What Jacksonville-area dragon boat racers are on Team USA for the world championships?

• Twelve Jacksonville residents will compete in the IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany.
• The Jacksonville Dragon Boat Club members will represent Team USA in various age and survivor categories.
• Dragon boat racing involves teams of 20 paddlers, a steerer, and a drummer working in synchronization.

Twelve people from the Jacksonville area are competing in the IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany from July 14 to 20.

Dragon boat racing, which originated in ancient China, is a "serious, high-performance, competitive sport" with 20 paddlers, a steerer and a drummer to provide the beat to synchronize the paddlers' strokes, according to the IDBF, or International Dragon Boat Federation, the event's governing body.

The paddlers "work together to propel the boat forward using a specific stroke technique," the federation said.

'Dragon boating is the mass participation paddle sport of today, with an ancient past and a very bright future. … a sport and recreational activity that can be pursued by all, anyone of all abilities and at every level of competition," according to the federation. "That is the greatness of dragon boating."

Here are the 12 members of Jacksonville Dragon Boat Club selected for Team USA at the Germany championships:

• Breast Cancer Survivor Team
• Pamela Reckner, Jacksonville
• Sokha Au-Ferris, Saint Johns
• Sheila Hickson-Curran, Ponte Vedra Beach
• Senior C Team (age 60 and up)
• Drew Rogers, Neptune Beach (club coach
• Marty Millard, Jacksonville (club co-owner and coach)
• Mimi Warren, Mandarin
• Senior B Team (age 50 and up)
• Stacey Koeppen, Ponte Vedra Beach
• Erik Whitcombe, Mandarin
• Arlene Manalo, Fleming Island 
• Senior A Team (age 40 and up)
• Alisha LeVasseur, Jacksonville
• Jennifer Dew, Ponte Vedra Beach
• Guide in ParaDragon Category
• Gil Manalo, Fleming Island

For more information about the Jacksonville Dragon Boat Club, go to jacksonvilledragonboatclub.com. For more information about the sport or championships, go to the IDBF website at dragonboat.sport or the U.S. Dragon Boat Federation website at usdbf.org/https://www.usdbf.org.

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