East County dragon boat paddler picked for US Senior Women's team

A decade ago, Mandy Boyers was trying dragon boat racing for the first time during a community festival in Burlington, Vermont.

She didn't consider herself to be an athlete and was at the festival to be social, but she decided to give it her best shot.

Never could she have guessed where that decision would lead her.

On June 20, Nathan Benderson Park announced that Boyers, a 52-year-old East County resident, will be one of 10 athletes from the park representing Team USA on its senior team at the 2023 International Dragon Boat Federation World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, scheduled for Aug. 7-13 in Pattaya, Thailand.

Joining Boyers on Team USA will be Benderson Park paddlers Paul Hoffmann, Doreen Clyne, Don Bickel, Brian Long, Dana Trimble, Duneska Grant and Joni Carone, plus steerer Angela Long and drummer Paula Murray.

The last 10 years have led Boyers to this moment, and she's not taking any of it for granted. 

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"I tear up when I think about putting that uniform on," Boyers said. "It is humbling. It is an honor to represent our country and compete against the best in the world." 

Boyers said she was immediately hooked on dragon boat after trying it at the Vermont festival. She said it was the sense of team-building and community within the sport that she noticed first. Over the course of the day, she began to notice things within herself, like a fire to out-pace other boats. She wanted more so she joined Dragonheart Vermont, a local club.

Over the years, she and her husband, Jayson Boyers, moved around the country, with stops in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Mandy Boyers joined dragon boat clubs at each location. But it wasn't enough as the more Boyers competed, the more she wanted to improve her game.

In Vermont, she had teammates who talked about making Team USA and competing at the world championships, and she decided she wanted to take that challenge on herself. Boyers said she researched the best places to train in dragon boat and found Benderson Park.

Boyers began visiting the park each winter, and she fell in love not just with the park, but with the entire region. In October 2021, she and her husband moved to the area full-time. In that sense, dragon boat not only brought Boyers new friends and new lessons about herself, but a new home. 

"The sport completely changed my life," Boyers said. "I would not be here without it." 

It changed more than just her location. Boyers said she never knew how competitive she was before trying the sport, and she's proud of how driven to improve she has become. Boyers said she was a "study nerd" growing up. Before dragon boat racing, she said, she was out of shape. Getting into the sport helped Boyers turn her overall fitness around, and led to her losing 30 pounds. 

"It's possible for other people, too," Boyers said. "I never thought I could compete at this level, but I have. It is amazing to see it happen."

Boyers almost lived out her dream two years ago, when she was named to the Team USA roster for the 2021 championships, but that event, which would have been held in Hong Kong, was cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions. Boyers never got to wear the red, white and blue, but she has stayed prepared over the last two years, hoping she would receive another chance.  

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Now that she has, the emotions are flowing. 

"It's overwhelming," Boyers said. "I worked hard for this. It feels incredibly satisfying that this goal that I have had for years has finally come true."

Boyers said Benderson Park's facilities give its paddlers an advantage in training. Not only can local paddlers practice year-round, unlike in northern states where the water gets too cold in the winter, but the park offers the chance to train in single-person outrigger canoes. Boyers said spots on her Team USA Senior A/B Women's boat were decided by time trials conducted in those canoes. Unless a person has their own canoe, access to them can be tough to find, and Boyers said the canoes can cost thousands of dollars depending on the manufacturer.

Boyers has also been working with personal trainers to improve her strength, she said, something she has not done previously. She said her motivation levels are as high as they have ever been, and she does not see them dropping any time soon. 

"You can continue to do this sport as you age because it is age bracketed," Boyers said. "You don't have to go against 20-year-olds. I can go against people my age, which is awesome."

A trip to Thailand is Boyers' reward for putting in the work. It will be an emotional trip at times, she said, but she's ready to compete for a medal, and equally excited to experience a part of the world she's never seen — even if she's dreading the plane ride there. 

If that's the cost of making her decade-long dreams become reality, Boyers will take the deal every time.