By Jim Newell

Lake Orion Review Editor

Building Your Temple CrossFit brought home the coveted “Rob’ Dragon Trophy after taking first place in the Dragon Boat Races on Aug. 27.

The 9th Dragon Boat Race final was one of the closest in the history of the event, with 1.5 seconds separating the top three teams.

The races – with 20 rowers and a drummer keeping pace in each boat – anchor the Dragon on the Lake Festival, the Orion Art Center’s biggest fundraiser of the year, with proceeds helping to fund Art Center scholarships, events and programs.

Partial proceeds also helped the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative.

Of course, in true Dragon on the Lake tradition, the competitors had to wait more than two hours before race officials announced the winner at the awards ceremony.

After, hearing the results, Team BYT – based out of the Legacy Center on M-24 – exploded in celebration, the triumphant culmination to a hard day’s effort.

Team captain Candy Buchan, elated after the victory, said teamwork was the key to the victory.

“That was amazing. I wasn’t really sure we were going to win so we were kind of staying humble there for a minute, but that was awesome – we came through and pulled it off,” Buchan said. “We didn’t give up. We were ahead of them in the beginning, then they started gaining on us. We all said this: we pulled it out of our heart and souls and finished strong and never gave up and it was enough.”

BYT finished with the 200-yard race with a time of 1:30:67 minutes, besting defending champions, The Birney Directive, which finished at 1:31:39.

Team Urassis Dragon – the Buffalo Bills of the Dragon Boat Races – finished in third place with a time of 1:31:97.

The team has been in the finals for the past three years without a victory.

Team BYT has competed in the Dragon Boat Races in the past, finishing in second place twice, but didn’t make it to last year’s races because of a prior commitment.

For the ultracompetitive BYT team members, the chance to contend as a team brought them back to the races.

“We work out together every day, we love to do team events like this, so even if we weren’t competitive it was definitely more of a team-building, bonding activity,” Buchan

said, adding that capturing the trophy is still the goal. “We probably couldn’t be more competitive than we are, so winning is right up there.

“Honestly, the overall experience with all the teams is great. Everybody had good sportsmanship, it was fun meeting other people, great team bonding, all of our families and kids came out, it was just a great day,” Buchan said.

And now that the team will have its name on the Dragon Trophy – and the trophy in its possession until next year’s race – Buchan said the team has no plans to relinquish its prize.

“We are definitely going to be back next year to defend our title.”