He’s just now grabbed his oar, the boat hasn’t budged, but already this Rave Review scribe is feeling a bit unnerved.

As a last-minute fill-in for the final Datamax race at the River Cities Dragon Boat Festival, he’s taken aback by the minuscule width of the paper-thin boat, and more than a little unsure of the commands that will soon come from the coach at the back. Certainly, he doesn’t want to let his teammates down. Luckily, he’s taken some last-minute advice from veterans like Area Sales Manager Cody Simon.

• “Keep your eyes on the inside of the boat, and the person in front of you.”
• “Stay in sync. If you get out of sync, take a moment, and get back in stride.”
• “Don’t try to ‘power’ through it, or go faster and harder than anyone else. It won’t help.”
• “Teamwork is most important. Trust the people in the boat around you.”

“There’s a lot of trust that goes into this race. You’re trusting the words of the coach provided. But even more than that, you’re trusting everyone to be in unison. If you get out of sync, you’re hitting paddles, and the entire boat is affected. You have to work with everyone and trust that everyone is rowing in the same rhythm as you are,” Cody said. 

While unnerving, rowers quickly learn to trust the coach’s ability to maneuver the six-inch rudder along the course, the drummer at the front of the boat keeping a steady, rhythmic beat, and certainly one another.

Our course is well-set, if we trust the vision, and the process.

Charting the Course: Building a Process of Trust Inside the Boat (And the Office).

We prepare for the race.

First-time rower Andrew Watson took all the advice in stride, until that first practice.  

“I kept hearing how important it was to row at the same time, and it made sense, I thought. Well, it became very clear to me in that first practice how important it really was,” Andrew said.

Andrew’s canoed his entire life but recalls just how exhausted he was after rowing in the River Cities Dragon Boat Festival, and how important the practice sessions were for preparing the team.

“From how long a stroke needs to last, to focusing on doing the same exact thing as one another, that practice was huge. One thing they told us before we went out was: It’s not just rowing a boat. You’ll see. And they were right.”

Speaking of preparation - let's honor the River Cities Dragon Boat Chefs!

Days before the Friday kick-off, team chefs Russ Hill and Ken Allison began prepping the food and marinating the meats. In all, more than 100 burgers (33 pounds of meat), 25 pounds of chicken, 60 hot dogs, a couple of dozen brats, 60 sausage and biscuits, and enough sausage balls to feed an army.  

“Just preparing the food, getting ready to cook, I’d say  I spent a minimum of 10 to 12 hours on preparation. From mixing the Bisquick, cream cheese, and grated cheese and forming them into balls and baking. To baking biscuits in and cooking the sausage. To forming burger patties, and trimming and marinating the chicken – it’s a process,” Russ said.

We reevaluate as we go along.

It was particularly interesting listening to the rowers discuss their progress in between race heats.

• “Watch the video. We rolled out fast at the start, but we lost some momentum.”
• “That was a good practice run. We’ll be ready.”
• “I think we need to move some folks, we were a little heavy on the right.”

“There’s always room for improvement,” Cody said. “No matter what your position is, there is always something you can do a little bitter. It’s not a matter of saying you did it wrong – it’s just saying 'here are some tweaks for the next run.'"

We row for a cause greater than our own.

The real reason any of us are on that lake, of course, is to support the great work of Children's Protection Center.  The Children's Protection Center provides Forensic Interviews, Family Advocacy and Support, Specialized Medical Exams, Mental Health Therapy, and Community Awareness.

As a child abuse advocacy leader, the number one priority of Children’s Protection Center is the child. Its interviewers are trained in the ChildFirst protocol. This principle allows for one single interview for the child, reducing fear, trauma, and stress as they walk through the investigation process.

"Supporting the Children's Protection Center is the heart and soul of this event," Little Rock Human Resources Manager Tamara Hargrove said. "In visiting with some of the staff there, and hearing some of the numbers, it's inspiring to hear how many children the Protection Center has helped. But it's also heartbreaking to hear just how many kids have been afflicted with abuse."

We trust one another. 

After a few practice runs, Andrew began to feel more comfortable in his role – enough so that he began looking around the boat to see if he could offer any pointers after the run.

“What I realized pretty quickly, was that there’s plenty there to keep myself busy, keeping my rhythm and my pace. I no longer can rely on trying to make sure everyone is doing things the right way. At that point, I am simply trusting them. They’re going to do the very best they can at their spot, and we have to trust one another. It’s the only way it works.”