Meadow Lake, in Flushing, New York. More than 150 dragon boat teams, vying for victory.

This age-old sport inherited from ancient China, attracts thousands to Flushing Meadows in Queens every year, for the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.

And this year, a team from Harvard University in Boston have made a special trip to compete.

Team president Anne Cherry has been racing for about nine years. Ever since a dragon boating upsurge started in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.

[Anne Cherry, Harvard Dragon Boat Team President]:
“It’s such a team sport. It’s not like basketball or football or baseball – one person has the ball, there’s a star player on the team. Instead there is 18 people on the boat and everyone is just as important as everyone else.  The smallest people, the biggest people, they all have a very important contribution.”

If you are serious about the sport, the training is rigorous. You must be fit and you must be strong.

[Anne Cherry, Harvard Dragon Boat Team President]:
“It’s a 500m race, sometimes 250m. That’s three minutes tops. And so during that three minutes, you have been training for months, for three minutes."

Anne says her parents are very supportive – to a point.

[Anne Cherry, Harvard Dragon Boat Team President]:
“The reason I got my driver’s license was because they refused to drive me to anymore 6am practices.”

So, she recruited her little brother.

[Anne Cherry, Harvard Dragon Boat Team President]:
“He’s been doing it for five years now I think.”

And her friends from school.

[Anne Cherry, Harvard Dragon Boat Team President]:
“People come out and they try it and they love it. And they keep doing it.”

Her passion can be somewhat overwhelming.

[Anne Cherry, Harvard Dragon Boat Team President]:
 “Who else have I recruited? It’s more like who I haven’t recruited. Basically all of my good high school friends ended up doing it.”

And now she is recruiting her Harvard classmates, like fellow PHD student Margot Bowen.

[Margot Bowen, Harvard Dragon Boat Team]:
“It’s a really good work out when you are paddling. It’s really great for your back and arms and legs. So it feels like you are getting something out of it.”

So if you have the drive and the competitive spirit, look out for Anne Cherry from Portland, Oregon. This is one young lady with a passion for the sport.

Sarah Matheson, NTD, New York.