The River Rollers competed in the annual Dragon Boat and Asian Festival in Hartford. Photo by Chris Rakoczy

Members of the Hartford HealthCare Asian American and Pacific Islander Colleague Resource Group and the marketing communications team joined forces to compete in Hartford’s annual Dragon Boat and Asian Festival.

The River Rollers dragon boat team — led by Captain Amanda Blaszyk, Hartford Region marketing communications director — finished each of their three heats on the 500-meter course in just more than four minutes. The event, part of Riverfront Recapture, celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander culture, includes the largest dragon boat race on the East Coast.

  • 21 Colleagues on the team
  • 16 Paddlers in each race, plus a drummer and a steersperson
  • 16 Paddles used to move the boat
  • 2 Team practices
  • 500 Meters – the length of the race course
  • 3 Times each team raced
  • 58 Teams in the entire competition