The Lonely Dragons was established in 2021 by two Team USA paddlers and friends who wanted to introduce the sport to local youth.
Since coming to North America in the 80s, dragon boat has taken off, most notably in California, Canada, and Philadelphia. Philly lacks the youth presence that California and Canada have both built up. This is something we want to change!
We are currently the only youth team in Philadelphia. We compete in the adult mixed division and rent equipment from the Pennsylvania Dragon Boat Club
Hello! I am Katrielle Byland or Coach Kat, I am one of the founders of The Lonely Dragons (TLD) along with the other Head Coach Maddie. I have been paddling for around 12 years now and am a 20 year old university student in Paris, France. I have been coaching for around 5 years now, starting with a different youth team called Sparks and then with TLD. Along with paddling casually for many different Philadelphia teams, I also am a competitive paddler, making team USA twice (2019 and 2021). As someone who grew up with the sport, but always had to paddle with adults, I started this team with Maddie to give youth in the area a chance to discover such an amazing sport as well as paddle with people their own age.
Katrielle Byland
HEAD COACH
Maddie Markham
Hi! My name is Maddie (or Mads) and I'm one of the head coaches and co-founders of The Lonely Dragons. I'm currently a freshman in college, studying animation, printmaking, and (eventually) art education. I started paddling on dragon boats in middle school and met Katrielle. We became fast friends and continued paddling together on a local adult team. In 2019, Katrielle and I both tried out for and made Team USA, then competed in Thailand in the 14th World Dragon Boat Racing Championships. We started The Lonely Dragons as youths, for youth. My goal is to share the sport with people my age and younger — it's a great opportunity and (as cheesy as it may sound) I've made some of my closest friends through the sport. TLD is meant to create a community of youth, share our love for the sport, and provide opportunities for young paddlers, the same as it did for me!
HEAD COACH
ASSISTANT COACH
TEAM CAPTAIN
Lily Glaser
Jack Murray
University of Pennsylvania student, paddling for 5 years
8th Grade Student, paddling for 3 years
My goals for TLD are to cultivate a safe space for everyone and allow people to find their love of the sport. In the end, Dragon Boat has helped so many of us find ourselves and the confidence to take on life with stride! I hope it can do the same for you!
— Coach Kat
In 2019 Coach Kat and Coach Maddie earned spots on Team USA and competed at the 14th World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Thailand.
Ancient China
FIRST DRAGON BOATS
Nearly 2,000 years ago, in ancient China, the dragon boat was used to appease the rain gods. Deeply embedded in China's "Dragon" culture, each boat has an ornately carved dragon's head at the bow and a tail in the stern. The paddles symbolically represent the claws.
1970s
START OF THE MODERN ERA OF SPORT DRAGON RACING
In the 1970s the Hong Kong Tourist Association decided to stage an International Dragon Boat Festival to promote Hong Kong. The first Hong Kong International Race took place in 1976, and the sport rapidly spread throughout the world.
