http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-dragon-boat-bn050509,0,1252311.story

HOLLYWOOD - A lone kayaker failed to slay Broward's only dragon boat team today, but the battle is not over.

Broward County's recreation advisory board granted the Blazing Paddles team temporary permission to keep their storage container at West Lake Park, in Hollywood, until county commissioners figure out the next move.

The team was told last week they needed to remove the 40-foot-long, boxcar-like container by May 22, after a kayaker complained it was an eyesore and an environmental hazard.

Today, team members packed a small room at T.Y. Park and took turns extolling the increasing popularity of the sport. They said removing the container would doom the team.

After brief deliberations, the board decided the issue should be examined at the County Commission level, and that some sort of a leasing agreement should be negotiated with the team.

"The fact that they are talking about a long-term solution is promising," team spokeswoman Kristin Deffler said.

Commissioners will also have the option of rejecting the lease idea and evicting the container.

A Broward County parks employee provided written permission to leave it at the park last year.

But county parks Director Bob Harbin told the advisory board the permit was issued wrongfully without his knowledge. He fears other groups will soon want to place similar containers throughout the park system.

In a Web site he created to rally against the team, Griffin complained the Blazing Paddles' high-intensity practices and drum-thumping disturb him and nature every Saturday morning.

Ihosvani Rodriguez can be reached at ijrodriguez@SunSentinel.com or 954-385-7908.

"Griffin complained the Blazing Paddles' high-intensity practices and drum-thumping disturb him and nature every Saturday morning."


Griffin is a major dooooooosh......

Agreed. Total A-Hole

I've got some sympathy for him... how many crews find it necessary to practice drumming during every practice??

he couldn't have just said something to the team about about the drumming? He stepped over the line... com'on he essentially tried to get them banned from the area for his own personal reasons. A-HOLE.

seriously, why dont they just paint it like a mural of a park? grass, trees, there are some bridges in toronto that have that motif, so it doesn't look 100% real up close, but from 200 yards away it blends in pretty well.

ta da

I don't think they practice with the drum... its just envy, he just wants a place for him to put his kayak so he is crying about it. Actually I think that's how it all started. when he wasn't getting his way he used the nature route.

Lets think about this, I believe it cost to enter the park, so you have a team of paddlers paying vs 1 guy paying. Not to mention the blazing paddles will be there every week on a consistent basis so its being utilized and now the park can get more funding to keep it going.

The Mural idea is a good one.

Im sure Griffen is a rower not a kayaker

Really not need to drum at practices. Mural is a great idea. Official permit for the storage unit is too.

Suggest the Blazing Paddles use some of the statistics from the USA DragonBoating survey last year about average income level of paddlers, etc. as well as the overall potential economic gain to the city of Hollywood that a dragon boat festival would bring.

Suggest you contact the Tampa organizers and Miami organizer and get their statistics before your next meeting with Rec board or City Council. Paddlers bring big $$$$ to their communities.

Good Luck Blazing Paddles. If you need a letter of support, let all the dragon boat clubs in FL know who to write.

I'm confused why a team would need a "40-foot-long, boxcar-like container". Why not just have everyone take home their lifejacket and paddle at the end of the practice?

Are they storing their boat in there?

I had assumed they are storing the boat in there. Its very hard to find a place to store a dragonboat, near a put-in ramp, for free. Down here in Fla, we dont have fancy boathouses and dragonboat club marinas. you gotta get creative...

personally i like the boxcar container, but it is a bit of an eyesore. But in miami, a public park is way better than $$$$$$ at any waterfront marina.

there is a rowing club in tampa on the river that stores boats, oars, the jonboat, motors, and C2 rowers in about 5 or 6 of those large shipping containers, all stacked together. But containers next to a boat storage pavillion isnt as bad as a stand alone container out in the grass in the park....

Well, you know the story and although we may be divided on some issues as Dragonboaters we need your support. I know that many from the US visit and read this forum and we ask you to help.

This is not only a one team fight, everybody will benefit from their victory. We need more boats everywhere to promote the sport!

Please let's help this team keep the boats in the West Lake Park. We need 1000 signatures. Pass it on to your team mates! Pass it on to anybody you know that knows how much you love Dragon Boating.



If you DO NOT live in Broward county, please go to this link to sign the petition. http://www.petitiononline.com/FLdragon/petition.html

If you DO live in Broward use this link below:http://www.PetitionOnline.com/WLPBoats/petition.html

Thank you very much for those who have responded!

We still need to gather more than 900 signatures to complete the petition.

We can see those who signed and we know that more have not done it yet. So far only 189 signatures have been posted an I know that thousand not hundred of people are members of this forum.

Please, sign the petition and ask your friends to sign as well, they don't need to be dragon boaters, you can help them understand our needs for more boats to be available in lakes, rivers and ocean for us be able to continue and develop this sport that we love.

Cesar

"I know that thousand not hundred of people are members of this forum."

No one is a member of this forum. God knows how many lurkers there are. I suspect that there are only about a dozen people who routinely post, and as we saw recently, some of the purported conversations are actually the same individual responding to their own post.

Cesar, why don't you just get C.J. to get all the signatures you need? After all, he claims to know everyone!!

This whole thing is a real joke.

I can't believe that this kayaker had the guts to try and rid a park of paddlers. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

I'm thinking of complaining about the kids playing baseball in the field across the street, they disturb me...

You are narrow minded. Dragonboat starts with a single boat anywhere. Just ask Sudbury when they got their single boat and put it in the water a few years ago. Dragonboat Canada even had a program specifically placing boats in places so that the sport can grow. You're either narrow minded or just sh!t disturbing.

Thanks to all of you more than 689 signatures have been captured. Allowed me to thank all of those that in one way or another provided negative answers that continue to make this forum fun and entertaining.

What what we do if everyone was just trying to be serious...would be to boring, wouldn't it?

We are still shy of our 1000 signatures and please help asking your friends to sign in.

Cesar

Cesar, why don't you just get C.J. to get all the signatures you need? After all, he claims to know everyone!!

hahaha nice... CJ also claim he is in the Philly Premier team too