“Tellico Heat: One Team, Two Boats, We Are One Heart

Sandi’s Soldier’s 1 and Sandi’s Soldiers 2 Compete in Alexandria, Kentucky at AJ Jolly Campground

Presented since 2010 by Paddling for Cancer Awareness (P4CA) and Hosted by the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts Dragon Boat Racing Team with help from community sponsors, this family-friendly, Best of Northern Kentucky event takes place at AJ Jolly Lake, just south of Cincinnati.

Over the years, the Kentucky Dragon Boat Festival™ has attracted thousands of participants and spectators from local, national and international teams to Campbell County Kentucky, and for the Tellico Heat Dragon Boat Club it was an emotional experience. Tellico Heat Dragon Boat Club brought both a mixed and an all women’s team to compete in the festival. Tellico Heat’s two boats:  Sandi’s Soldiers 1 and Sandi’s Soldiers 2 competed in three heats on a  250-meter course. The Mixed Division brought tough competition in the final heat from 502 Dragons, Sandi’s Soldiers 1 & 2 in the same heat. 502 Dragons finished with the winning time, followed by Sandi’s Soldier’s 2 (Mixed Boat) and Sandi’s Soldiers 1 (All Women). As it turns out, the All Women’s Boat (Sandi’s Soldier’s 1) competed within the Mixed Division and was awarded a much coveted third place medal.

A Few Comments from Our Paddlers:

“Teamwork was definitely what our day was today. We rose, conquered , and celebrated our victories, friendship and support. WOW! So very proud of all!”  – Sandi Brinlee

“What a great day it was! The teamwork that was displayed not only in the boats but also at set up, tear down, and throughout the day is what makes me proud to say, “Go Heat!” And to be a Sandi’s Soldier. Thank you coaches for your guidance. Thank you, Deb for all you did to make this a seamless event, and thank you teammates and spouses for showing up and giving it your all!”

Tellico Heat, led by Karen T., in organizing and epic “Heart Team” photo, “Thanks to Deb Smith for organizing the Kentucky event as Team Captain. Great job! With everyone pitching in from canopies, to food, decorations, putting up and take down, it ran very smoothly. And, a BIG shout out to our sponsors and friends that accompanied the paddlers – you help us make this happen! Cheers to you for your support throughout.”

“I want to thank our TEAM for being who we are. We work hard, we look after each other, we pitch in, we roll with the unexpected and we continue to shine. Watching the women’s team synchronicity was a thing of beauty. Thank you, Tellico Heat!! ROAR!!!” – Paula Doherty

Finally, from our Coach Cat, “ No matter what boat we happen to find ourselves in, no matter what races we attend, we are one team and we look out for one another simply because at the end of the day, we are all Tellico Heat. Our reputation is slowly building as one that promotes sportsmanship and inclusion in honor of this great sport…and the best part…it’s contagious! Let’s never lose sight of this!”

HEAT 1

Sandi’s Soldiers 1 Women’s boat, coached by Dee and Denise, with Donna, drumming, and Rob, steering, opened the event with a remarkable winning time of 1:12.75 in their first qualifying heat. Sandi’s Soldiers 2 (Mixed Club) faced tough competition from 502 Dragons who clocked an impressive winning time of  1:11.02. The Tellico Heat Mixed boat coached by Cat and Kevin, finished their first qualifying heat  in second place with an equally impressive time of 1:11.58! It was a photo finish!

HEAT 2

After the conclusion of Heat 1, the coaches and Sandi’s Soldiers 1 All Women’s Boat, conferred with the race coordinator and made the wise decision to stay together and compete in the Mixed Club Division for the competition after finding out that since we had more than 16 paddlers, we couldn’t compete in the Women’s Division. The team rallied in unity with even more grit and determination to paddle stronger, remembering our training and with Dee and Denise’s coaching mantras stuck in our heads, the team finished the second heat with unbelievable synchronization as Paula stated “was a thing of beauty!”  The All Women’s boat won their second qualifying heat with a time of 1:13.18. It sure felt faster, but then again five-tenths of a second is FAST. Sandi’s Soldiers 2 Mixed boat, inspired by the Women’s boat, dug deep to face 502 Dragons yet again for the 2nd time in the last qualifying heat. Both teams brought their A game! Tellico Heat: Sandi’s Soldiers 2 shaved off a tenth of a second off their first heat time and finished just a second and a half behind 502 Dragon Fire with a time of 1:11.48.  502 Dragon Fire took first place in the heat improving their time to just 1:09.92 finishing just a Dragon Head ahead of Tellico. Everyone paddled hard and were fired up to bring their best in the final heat.

FINAL ROUND (Heat 3)

As the organizers tallied the first two heat’s results and the festival broke for lunch, something magical happened on stage and in the crowd. As the festival tradition would have it, women were called to the stage for the emotional rose ceremony. Don’t miss Randy’s drone footage in this year’s feature video.

Some paddlers from last year may recall the “fish in the boat story”, but  most of this year’s paddlers probably had no idea what was lurking in the water near the start line of the final Heat. One of the videographers from the support boat that announced the start captured what can only be described as an “eager beaver” who wanted a front row seat for the epic battle the was soon to occur in the quest for the best among 502 Dragons, Tellico Heat Sandi’s Soldiers Women, and Sandi’s Soldiers 2 Mixed boat. Tellico Heat’s training kicked in and all heads were in the boat awaiting that intense “we have alignment- horn!” No one saw or heard the swimming river otter in the reeds …if you listen carefully, you can hear the call from the announcer. View the video and decide for yourself if the swimming mammal is a beaver or a river otter. 

FINAL ROUND RANKINGS:

Tellico Heat came in 2nd and 3rd overall in the Mixed Club Division behind 502 Dragon Fire. (Tellico Heat’s 10 – Person Boats are coming for you in Peachtree City at the Inaugural Peach State Dragon Boat Festival September 27th!) Shout out to 502 Dragon Fire who achieved their fastest time ever as a team, and the fastest time of the day, out of a total of 26 teams! See you on the water! Paddles Up! 

Sandi’s Soldiers #1 3rd Place

Sandi’s Soldiers #2 2nd Place

502 Dragon Fire 1st Place 

From the Tellico Heat Dragon Boat Club
A huge thank you to the 502 Dragons for a fantastic day of racing at the Kentucky Thorough-Breast Festival! Your energy, sportsmanship, and spirit made the event one to remember. We had a blast paddling alongside you and look forward to many more races together.
Paddles up!
— Tellico Heat Dragon Boat Club

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Teresa Langebrake
Robert Holtz Thank you for your kind words! We are stronger because of good competition like Tellico Heat! It was a great day of racing–we’ll see some of you back on the water in Peachtree City! 🐲