LIVING ROOT DRAGON BOAT RECRUITING MORE MEN AND WOMEN FOR 2006 RACING SEASON

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
Bob Lee, President
Living Root Dragon Boat, Inc.
14 Weld Hill Street
Boston, MA 02130 USA
Email: Bob.Lee@livingroot.org
Telephone: 617.413.8360
Website: www.livingroot.org

May 4, 2006

LIVING ROOT DRAGON BOAT RECRUITING MORE MEN AND WOMEN FOR 2006 RACING SEASON

Boston, Massachusetts — Living Root Dragon Boat (“LRDB”), a competitive Boston dragon boat club, seeks more men and women over 18 years of age to train and compete with the club in 2006. LRDB will be competing at races in Boston, Montreal, Pawtucket and Hartford. No prior experience is required. Candidates possessing athleticism and good overall fitness, or prior experience with triathlons, swimming, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, rugby, football, soccer, running, crew, rowing, sculling, paddling, canoeing, outrigger, kayaking, white water rafting are all invited to join the team.

LRDB holds outdoor training sessions at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital at 125 Nashua Street Boston, Massachusetts on Thursdays 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Saturdays 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, and Sundays 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM. To schedule a trial practice, interested candidates should contact Bob Lee at Bob.Lee@livingroot.org or 617-413-8360.

“Our next race is the Boston Dragon Boat Festival in June 2006. Our winter recruiting and training have been very successful,” says LRDB President, Bob Lee. “We’ll have more than 2 teams of people racing with us in Boston and new people are contacting us almost every day about joining.”

In September 2005, LRDB won First Place in the Tiger Division at the Pawtucket Dragon Boat Race and Second Place in the C Division at the Hartford Dragon Boat Race.

In 2006, LRDB received renewed sponsorship from an anonymous energy drink manufacturer, Robinson & Cole LLP, and Stacy’s Pita Chip Company. It received new sponsorships from the Asgard Irish Pub & Restaurant, Boston Billiard Club, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Fong & Kaston, LLP, Rockstar Energy Drink, Saving Teens In Crisis Collaborative (STICC), Starbucks Corporation, and USA Dragon Boating LLC.

"We're extremely pleased to have the renewed support of most of our 2005 sponsors to say nothing that we have almost doubled our overall sponsors for 2006," Mr. Lee says. "These are relationships that we value highly as they help us attract new members and supporters."

LRDB also has partnerships with AccesSportAmerica, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, Patagonia, Whirling Girl, Lotus Designs, Dragon Boat World Magazine, the City of Somerville and Water Girl. The team is fundraising for $40,000 to help train and equip its members including the purchase of a state-of-the-art 41’-long fiberglass dragon boat. The club is seeking sponsors and other partners to meet these financial goals as well as to develop a dragon boat youth program.

"2006 will look nothing like 2005. Just a year since our founding, we've tripled our active participants who are sticking around to train,” adds Mr. Lee. “If people are looking for a new team sport to be a part of, and if they want to be a part of an organization that gets positive results from everyone working together consistently towards a common goal, we want you.”

ABOUT LIVING ROOT DRAGON BOAT, INC.

Living Root Dragon Boat, a Boston dragon boat club, is a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. LRDB’s mission is to promote the sport of dragon boat and cross-cultural understanding through the sport of dragon boat and community outreach programs.

ABOUT DRAGON BOAT

Dragon boat racing is an ancient Chinese sport that has become a global phenomenon held in over 40 countries around the world. According to Paddler Magazine, dragon boat racing is the fastest growing water sport and the second most popular water sport in the world. In the U.S. alone, there are several hundred clubs and teams that compete annually in the sport of dragon boat. In North America, dragon boats are constructed of either wood or fiberglass and typically hold 20 people paddling in unison with a drummer and steerer at the front and back respectively.
###