

"We are so fine tuned," she said of her Nathan Benderson Park teams. "We are prepared for every race."

LOVE THE COURSE

Carone said the paddlers are bound to love Nathan Benderson Park's course whether they live in the area or not. She has visited several world class paddling venues which build lanes and docks just for events. She said Nathan Benderson Park's facilities always remain in place.

While she has been suggesting restaurants or attractions to paddlers from outside the area, she has directed paddlers from Germany to the nearest Target.

She said hearing all the different languages at the event is one of the highlights for her.

When she travels to paddle, she doesn't miss the opportunity to sightsee and to support that nation's or region's economy. She mentioned winery tours in Italy and a Mardi Gras-type festival in Puerto Rico.

She doesn't expect foreign paddlers will miss the opportunity to see the sights.

"I don't believe people travel from Australia just for paddling," she said.

She notes Survivors in Sync has scheduled an event in New Zealand next April and sightseeing will be a big part of that trip.

Ottawa, Canada's Jocelyn MacKenzie said the members of her Bytown Dragon Boat Team are a bit nervous about visiting area attractions due to COVID-19. But she said they plan to do as much as they can, wearing masks. They've already taken a walk on the Siesta Key Beach.

It's something the group from Australia will be doing soon. 

It didn't appear many of the participants from outside the area were doing much sightseeing on Monday as many of them attended the opening ceremonies. When the crowd was asked "How many of you are from Sarasota, only eight or nine people among the thousands made any noise.

The opening ceremonies was capped by a skywalk by Blake Wallenda, who performed the stunt with relative ease. A contortionist and juggler entertained the crowd after the Kara Nally Band warmed up the proceedings with live music that had many in the crowd dancing.

Competition in the event begins at 8 a.m. and is free to the public, although there is a $15 parking fee.