70 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 15, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com sports RAFTERS ROW, TEENS TACKLE IN SUMMER SPORTS DRAGONS ALIVE IN FLUSHING MEADOWS 23rd annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival draws thousands BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] The 23rd annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York (HKDBF-NY) roused a rip-roaring good time in Queens. The two-day event at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on August 10-11 was fun for everyone in the family, including pets. Thousands of people enjoyed free giveaways, an arts and crafts booth, various types of food and live performances. “I heard about it before and we saw it in the paper, so I thought we’d come check it out,” said David Noven, who came from Harlem with his son. “The boat races were really nice, the music was good and there was good food. I had lots of dumplings.” While being a family-friendly event with ample entertainment, the dragon boat races had fi erce competition as the teams sped through Meadow Lake, unleashing the results of more than two months of training. With 188 teams and more than 2,500 competitors, this year’s festival was the largest ever — an accomplishment that refl ects the multicultural support for the Asian tradition. “Obviously we have a growing Asian-American population and I think promoting this multicultural event is very important,” said Henry Wan, chair of the HKDBF-NY. Teams competed for prizes and bragging rights, but the festival also provided downtime from the everyday stress of life. “It’s been a true blast to be out here to celebrate and enjoy the festivities with so many different people, so many different cultures, so many different companies,” said Dwight Williams, captain of Standard Chartered Bank’s team. “It’s been nothing but pure enjoyment.” To see a gallery of photos and video of the event, go to www. queenscourier.com YOUTH FOOTBALL NEW LIFE FOR WOLVERINES BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] When College Point resident Mariella Toufos was searching for a youth football league for her son, she held the same concerns most parents do. Will the contact be too rough? How about the coaching? Then she heard about the Whitepoint Wolverines. Decades ago, it was a fl ourishing Online reviews were positive program with thousands and the team’s website looked of children, but gradually attractive with its pictures and diminished after developing videos. So she decided to give a bad reputation from coaches the team a try. And after taking that treated young players too her son to his fi rst practice with harshly, according to parents the Wolverines’ travel team at and league administrators. Memorial Field in Flushing, Then Mike McCutchen her worries were gone. stepped in as president and about “I’m very excited and my two years ago began to reform son is very excited,” Toufos the league. He focused the program said. “Based on what I’ve more on teaching the young seen today, it seems like players the fundamentals of the they’re very organized, very game from every aspect rather structured, so I’m looking than focusing on winning. forward to the season.” He also got former standout Over the past two years, the college players, semi-pros and Wolverines have reintroduced high school coaches to pitch themselves to the Whitestone, in. Now even a player with College Point and Flushing NFL experience has signed neighborhoods with a new on to coach the children. system and fresh coaching. Native Brooklynite Jeremiah The league currently has Brown, who played for Wagner about 300 players spread out College in Staten Island and in various age divisions, with was signed by the Jacksonville the oldest players age 13. Jaguars, started to help coach the league this year. “New York City is rough for football players to reach their dreams or come close to getting a scholarship sometimes,” Brown said. “I just have that passion to give back to the youth, period.” There are fl ag football and tackle football divisions along with the travel team, which is for older players looking for more competition. Many of the athletes go on to local high school teams such as Cardozo, Bayside and Flushing high schools, McCutchen said. Games do not begin until September, but every Saturday morning until the season starts the league is holding free clinics about fundamentals at Memorial Field. “Our main goal here really is to teach the game and keep children out of trouble,” McCutchen said. The Whitepoint Wolverines are hoping their new system of teaching fundamentals rather than focusing on winning will reform their image and enhance the league. THE COURIER/Photos by Liam La Guerre and Johann Hamilton The 23rd Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York once again featured fi erce competition in Meadow Lake. THE COURIER/Photos by Liam La Guerre
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