The women's crew of the Pittsburgh Paddlefish dragon boat team will represent the United States at the 2008 Club Crew World Championships Aug. 1-3 in Penang, Malaysia.

Dragon boat racing is one of the world's oldest sports, having originated in China about 2,400 years ago. A worldwide revival began about 25 years ago, and there are now tens of thousands of participants in about 60 countries.

The Paddlefish, sponsored by the Three Rivers Rowing Association, is one of two dragon boat teams in Pittsburgh. The other is the Steel City Dragons. Both were formed in 2002, when the Urban Redevelopment Authority pledged to buy dragon boats in honor of the 20th anniversary of Pittsburgh's sister-city relationship with Wuhan, China.

"I was on the first boat that ever put out," said Carolyn Freeman, 63, of Lawrenceville, who teaches interior design at La Roche College. "We used to sit on cinder blocks to practice paddling before we got our boat."

A dragon boat is long, slim and colorfully painted, pointed like a canoe at bow and stern, and paddled like a canoe. A typical dragon boat crew consists of 20 paddlers, a drummer who beats out cadence for the paddlers and a helmsman. Twenty-five women, aged 19 to 69, will go to Penang.

The Paddlefish women won the right to represent the U.S. in Malaysia by beating dragon boat teams from throughout the East Coast in races last October.

"I'm ecstatic. I can't wait to get there," said Carolyn Newkirk, 35, of Mt. Lebanon, who works in training and compliance for Glaxo Smith Kline, and is co-captain of the team.

The Paddlefish women have stepped up their training regimen since being selected to go to Malaysia. The whole Paddlefish team -- 38 men and women -- practices three times a week. After Monday's team practice, the Paddlefish women who are competing in Malaysia go out again for another hour. On the days between practices, you'll find most of the women in the gym.

"I've been working out, lifting weights, running," said Rissa Witul, 33 of Ben Avon, a project manager for marketing at Schawk Inc.

Dragon boating is fun and good exercise, the women say. But what they enjoy most about it are the friendships they've made and the social time together.

"It's having a whole group of friends every time you paddle together," Ms. Witul said.

"Everybody is so friendly, and everybody works harder than we would by ourselves," said Stefani Danes, 56, an architect who lives in Friendship.

"I've met some really great, really strong women through dragon boating," said Rachel Blair, 32, of the North Side, a health adviser for Cigna Health Care. "There is no better place to socialize with them than on the rivers of Pittsburgh."

The other members of the crew who'll be going to Malaysia are Ada Ayala-Reyes of Homewood, Hongla Phan of Garfield, Jeanne Sadler of Baldwin Borough, Jennifer Wheitner of Squirrel Hill, Joanne Watral of Millvale, Judith Lesniewicz of Oakland, Judy Robertson of McKnight, Kate Northway of Lawrenceville, Kathi Robinson-Dassel of Squirrel Hill, Kristine Miller of Wabash, Laurie Butler of Lawrenceville, Linda Raschiatore of Vandergrift, Lisa Kennard of Oakland, Lori Swensson of Squirrel Hill, Marie Hirsch of Point Breeze, Mary Scanlon of Aspinwall, Mina Hare-Rubenstein of Stanton Heights, Pam Howe of Beechview, Sondra Krimmel of Highland Park and Sophie Jan of Shadyside.