Monthly Archives: October 2006

UBC Day of the Longboat 2006 – I paddle the distance equivalent of 16 dragon boat races in one day

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UBC Day of the Longboat 2006 – I paddle the distance equivalent of 16 dragon boat races in one day

What a day!  I am utterly fatigued… completely tired.  My muscles ache.  I can't walk without my legs hurting.  I can't lift my drinking cup without my arm muscles complaining.  And there is this big silly grin on my face.

I paddled 4 races in the largest Voyageur canoe race in North America – the UBC Day of the Longboat.  Each race is 2km with a 10 person crew in a voyageur canoe. It takes place at Jericho Beach, at the Jericho Sailing Centre.  A dragon boat race is normally 500m long.  But sometimes we also race 250m sprints, and for special occasions there are 1000m and 2000m races.

I love Jericho Beach.  The Jericho Sailing Centre is last remaining hangar from the former Jericho Army base, where flying boats would patrol rum runners in the 1920's.  I remember in the mid-1960's, my father worked as a sign painter for the Army, at the base.  Seeing army tanks on the base was always a highlight, when we went to pick up my father when he finished off work.

5 paddlers from the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team raced with Tacoma Dragon Boat Association, for Mixed, Mens and Womens races.  It was the 3rd time we had raced with TDBA in the Day of the Longboat.  Earlier this year in May, we also raced with TDBA for the False Creek Women's Regatta.  Our Gung Haggis paddlers are Steven, Teresa, Joe, Ernest and myself.  We are joined by honourary GHFC paddler Kristine, plus Ron, Sara and Stuart from Scaly Justice dragon boat team, as the the Canadian contingent.

We started the day soon after 7am.  I set up our tents in the parking lot and brought bananas for everybody. This year we have started a tradition of hosting each other at races.  The weather was sunny – not the rain that had been expected.  Our friendship goes back to 2001 when we did fun mens and womens races together at a race in Seattle.

8:30am
First Mixed Race.  Because Tacoma doesn't have a full Mixed crew ready for the 8:10 start (due to border issues etc.), they are allowed to race at 8:30 with two other UBC teams.  I am paddling lead stroke.  We start off slow, in third place, but pass two boats on the way to the midpoint, where a runner jumps onto the beach to grab a baton.  Unfortunately, our runner can't get out because we are beached beside the boat in front of us.  We back up, our runner gets out.  We push our boat out, but the 3rd place team has now pulled in front of us.  On the 2nd turn, we pass the boat.  We overtake the 1st place team, on the way to the final turn.  We handily pull ahead and finish 1st.  It is the first longboat race for Steven and Teresa.  Steven has been paddling since the first dragon boat race in 1986.  Teresa started paddling at the end of April with us. In her rookie year, she has now paddled 9 events.  Wow!  In my first 3 years of paddling, we only had the Alcan Dragon boat Race locally.  We used to stop paddling after June.  Now we paddle from March to October.

The wind starts to blow up.  A strong Westerly…. pushing boats East.  Two more of our paddlers show up, Joe and Ernest.  They have arrived to paddle the Men's races with us.

10:20am
First Women's Race.  The women leave the start as third last in a field of nine.  Because of the strong wind, on the first turn after the start, many boats get pushed past the buoy marker and have to paddle back to go around it.  Our women's team paddles hard and moves up two places to finish 5th.

11:30am
First Men's Race.  I am paddling lead stroke. We have a slow start off the beach.  We take an outside west side route to avoid the jam-up immediately ahead of us, that allows us to paddle hard.  We pass a boat going to the buoy.  We race Eastwards to the baton pick-up point.  Coming up parallel alongside the beach, our runner jumps out to run to get the baton. What?!?!  the tide is up, the beach is shorter, the water is deeper!  He runs through the water.  I jump out of our boat to push the nose out to the water.  Our runner helps me push, we jump in and start paddling.  We pass a boat on the 2nd turn. We pass another boat going to the final turn.  We finish the race in 3rd place, passing about 4 boats along the way. We beach the boat nose first, Steven jumps out of the boat, and runs up the beach with the baton.  He looks for the gong.  He is a few feet East of the gong.  People shout directions.  He looks to his right, runs a few feet and hits the gong.  Whew! What a moment.

12:30pm
Women's Final race.  The Women get out to a good start in 3rd place.  They hold a good solid pace.  As the boat comes towards the beach at the baton point, the runner Sara jumps out.  Too deep!  The tied has come in.  The water is deeper than it was for the first race.  Sara is swimming to the beach!  She runs up onto the beach, grabs the baton, jumps back in the boat huffing and puffing – grabs her paddle and starts paddling!  What a trouper!  The team pulls hard on their paddles.  They finish in 3rd place.  First place goes to False Creek Women.

2:30pm
Mens Final Race.  It's a good competitive group of teams.  False Creek Men stand beside us.  TD Lightning. Synergy.  Coach Clem wants us to break ahead at the start by doing fast short strokes similar to the “ups” of a dragon boat start, instead of the slower strokes we had used in the earlier races. The airhorn goes off.  Clem runs from his chair to the boat, jumps into the boat, we paddle, Up! Up! Up!  Quick short strokes…. trying to match the False Creek Men's team beside us.  They inch up by twos, threes and fours, pulling ahead by threeboat lengths to reach the 1st turning buoy ahead of us.  Another team reaches the buoy as us at the same time, but battles alongside us all the way to the midpoint.  Our boats beach and our runners jump out to grab the batons.  We have a slower start off the beach, but we paddle a wider entry to the buoy, cutting it closely, nipping their stern, as they swing to the outside of the course and we draw a straight line to the next buoy.  We hold our pace, counting power series at all the right times, catching up to a boat, and pulling away from a boat. 

We draw another good line coming into the final turn.  We paddle hard and to the finish line with a boat right on our tail.  Ernest our runner gets ready to jump out and run to the beach… too soon!  Ernest jumps into the water – just like he did in our first men's race when we were about twenty feet away on a low shallow tide.  But the water is too deep.  Our boat goes past him.  Clem grabs him by the life jacket and helps him up to pull him along.  as we beach our boat nose first. Ernest recovers and runs through the water to the beach. The other boat beaches their boat. Their runner jumps out and rings the gong.  Ernest runs up the beach and rings our gong.  We finish 4th, even though our boat hit the beach 3rd.  What a race!

3:30pm
The Mixed Final. It seems like only about 30 minutes after our last race.  We are ready to race again.  So far, I have paddled 3 races for 6km. – the distance equivalent of 12 dragon boat races.  The most I have ever paddled in a single day before was 5.  Starts and a higher stroke rate really wear you out.  We are going for a longer slower stroke rate.  I am tired, but feeling good.  The first time I ever did a 2km longboat race was with TDBA in 2004.  After my first race, I thought I might have a heart attack.  My heart rate was up.  My muscles felt really shaky. But I survived and did 4 races that day. I also didn't paddle much that year because I spent most of my time coaching the team.

This year, I steered all the Gung Haggis races because of a ski injury in April.  But I started paddling again in July for some canoe work, and I paddled a dragon boat race + a barrel race on Labour Day for the Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race.  Our training in September was all preparation for the longboat races.  By last Sunday, we had worked our way to paddling the equivalent distances.  In our last practice we paddled the equivalent of three 1.5 km race pieces spread over less than 90 minutes.

Again, I will be paddling lead stroke.  We get off to a good start.  It looks like we are one of the top three teams.  TD Lightning is on our left.  Another boat hits them on their left, they then collide with us. We get jammed up, because our left side paddlers have nowhere to stroke.  We untangle, and move towards the first turning buoy, but we have now drifted East of the buoy.  Darn! More work ahead. Clem steers us around the buoy.  We paddle hard to get away from a boat or two. 

Coming into the midpoint, lots of boats are ahead of us, beached and getting their batons.  We come in behind, Sara jumps out, gets the baton.  She joins me pushing the boat off the beach.  We take off before some of the boats still on the beach. We paddle hard, calling a power series.  We race another boat to the 2nd turning buoy, and pass them.  They hold tight with us, on our tail, but we leave them behind.  Another boat is up ahead to our left.  Clem steers a good path with a wide entry that gives us a good line for the buoy.  We cut them off.  But they are still behind us.

It's been a long race, and we are getting tired. They surge coming into the final stretch.  We call a power series.  Voices in our boat are yelling  “1-2! 1-2! 1-2!”  Our boat surges and doesn't back down.  We hit the beach.  Tina jumps out of the boat with the baton in hand.  She races up the beach and bangs the gong.  Wow!  What a race!  We hug each other as we get out of the boat. We cheer the other teams and call out, “Good race!”  We wear smiles. 

We give high fives to our team members who didn't race with us, but stand along the barriers cheering us on.  I walk past the medal podium where the False Creek Mixed team is receiving their little black canoe trophies.  I smile at Pat Bigonzi, whom I used to coach and paddle with back from 1999 to 2001.  Our paddlers walk back to our tents congratulating other paddlers, and patting each other on the back.  What a race.  Everybody was close in little packs.  Nine boats in three or four groups – all battling it out – not willing to give an inch.  Everybody paddling long and strong, deep and hard.

We take a group picture.  We share our friendships between Vancouver BC paddlers and Tacoma Washington paddlers. Americans and Canadians.  We vow to do it again. Tacoma invites us to come to paddle in some races there.  We offer to invite them to dinner when they come back to Vancouver races.  It's a good friendship.  3 of us join the final 3 Tacoma paddlers for dinner at Chianti's Restaurant for pasta, before they leave town, and our country.

Here are articles from our 2004 and 2005 races with Tacoma at the Day of the Longboat.

by
Todd
on Mon 04 Oct 2004 04:08 PM PDT

by
Todd
on Sun 02 Oct 2005 11:27 AM PDT

Head Tax Families Society of Canada to become a non-profit society

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Here's a message from my friends at the newly named Head Tax Families Society of Canada. 

B.C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants is
changing it's name to Head Tax Families Society of Canada and becoming
a non-profit society.

Attached please find petition to the Harper government for a head tax refund based on “one cerificate, one claim” principle.

Please assist us in petitioning the government by printing out the
petition form and having your friends and relatives sign the petition
and mail to the address at the bottom by no later than November 15th,
2006.
Thanking you in advance,
 
Harvey Lee
Head Tax Families Society of Canada.

There is a drive to continue the redress process for the Head Tax against Chineseimmigrants and the Exclusion Act. 

As concerned Canadian citizens we wanted the government to create the fairest redress possible: something that was win-win-win: for the government, for head tax payers and families, and the people of Canada. 

With coalitions, and community members from across Canada, from Victoria B.C on the Pacific Ocean to St. John's New Foundland in the Atlantic Ocean, from Inuvik, N.W.T. in the Arctic Circle to the Southern Ontario shores of Lake Erie – Canadians asked for redress. 

The Chinese Canadian National Council  proposed a 2 step process.  The first step was to immediately apologize for the racist head tax and provide a symbolic compensation package to surviving head tax payers and spouses, and community funding.  The second stage would be to address a package to surviving head tax payer descendants, where the original head tax payer or spouse is predeceased.

The Conservative Government followed through on step one, but has ignored step two.  They have only addressed the head tax payments of surviving head tax payers and spouses.  Anybody who died before the Conservatives came to power is “shit-out-of-luck.”  This is unfair.  This penalizes those who worked hard, and died early, because they had to pay off the eqivalent of two years salary, or the price of a house, just to be allowed entry into Canada, when any other race than Chinese could come in Free of Charge. 

When our representatives met with Jason Kenney, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister,  they told stories of the hardships, and introduced him to surviving head tax payers, spouses , sons and daughters.  Kenney honestly did not realize that the head tax payers “borrowed” the money to pay the head tax to come to Canada.  Kenney did not know that head tax payers worked many years and years to pay the borrowed money – sometimes to family and village members, sometimes to organizations.  But they worked hard and paid it off.  They were not affluent immigrants in 2005, who could easily pay a $1000 landing fee to come to Canada.

The pioneers paid $500 each from 1903, to 1923.  It was the equivalent of a two year salary, or a house – which would today be $100,000 or more!  That's how racist the head tax was.  It was meant to keep Chinese immigrants out of Canada, to keep Canada white, to keep Canada clean from the Asian peril, the Yellow Fever, the Chinese plague. 

If the government charges a tax and then decides it was incorrect, or a mistake – they give a tax refund, with interest.  In 1885, the Canadian government created the first Chinese head tax, charging $50.  When Chinese kept coming, the charge was raised to $100.  When Chinese kept coming, it was raised to $500 in 1903.  In 1923, the Canadian government decided that the Chinese Head Tax was not doing the job of keeping Chinese immigrants from coming to Canada, so they created the Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1947, after WW2, the Canadian government decided that the Chinese Exclusion Act was wrong, and rescinded it.  But they never gave an apology, nor refunded the head tax…. when repeatedly asked…. until June 22nd, 2006.

Today, the equivalent of $500 from 1903 with compound interest, would be between $200,000 to $300,000.  The Head Tax coalitions across Canada recommended a “symbolic compensation figure,” – not asking for full refund + compound interest.

One certificate – one payment.  It's fair and simple.

Not – one payment per certificate, if you or your spouse is still alive.  One person said that would be the equivalent of saying to First Nations people.  “We are sorry we stole your land, and put your people on reserves.  We will give compensation only to people who are still alive when it was done.  Too bad they all died
now, and couldn't live past 120 years to enjoy today..… Please don't blame us, we only just formed the Government.”
(please see the 1967 speech by Chief Dan George on Canada Day, given at Empire Stadium in Vancouver). 

We know that generations have suffered in First Nations culture because of the move to reservations, and because of residential schools.  We know that generations have suffered because Japanese Canadians were interned and their property was confiscated.  And we know that generations of Chinese have suffered due to unfair racism, and economic disadvantage due to the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act.  It is the descendants of the original head tax payers that carry on despite the adversity and continue to build and love this country called Canada.  We love Canada despite its racist history because we care for its future.

One certificate – One payment – It's only fair.

Please sign and circulate the attached petition.

 

2nd Annual National School Run Day for Terry Fox – I speak at Tomsett School

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2nd Annual National School Run Day for Terry Fox – I speak at Tomsett School

Imagine if schools across Canada, all held their Terry Fox Run at the exact same time across Canada.
10am in BC, 11am in Alberta, 12noon in Winnipeg, 1pm in Ottawa, 2pm in Halifax, 2:30pm in NewFoundland. 

This is what the National School Run Day is all about.  Here are some links to articles about the National School Run:
The Brampton Guardian: Hundreds take part in local Terry Fox runs …
The Brandon Sun: Online Edition
North Bay News and Weather on BayToday.ca

This year I was invited to speak at Tomsett Elementary School in
Richmond.  I always speak at Elementary Schools for Terry Fox Run,
as a Terry's Team member – cancer survivors who serve as living
examples that cancer research has helped to make a difference.

Tomsett is quite a small elementary school of only about 250 students.  But they are very enthusiastic!
The Terry Fox video “I Am Terry Fox” played as classes entered the
gymnasium.  There was also a raffle draw in which students' names
were called out, and they recieved Terry Fox Run shirts, or hats. 
They all proudly put them on.

I spoke for about 15 minutes.  First I shared with the students
about the cancer that I had, and how I became a cancer survivor. 
Next I talked about how I became involved with the Terry Fox Run when
Terry's brother Darrell invited me.  Then I talked about Terry Fox
Runs around the world.

The children from kindergarten to grade 7 were very good.  As I
talked I asked them questions about Terry Fox and the Terry Fox
Run.  Many students put up their hand, they certainly weren't
bored.  It's always very cute that some kids put up their hands
just to participate.  I ask them in which province did Terry Fox
start his run? – and somebody answers “Canada?”

Following my talk, we all went outside.  We ran for 15 minutes
around the school fields, in an L-shaped pattern.  It is a
wonderful feeling to be surrounded by such joyous energy, all running
with enthusiasm, knowing that this run is special…. this run really
means something.  Children came up to me to ask questions.  I
encouraged them as they ran.  For much of the run, I talked with
the school run organizer Joan Young, a teacher at Tomsett.  I
first got to know Joan, when her grade four students wanted to help
save Joy Kogawa House.  The students were so enthusiastic, they
went to Vancouver City Hall, to ask Mayor Sam Sullivan to save the
house.  It was then that I told Joan that I speak at Terry Fox
Runs as a Terry's Team member.  I wrote about the students visit to Kogawa House where they met author Joy Kogawa.

To finish the run, I stood beside the finish line and gave “high fives”
to the students.  I thanked them for supporting Terry's dream, and
gave them compliments and encouragement for doing so well.

Following the run, I visited Mrs. Young's grade four classroom.  I
stayed to answer questions from the children.  They were all very
enthusiastic.  Some of them wanted to know what kind of cancer I
had; How did Terry discover he had cancer; or to share that their
grandmother had died from cancer.  They enthusiastically answered
my questions about Terry's Run, such as “How many miles / kilometres
did Terry Run?”  It was a great day.  Certainly makes you
glad for the future of Canada, with so many children enthusiastic for
the values and ideas of Terry Fox.  We ended my visit by shouting
our loudest “I am Terry Fox!”

Here's a thank you letter from Joan Young, teacher at Tomsett Elementary School in Richmond BC. 

Hi Todd,

Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to come and talk to 
the students at my school.  I think that this was one of the most 
successful Terry Fox runs that our school has ever had, largely due to your
participation. 

We really appreciated the thoughts that you presented to the kids at the
assembly.  I think that it is incredibly generous of you to share your story
of being a cancer survivor with others.  There is no greater testimony than
to see someone such as yourself who has been through the hardships to stand
in front of others, strong and healthy - living proof that our efforts are
making a difference.  I think that you helped the children to understand
about cancer and about the importance of keeping Terry's dream alive.  
This made the whole idea of the run so much more meaningful for everyone.

The gorgeous weather certainly helped our run too.  Why couldn't it have
been like that on Sept. 17?

It was great of you to stay and talk to the kids in my class afterwards as
well.  They felt pretty special to receive an extra visit and have you all
to themselves.  It's interesting how 8 and 9 year olds react to visitors.
They are a pretty enthusiastic bunch and they love to show off.  I think if
we let them, they could have kept on coming up with questions for hours.

Thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness.

Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Joan and John

You can donate to my on-line pledge sheet.  Terry's team
members are cancer survivors who also offer to run for people who cannot run themselves.  Just click
on:
 http://www.terryfoxrun.org/ENRunner/default.asp?s=1&RunnerID=42768

More links: