Welcome and thank you for visiting. Azumi Racing was established in 2004 to promote the sport of dragonboating. Dragonboat racing is one the fastest growing sports on the globe. Theres an estimated 20 million people around the world who participate in dragonboating. The sport established it's grass roots here in the states in the late 70's to early 80's and has been growing steadily ever since. About 50,000 Americans compete in more than 50 major competitions every year. Races have spread coast to coast, from Boston to Miami and from Seattle to Los Angeles. Even in the heartland of the United States, such as Kansas and Iowa, you can find dragonboating. The ancient Chinese sport is now practiced on every continent save Antarctica. The sport is so diverse that even the weekend warrior has the opportunity to compete against world class paddlers.

You'll find that in most competitions, a full crew consist of 20 paddlers, a steersperson and a drummer. A drummer keeps the paddlers in sync by beating a drum and making calls. A steersperson's role is to keep the dragonboat as straight as possible during the race. The paddlers synchronize their strokes and acting as one unit, they take a 40+ ft dragonboat from a dead stop to a full sprint. The fury and power of a human powered "speedboat" on the water is a sight to behold but nothing matches that of actually paddling in a race. "...You feel your heart beating in your chest as the starting official makes the call. The start is blistering as you and your fellow paddlers take roughly two tons of weight from a dead stop to full steam ahead. The spray and mist generated by each stroke is blinding but you stay in sync. After the start, you settle in for the long run with your fellow paddlers. Your boat surges ahead with every powerful stroke you make yet you still feel the presence of your competition. They're side by side with you and turning up the heat. As the finish approaches you find yourself hitting the wall. Your muscles ache and are filled with lactic acid, your lungs burn as you try to get more air, your vision begins to dim. You have no more to give. You start to think when will it end but then something amazing happens. Someting deep down inside stirs. You break through the wall as the call is made for the finish. You begin to pour every ounce of emotional and physical energy left into the final strokes of the race. As you cross the finish line, you wearily look to see if you've finished first. But whatever the answer maybe, you know you've already won... you know you've given it your all!" For us at Azumi, this is what dragonboating is all about. The teamwork and competition is great but the journey to test the indomitable spirit of the human nature is even better. Do you know what's deep in your core? Do you enjoy competiting or pushing yourself to the limit? You owe it to yourself to find out for sure. Come and experience dragonboat at its best. Come and experience Azumi Racing!!!

	- Bishop