Karen Johnson joined the sport as a team building activity with other City of Lethbridge employees in the first year of the festival, 2002, Dragn’ R Butz. Finding a new passion for the sport, Karen was instrumental in starting Team ID just after the 2003 festival in hopes of paddling through a longer season and travelling to other festivals.
Karen was assistant coach of Team ID for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. In 2008, the Rotary Festival made a concerted effort to improve the skills of local dragon boaters and decided to “beef up” the training provided to the festival teams and Dave Hunt and Karen agreed to become Head Coaches. Karen has been the race chair of the ATB Financial Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival since 2010.
Karen has completed the Level A of the National Coaching Certification Program, and obtained Dragon Boat Canada Community Coaching Certification and the Competitive Coaching Certification. She has taken Dragon Boat Canada Officiating Level One, Critical Eye Coaching sessions, and several paddling technique workshops. Karen has attended Dragon Boat Conferences in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Karen has officiated in Lethbridge, Edmonton, Vancouver and Regina. She has paddled in Kelowna, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, and Elkwater, in the World Masters Games in New Zealand, and the Pan Pacific Masters Games in Queensland Australia, Pickering Dragon Boat Club Paddle camp (Tampa), and Pan Am International Festival (Tampa) . Karen is the Vice President for the Dragon Boat Association of Southern Alberta, and one of the coaches for the Coulee Classic Dragon Masters Womens crew.
Karen can be reached at race@lethbridgedragonfest.ca
ATB Financial Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival 