When Rita Kelly first stepped onto a 41-foot dragon boat on Lake Miona in central Florida, she was 68 years old and could paddle only for 30 seconds before needing to stop and catch her breath.

Seven years later, the retired teacher can easily paddle for an hour with the Dragon Sisters, her all-female team whose members range in age from 55 to 85. Dragon boat racing, an increasingly popular sport in the United States, originated more than 2,000 years ago in southern China.

“I feel very young. My body’s in great shape. I have no medicines,” said Kelly, who retired in September 2011 after working as a high school social studies teacher and mentor for new educators on Staten Island for 10 years.

Five months into retirement, Kelly and her husband moved to The Villages, a rapidly growing retirement community in Florida with more than 71,000 residents.

Kelly’s second act as a Dragon Sister involves three practices a week year-round. The team has about 50 members and uses three boats, including two 1,500-pound vessels that can carry 22 women each. The boats are adorned with a dragon head at the bow and a tail at the stern for races.

Kelly’s team competes throughout Florida and in Peachtree City, Georgia. During races, which last for two to five minutes, she and the 19 other paddlers in her dragon boat average about 45 strokes per minute and travel 10–13 feet per second. A drummer sitting on a stool at the front of the boat faces them and taps out the rhythm for the 10 rows of paddlers, and a helmsperson standing at the other end steers.

“It’s wet, it’s wild and it’s a team-building sport,” Kelly said.

True to its name, Kelly’s team is a sisterhood. On land, members support an organization for battered and abused women. They also support other charities, such as Habitat for Humanity, and donate food for people in need.

If a Dragon Sister gets sick and needs help around the house, five or six teammates drop in to clean, Kelly said. “It’s an amazing group of women,” she said. “We all take care of each other.”

Kelly, who also volunteers at nursing homes, swims, takes exercise classes and plays mah-jongg, has no plans to stop paddling any time soon. Once you join, she said, “it’s hard to give it up.”