Category Archives: Dragon boat with Todd Wong – Dragon Boat Coach

Gung Haggis dragon boat team does well at Lotus Sports' “Bill Alley Memorial dragon boat regatta”

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Gung Haggis dragon boat team does well at Lotus Sports' “Bill Alley Memorial dragon boat regatta”



Gung Haggis team backing out for race #2 at Lotus regatta – photo Sean Kingsley

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team was a happy team today!
We attended the 10th anniversary of the Lotus Sports Club's “Bill
Alley Memorial dragon boat regatta.”  Monies raised go to the
“Bill Alley Memorial scholarship fund” for the young members of the
Lotus Race.  I have attended these races since 1998 when it was
first known as the “Golden Spike dragon boat regatta” and it was held
at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody.

We
had good races at Barnet Marine Park today.  In races with four boats –
we came second twice, and first once… then in the Rec B final – We
won!!! against a team that had beat us in the first race!!!

The weather was a real mixed bag.  It was overcast and damp. 
Rain sprinkles throughout the day, with gusty winds.  The sun came
out, then it disappeared, then it came out again. 

This race regatta is a lovely friendly event.  I know so many of
the Lotus Club members, that when we were at the start line for a race
– instead of saying “Boat 1 – move up,” they say “Todd's boat – move
up!”  Grace Morisette, one of the event organizers, was my first
dragon boat coach back in 1993.  Jim McArthur came by our tents
asking where his brother McWong was.  Race organizer Jane Yeoh,
scowled at me in a friendly manner, when I called her by the name
“Joyce,” which is actually the name of her older sister.  Nigel
Elphink waved hello, he started paddling with the Gung
Haggis/Celebration team back in 2000.  And of course there is Barb
Alley, who asked me to take a picture of her as she called herself the
“rubber lady,” dressed in neoprene dry suit holding onto two rubber
tires she was carrying down to the dock on the beach.



The Rubber Lady: important volunteer at the Lotus Regatta – Barb Alley in rubber wet suit with rubber tires – photo Todd Wong

We also got say hello to our dragon boat friends from the Eh Team, a
senior's team based in Vancouver, Pirates from Chilliwack with whom we
joined for Victoria races last year.  I also chatted with friends
Manfred Preuss from the Fraser Valley Dragon Boat Club who had a brand
new team called The Crusaders, Karmen Alukh captain of the the Sudden
Impact team.  Manfred and Karmen, along with Ian Paul of Pirates,
all helped out Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in 2005 at the
Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.  I also was happy to see Cheryl of the
Ft. Langley Canoe Club with her team Fort Fusion and many of the
paddlers from the WOW (Women on Water) team also from Ft. Langley.

We had a mixed adult crew featuring a GHFC core with 3 rookies + 7
rookies from the UA Power Dragons + 2 GHFC alumni + 2 friends for a
total of 23 people.  Everybody
contributed admirably to both team performance, and a positive
community team environment. Everybody is stoked, and can't wait to
paddle together again!  We never came last, we never came
3rd.  Combined times were added up for placement in the
finals.  There were women's division, Junior division and senior
division, so we placed 6th seed overall for Mixed teams, and raced in
the B Division. 



Gung Haggis team in the marshalling area at Lotus regatta – photo Sean Kingsley

We were nervously excited.  We had 9 rookies on the boat.  We
knew that the Thunderstrokers from Chilliwack had beat us by 8 seconds
in our first race.  We knew that our second race through the
waves, wind and brief rain had been our slowest race.  And we knew
that we had placed a faster 3rd race time than both the Thunderstrokers
and the Crusaders – a new team from Chilliwack coached and captained by my friend Manfred Preuss.

How to make up 8 seconds?  “Get the paddles deeper,” I told the
team. “Reach out farther, lean outside the boat, fall on your blades,
use your leg drive, keep your heads up with your eyes on the lead
strokes, and your top hands outside the boat.  We switched
steerspersons for our final race.  Rookie Adam took the steering
helm, allowing veteran steers and paddler Dave to apply his many years
of paddling to the task.



Gung Haggis team paddling out to the start line for race #2 at Lotus regatta – photo Sean Kingsley

The airhorn went off.  From the drummer's seat I called “Go! 2! 3!
4! 5! 6!”  Our lead strokes Wendy and Kristine worked together,
gradually increasing the rate with each stroke.  “Up! 2! 3! 4! 5!
6!” and each paddle entered the water together as one.  “Up! 2! 3!
4! 5! 6!” and the boat speed increased with the faster rate. 
“Reach with Po-wer!” and the powerful leg drive kicked in, thrusting
the boat forward with each stroke.

It looked like we grabbed the early lead – but it was really
close.  All three boats were surging ahead together.  I heard
the Thunderstrokers call a power series.  I watched them take 6
strokes, starting to get creep closer to us – then I called “Power
Now!” and our paddlers dug deeper, and our boat moved farther
ahead.   “Heads Up! Top Hands Out! Leg Drive! Kick it!” I
encouraged our paddlers… and the boat surged strongly forward.

Oops… we suddenly realized we seemed off-course, further away from
the two other teams, as our steers person corrected out direction, and
straightened our path to the finish line.  Steering a dragon boat
is challenging work.  Adam only started dragon boat racing in
March.  This was the first time he had ever steered a BuK dragon
boat which is more sensitive to handling, and prone to over
correction.  This was the most powerful team Adam had ever
steered, and sometimes a powerful team can overwhelm an inexperienced
steersperson.  But I had faith in Adam.  He had handled the
UA team during the ADBF sprint regatta, handled avoiding crashes while
steering a Junior team at the same regatta.  And he had been
coming out to Gung Haggis practices and already knew how strong we
could be.

“Keep going,” I yelled to the team “We're doing great, We're on
target… Power Now!” and we surged forward again, with twenty paddles
snapping forward in time.  Adam later admitted that he had
over-corrected – but easily managed to get us back on track.  We
headed toward the finish line vectoring closer with the other two boats
which were battling it out, side by side, neck and neck.  The
Crusaders and the Thunderstrokers – both teams from Chilliwack
developing a strong rivalry.

“Finish! Now!” I called to the team, as this time I called an early
finish, insipiring our paddlers to give everything they had. 
“More!  More! Give us More!”  and they reached farther, and
dug deeper.  I never saw a paddle out of time, as we focussed our
task and crossed the finish line.  “Let it ride,” Dave and I
called at the same time.  Paddlers suddenly relaxed and dropped
their shoulders, leaning forward, their bodies heaving with
breath.  Wendy looked up at me from her lead stroke position and I
held up one finger.

On the way back to the docking area, we chanted “Ice cold beer,” then
we chanted “We want beer.”  Everybody was jubilantly happy. 
After we had put away pfd's and paddles we gathered back at our tent
for a debriefing.

“Six seconds!” shouted Stuart, jumping up and down.  We had won
the race by six seconds.  Graham, our cheerleader for the day,
said we had been in first place all the way, as he watched from the
shore.  We had beaten the 5th and 7th seeded teams to win B Division – and we
posted a faster time than our friends the Pirates – who had earlier
placed 4th overall, and raced in the A division.  

Everybody is happy…   Then… we went to the Mountain
Shadow Inn Pub to celebrate Jim Blatherwick's birthday.  More
happy!

Dragon Boating is a Team sport… I love it!

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Dragon Boating is a Team sport…  I love it!

  




I have
coached dragon boat teams since 1994.  The Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team originally began 10 years ago as the Celebration
dragon boat team – before changing names in 2002 to reflect the Gung Haggis Fat
Choy fundraiser dinner, and embrace the Scottish-Chinese-Canadian
intercultural theme as an extension of the multicultural theme adopted by so many different dragon boat festivals.



Over
the years, I have coached both community and corporate teams. 
Corporate teams for companies such as Electronic Arts (1998, 1999),
Unipharm (1997), Motorola (2001), E-One Moli Energy (1999-2001), GVRD (2003) and
Fiesta West (1994).  This year I am coaching the UA Power Dragons
which one half are employees of Unipharm, some of whom remember the
silver medal they won in 1999 in the Novice B division at Alcan Dragon
Boat Festival.  The other half are employees from Adecco.

The following is an expanded article about “Team Aspects” that I had sent to the team.


The “team aspect” is incredible. 
You can do so many more things at a higher level than as an
individual.  A team of 20 paddlers can pull a water skier.  But you
can't do that by yourself.  It's fun to bounce ideas off each other,
and develop both support for each other as well as friendly competition.

But it is also important that everybody is on the
same page.  If teams can develop a “team culture” and “team philosophy”
– then this helps the team go farther.  It is important for a
recreational team to develop a sense of inclusiveness, and for captains
and other group leaders to make sure everybody is feeling included and
making a contributtion, AND having fun.

At the first dragon boat coaching conference in Vancouver, organized by
Alan Carlsson of the False Creek Racing Canoe Club, I led the workshop
about “History, Sociology and Team Tribalism about dragon boats.” It
was a fun workshop that went over how modern dragon boat racing spread
throughout the world from Hong Kong, to the rest of the world – largely
because the Hong Kong Tourism Bureau gave gifts of dragon boats to
other cities, such as Vancouver for Expo 86. 

In the workshop, I also talked about what I call “Team tribalism,” about how dragon boat teams are
really like individual tribes.  They develop their own culture,
personality, goals and philosophy.  They often see other teams as
competing tribes.  They look to see what other teams are doing to
go faster, fundraise or recruit.  It's like if one team has fire,
other teams want fire.  They might eventually get fire, but that
doesn't mean they know how to use it.  Teams that spy on each
other do not necessarily know how to use the information.  When
teams are able to work together, they are able to build a society.

For many beginning teams with new paddlers, there is a big learning
curve.  Ideally it is important to bring a “team elder” who can
pass on knowledge to the new paddlers and help develop the team
culture.  An experienced coach is ideal.  A coach can share
stories about what other teams have learned while teaching a new team
the skills necessary to both paddle well, and to work together.

We like to say that a dragon boat
team will only go as fast as the slowest person allows us to.  So it's
important that we encourage everybody to improve.  For some first-time
paddlers, they may feel un-athletic, and not contributing to the team's
performance.  They may feel like dead weight on the boat, because they
are not paddling in time.  In my experience, it takes sometimes 6 or 7
practices before the timing really kicks in.  Some people get it right
off the bat – some don't.  But almost everybody gets the sense of the
fun of paddling, and hanging out with a great group of people.

So…. if you are feeling
like you are slowing the team down because you are uncoordinated or
weak.  Don't worry.  We will help support your learning curve.  Timing
and strength will come.  The important thing is that you are making new
friends, learning new skills, and having a great time.

It's been interesting that many strong males who do body building, or
are strong atheletes sometimes have the most challenging time learning
to paddle as a team.  They are used to performing individual tasks
that require strength.  With a paddle in their hands, they often
try to paddle as hard as they can with their head down and their eyes
on the paddle.  Their stroke is strong and long.  In an
individual boat, they would probably go faster than their team
mates.  But in a dragon boat, they are often out of time, paddling
out of synch or paddling with too long a stroke, causing the boat to
rock. 

It takes time to learn to paddle together.  It takes time to match
the entries, stroke lengths and rates of 20 paddlers together, until
they paddle as if they are one blade entering the water together. 
But that is what it takes: Patience and sensitivity to those in the
boat with you.  We train all the paddlers to watch the timing of
the two lead paddlers sitting in seat one.  We train them not to
rely on their ears, but on their eyes.  The drummer gives them
both visual and voice cues to correct mistakes or to lead them to
better performance.

Every paddler is important.  Every paddler must paddle in time
together.  If a paddler misses a stroke or two, the opportunity is
lost for the boat to be strong in that moment.  A race stretching
anywhere from 2 to 3 minutes is a series of aproximately 120 to 200
paddle strokes.

Imagine
the breast cancer survivors age 50+ are getting into dragon boat racing
now.  One of the things that they discovered is that the dragon
boat team experience mirrored many aspects of cancer social support
groups.  Over my years as a cancer survivor I attended different
social support groups and studied it as part of both health and sport
psychology.  Social support is a big part of being a team. 
It helps individuals go through the tough times, and feel that they are
not alone, as well as encouraging individuals to do their best. 
Breast cancer dragon boat teams are now going to the National and World
Championships.  If they can do
it.  We can do it.

See below
for and article and picture that ran in a Portland Newspaper.  Suzi
Clouthier is a friend of mine that paddles on the Wasabi Women Team
Huge team.  She has medaled at World Championships and comes up to
Alcan every year.. 



The
picture below looks like men's teams.  The team closest looks great! 
Look at their rotation and straight outside arm. Perfect!  Great
deltoid, tricep and latissimus dorsi muscles!



The
team in the middle is finishing their exit.  Men's teams go really
fast, so that is why their paddles are so far back for their exit.

The
team in the back is out of time.  They are a boat length behind the
other teams, and probably panicking.  This is the moment the timing of
the team breaks down, and they start to paddle as individuals instead
of working together. Seat 3's head is down, and is already starting the
stroke before Seat 1 has finished recovery/reach and started the entry.

Smooth as silk, fierce as dragons

The U.S. Dragon Boat Racing Championship in Tampa fuses athleticism and teamwork with
moments of Zen.

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published August 27, 2006
[Times photo: Chris Zuppa]
Teams from around the country compete in the 2006 USBF U.S. National
Dragon Boat Racing Championship in Garrison Channel.

TAMPA – For Suzi Cloutier, it's about the perfect “Zen moment” when the paddlers are exactly in time with the beat of the drum.

For Janet Jastremski, it's about forming bonds with other breast cancer survivors, and coming to terms with
her diagnosis.

It's
dragon boat racing. And, okay, technically it's about commemorating the
death of the Chinese poet Qu Yuan. Legend says he thumbed his nose at a
corrupt government 2,000 years ago by jumping into the Milou River.
Fishermen paddled to try and save him and beat drums to ward off hungry
predators.
The dragon boats invaded Tampa this weekend for
the 2006 U.S. Dragon Boat Racing Championship, which will determine
national champions. Members of Team USA will compete in the 2007 world
championships in Sydney, Australia.

Team categories include
youth teams, age 50 and older and breast cancer support groups, to name
a few. Jastremski, 58, came to Tampa from Philadelphia to compete with
Hope Afloat, her team of 60 breast cancer survivors.

The team seemed like an athletic way for Jastremski to join a support group. She never imagined the hard work involved.

“I'm going to be out there with these middle-aged
ladies and we're going to be paddling around,” she said she thought. “I got the shock of my life.”

A
steerer and 18 to 20 paddlers are on board during a race. A drummer
beats a rhythm for the paddlers, who race for speed with other boats.
Most dragon boats are at least 40 feet long and 700 pounds, and, well,
look like dragons.

“It's 22 people doing the exact same
thing at the exact same time with a lot of power,” said 38-year-old
Cloutier, who came from Portland, Ore., with the Wasabi Women team.

Saturday,
Cloutier and friends posed for pictures in front of a giant steel
dragon sculpture in Cotanchobee Park, between Garrison Channel and the
St. Pete Times Forum. They planned to watch races Saturday and get back
on board to compete Sunday.

“When you're on the boat, you don't get the perspective of what it looks like,” said Wasabi teammate Kristin Anderson, 30.

Dan Smith, a 38-year-old from Harbour Island, watched the
races and talked to some teams about joining up in time for next year's championship.

“It caught my attention,” he said. “I love the fluid, in-sync energy of it.”
To hear Jastremski tell it, it's even better on the water.

“If
you're all working together and if you're all in sync, the boat will
lift up and glide across the water,” she said. “It's exciting.”

The
races continue today from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is a dragon boat
trade show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cotanchobee Park, 601 St. Pete
Times Forum Drive. The event is free for spectators. Visit
www.tampadbnationals.com.

Dragon Boat season again: Gung Haggis Fat Choy team hits the water on Sunday March 4th

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Dragon Boat season again:
Gung Haggis Fat Choy team hits the water on Sunday March 4th

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat had an incredible season in 2006,
and we look forward to an even better season with so many returning
paddlers.  We welcome recreational and beginner paddlers… and if
we have enough beginner paddlers we will spin off a 2nd team for
beginners.

Our team emphasizes fun, food, and fitness and multiculturalism… in
that order.  Sometimes we say we have a foodie team that likes to
paddle.  But our paddlers have also decided to unleash their
competitive nature for 2007 and really want to improve for this
season… while still accomplishing fun, food and fitness and
multiculturalism.

Scottish and Chinese cultures are our namesakes, derived from our
annual Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner
fundraiser.  It's an eclectic and wacky dinner event that features
traditions from Scottish and Chinese culture fused with contemporary
post-modern Canadianisms – whaterver that is!
Our team uniforms feature lucky gold chinese coins + optional kilts.

Our 2006 season included races at Lotus Sports Club's Bill Alley
dragonboat regatta, False Creek Women's regatta, ADBF regatta, Alcan
Dragon Boat Festival, Kent Washington Cornucopia dragon boat Festival,
Vernon Dragon Boat Festival, Cultus Lake Women's regatta, Victoria
Dragon Boat Festival, Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat
Races.  Plus we also raced in the UBC Day of the Long Boats with
Tacoma Dragon Boat Association, and the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival
Canoe regatta.  Paddlers signed up for the races they wanted to
attend and not every body attended every race… so we are very
flexible!

The 2007 season will see many of the same races – but we may pare down
the number, or pair up with other teams as we did for Victoria with the
Pirates dragon boat team from Chilliwack, or the FC women's regatta
with Tacoma DBA.

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team's first practice is Sunday March 4th.
We meet at 1pm for warm-up stretches and cardio
We are on water from 1:30pm to 3pm

We paddle from Dragon Zone – run by the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival
It's in the South East Corner of False Creek – immediately south of Science World
Best places for parking are on Quebec Street, 1st Ave near Mario's Gelato or 2nd Ave.

We will start Tuesdays after the
switch to Daylight Saving time – dependant on how much light is
available…

What to wear: fleeceys are good
at this time –  both tops and bottoms.  Rain gear if needed.  Definitely
a hat.  This will be a low intensity warm-up practice to shake off the
cobwebs, and develop good body posture and techniqe.

check out more on the website for:
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team

To join the team contact:

Todd Wong coach and clan chieftain
778-846-7090
e-mail:  gunghaggs @yahoo . ca

Scotsman.com warns of “dangerous dragonboat dumplings” in China

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Hmmm…..

Why would www.scotsman.com be intererested in a story about “dangerous dragon boat dumplings” in China?

I have eaten sticky rice dumplings wrapped in tea leaves ever since I
was a young child.  I have even helped my mother make them when I
was young.  But now we usually purchase them at the many Chinese
food stores.

Sticky rice dumplings are traditionally thrown into the water to
appease the sea monsters during a dragon boat festival.  In
Vancouver, I think we feel there is enough pollution in False Creek
already – even though the local rats would probably love them!

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=792892006

Tacoma Dragon Boat Association loves us…. the Gung Haggis dragon boat team!

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May 27, 2006

Here's an article from our paddle buddies in Tacoma – Check out the Tacoma Dragon Boat Association.

Babes and Chix make International Debut at Vancouver Regatta
By Janice Brevik

Vancouver, Canada — Under questionable skies at the Dragon Zone (venue
near the Science Dome at former Expo site) in Vancouver, Canada, the
Babes with Blades and Chix with Stix made their international debut at
the 9th Annual False Creek Women’s Regatta.  This is the fourth
year a TDBA crew has participated in the annual False Creek Women’s
fundraiser regatta.  Clad in Hawaiian attire complete with
stunning red lips (provided by Ann Martin) the Tacoma teams with their
Canadian teammates had a great day of racing, eating, and talking
story.  All that kept the rain at bay for the entire day.

The Babes, with first-time captain Ann Martin, started the action very
well with a first place win in their heat with a time of 2:49:74. 
Not to be outdone, the Chix, captained by another first-time captain,
Diane Wetzel, followed suit in their heat, also with a first place time
of 2:49:61.

As luck would have it, the two first place wins had the Babes and Chix
opposite each other in heat two.  The Chix placed first again with
a time of 240:15 and the Babes a close third with a time of
2:41:75.  It was a very close race with the three boats inches
apart.  A great finish watching—for spectators-not those in the
boats.

The third and final heat garnered the Babes with another first place
win with a time of 2:37:87.  The Chix placed third in their final
heat with a time of 2:43:62.  Both teams finished in the top 10 of
the 52 teams entered.  Nice job ladies!

Both boats had composite teams of experienced, novice, first-time
racers and guest paddlers from Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragonboat team
from Vancouver.  Gung Haggis also hosted us with food, water and
shelter, not to mention a healthy dose of good company and paddler
fun.  Topping the racing activities was having Todd Wong serving
as guest drummer /caller/motivational dude with the Babes.  Way to
go Todd!

Tips o’ the paddle go to Merri McHugh as our paperwork queen, Head
Coach Clem for critique of each race and tips to improve and our hosts
Gung Haggis Fat Choy—you are awesome!  A great time was had by all
and we shared the spoils of our day with luscious Canadian chocolates
provided to each team by the race organizers—after the race, of course.

Thanks to all the paddlers, coaches,  supporters and family
members that enjoyed this delightful event.  We couldn’t have done
it without you.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at Lotus Sports Club's dragon boat regatta at Barnet Marine Park

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Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at Lotus Sports Club's “Bill Alley Memorial dragon boat regatta” at Barnet Marine Park

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team – front row: Carolyn, Wendy, Rita, Gail and Natalie. 
Standing: Anne-Marie, Julie, Jonas, Steven, Jim, Dave, Daming,
Jennifer, Joe, Sonja, Todd, Stephen, Constance, Deb, and Dan.  – Photo courtesy of Lotus Sports Club

The Lotus Sports Club's Bill Alley Memorial Dragon Boat Regatta
is always a fun friendly race.  Chilliwack and Ft. Langley teams
really support it well.  I have attended many years with different
teams.  Celebration in 98, 99, and 2000, Civil Serpents in 2001,
Spirit of Vancouver in 2004, spectator for 2005, and finally with Gung
Haggis team in 2006.  The Lotus Sports Club
is where I first
learned to paddle a dragon boat in 1993 with the Hamazaki Wong
Headliners team.  Grace Morisette was my first coach, and Lotus
people have all become friends over the years, such as Jim McArthur and
Barb Diggins. Friendly faces include Barb Alley, John Park, Carmella,
Jane, Clyde, Cindy, Dean and many many others.  I can also say I
have known Joyce Yeoh and Elton
Pao, since they were junior paddlers.



Our team
really had a lot of fun.  Our rookies were very excited to be in
their first races, our veterans were calm, cool, collected and shared
information.  Dan brought smokies, Joe brought camp stove and
tent.  Dave brought the large Gung Haggis tent.  Food,
shelter and friends – what more can you ask for?  Okay… we had a
team bbq afterwards at Joe's Burnaby home following the regatta.

There
is a prize raffle draw with proceeds going to the Bill Alley Memorial
scholarship.  Bill Alley was a founding member of Lotus, and dedicated
to the Lotus Sports Club.  Each year I help donate prizes to the raffle
and help promote it as an event during Asian Heritage Month.



Format is
round robin for first 3 races + Finals – so you get to race each of the other
teams + have your own category, for a total of FOUR races.  That's
a lot in a day for brand new rookie paddlers!



For the race finals you are put into one of each category:  Junior, Women's, Mixed or Seniors.  Seeding is decided by cumulative race times.  The Open category is decided by the cumulative race time that is the fastest!


Our
friends “The Pirates” led by left stroke and captain Ian Paul (in
front), leading the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team (in
back).  Notice how deep the Pirates paddles are – getting good
water on their blades, while the Gung Haggis paddles are not as deep or
consistent.  We will have to work on that aspect of our paddle
technique. – photo Ben Lee (see more photos at http://www.dragonboatwest.net



The
rotation of the races is pretty fast, so that would help discount for
other effects such as tide, wind, officiating, start position.  But
this is meant to be a FUN regatta, so the start positions were not
overly picky, especially with wind causing drift at the start line.



Teams
swapped paddlers here and there.  Gung Haggis loaned about 10
paddlers
at one point for Smoke on the Water's 3rd race – because the beginner
team from Chilliwack had paddlers that needed to leave or for other
reasons.  Gung Haggis raced 18 paddlers for our first two races,
than
added 2 paddlers in race 3, then raced the final  with 19
paddlers.  It was great to have Nadia join us for our 3rd and 4th
race.  She is a good friend of Wendy, and paddles on Concord
Pacific.  She had met our team members Dan, Pam and Kristine, who
joined Concord for their San Francisco races last August.



Put
this event on your calendar for next year.   FOUR races,  Great Fun,
beautiful pebble beach setting, lots of trees for shade or rain
protection, Friendly hosts, and BBQ friendly!   No medals – just awards
for the top finisher in each category + Top 3 finishers in Open
category, AND a team picture already framed to take home!



“Toddish
McWong” steering the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.  I only
started wearing the kilt at dragon boat races last year.  It is a Maple
Leaf Tartan made by Bear Kilts.   Sonja and Jennifer (seat 10) in their first dragon boat regatta ever,
and 4th race of the day.  Dave Samis and Jonas in seat 9, Dan Seto in
seat 8.
photo Ben Lee (see more photos at http://www.dragonboatwest.net/


Officially – there were 16 teams entered

Check out the Lotus Sports Club website

http://www.lotussports.com/page.cfm?PageID=11



Now what were the official results of the FINALS races?   (this is from memory!)



Junior Category –

Lotus Juniors 1 or A  (can't tell the names apart!)

Lotus Juniors A or 1



Women's Category

WOW – Women on Water (Ft. Langley)

Abreast in Barnet


Senior's Division  –

FCRCC Grand Dragons

Dogwood Nothin' Dragons (Coquitlam)

The Eh Team

Dogwood Nothin' Dragons Challengers

FCRCC Grand Dragons (withdrew and did not race finals)



Mixed Adult – 

Sudden Impact

SOAR – Spirit of a renegade (Ft. Langley)

Chilliwack Thunder Strokers (Chilliwack)

Pirates  (Chilliwack)

Lotus Mixed

Gung Haggis Fat Choy

Smoke on the Water (Chiliwack) (withdrew and did not race finals)

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team takes Easter Weekend off

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Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team takes Easter Weekend off

There will be NO public paddling at Dragon Zone on Easer Sunday, April 16th.

Next practice Is TUESDAY, April 18th, 6pm
at Dragon Zone paddling centre, Creekside Park
(just south of Science World)

NO practice on Easter Sunday


We have just filled our roster  limit for ADBF – and are now starting a
second team.  Please continue to invite your friends to join a beginner
or recreation team.  This is ideal, as it allows us to run two boats on
Sundays, and have mini races.

If you haven't been out to a GHFC
dragon boat practice yet, please e-mail me to confirm your interest and
intent.  We would still like to have you included in our paddling group.

Deb and I attended the Team Managers & Captains meetings for ADBF
last night.  We have information on the June 17/18 festival and regatta
on Sunday June 2 afternoon.

There are also races in Burnaby at Barnet Marine Park on May 20.
I would really like to enter the team at this race.
http://www.lotussports.com/page.cfm?PageID=11

This is a FUN race limited to about 24 teams only with 3 races in the
day.  It was attended last year by Joe, Dan and Ernest. This is a
perfect way to be introduced to a race.
Cost will be about $30 per person, if you are already signed up for the ADBF races.

Happy Easter!!!

1st Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team practice + Dragon Zone public paddling

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1st Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team practice + Dragon Zone public paddling



Nice calm peaceful water for paddling on False Creek's East Bay, greeted us with spots of sunshine on April 2 – photo Dave Samis

The sun came out and stayed for the afternoon, a wonderful start to the 1st Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team practice for the 2006 season. 

We started by assisting the Dragon Zone public paddling program, as we did last week. 
There were about 14 people who showed up for public paddling with such a good turnout,
surprising Nicole who coordinated on the Dragon Zone end for the Alcan
Dragon Boat Festival. 

A cameraman named Justin, showed up from
City TV, filming us taking people out on the water for their very first
(and sometimes second) experience at dragon boating.  Justin
filmed us doing warm-ups, giving paddle instruction, loading into the
boat, and paddling.  This is a great way for Vancouverites to get
to experience the Vancouver tradition of dragon boating.  I shared
with everybody that when my girlfriend Deb, first joined the dragon
boat team, she would say: “It's a Vancouver experience that everybody
should try!”  And now she is starting her 4th year of dragon
boating with the Gung Haggis Fat Choy team.  She can paddle, she
can drum and she can steer (during practice), and last year she was so
happy when she experienced her first winning race in a semi-final at Harrison Lake, and also her first dragon boat medal at last year's Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragonboat Race.

Wow! 
We're on tv already, and it's only our first practice!  Usually we
don't get on camera until ADBF time, when we were filmed for CBC NewsWorld last year, and French public television Thalassa in 2004.

Fourteen people also came out from the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat
team, supplemented by friends Gerry and Jo Black, from the Eh
Team.  Dave Samis steered one boat with Gung Haggis drummer Deb
Martin, leading the team, while I coached form the 2nd boat with steers
Sean Mulgrew, Dragon Zone employee.

After a quick introduction and short warm-up, we divided into two
groups – matching first-timers with experienced paddlers.  We
emphasized safety as we loaded onto the boats.  Gung Haggis
paddlers were lead strokes for each boat.  Both teams moved very
well for being half-filled with first time paddlers.  Our lead
strokes in both bats set a good pace that was easy for people to
follow.  Soon, I quickened the rate, which resulted in inevitable
paddle clashing accompanied by lots of laughter.

After short exercises emphasizing timing drills and paddle technique,
we took a short rest, and I told people about the Alcan Dragon Boat
Festival, and how the race course was set up.  We turned around
and did two very short mini-races, then took people back to the
dock.  Both boats well during the mini-races and people had good
fun.  I hope these public paddling sessions will encourage more
people to take up the recreational sport of dragon boat paddling.

Following the public paddling session, Gung Haggis paddlers stayed in
the boat and we went out for another 30 minutes to finish off our
practice with an emphasis on paddling technique and cardio
workout.  Everybody felt good about the session, and were glad to
shake off the winter rust.  We hadn't been a dragon boat paddling
together since Labour Day weekend for the Vancouver International
Taiwanese Dragon Boat race, when we won bronze medals in Division D.

Our first race will be May 20th, at the Barnet Marine Park for the Bill
Alley Memorial Dragon Boat Race, hosted by the Lotus Sports Club.

If people would like to try out public paddling at Dragon Zone – check out the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival website and click on events – public paddling and register by e-mail.

If you would like to join the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team, e-mail me at gunghaggs at yahoo dot come, or phone me at 604-240-7090

Cherry Blossom dragon boat public paddling regatta March 26

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Cherry Blossom dragon boat public paddling regatta


Todd Wong gives
paddling instruction to one of two boatloads of people who showed up to
the inaugural Cherry Blossom Festival public dragon boat paddlings
event.  First-time paddlers were assisted by experienced paddlers
from teams: Gung Haggis Fat Choy, The Eh? Team, and GVRD 44 Cheeks. –
photo Dave Samis

The Creekside Park
cherry blossoms were not in bloom, but dragon boat friendships are
already developing as many paddlers hit the water with their
teams.  Wanna-be paddlers can try out paddling at the Dragon Zone
paddling club, organized by the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival, located at
Creekside Park, at the South East end of False Creek, just south of the
Science World building.

The first Dragon Zone public paddling /
Cherry Blossom regatta went well.  About 17 people showed up for
Cherry Blossom paddling, and were assisted by experienced
paddlers.  5 people from Eh Team, 1 person from GVRD 44 Cheeks,
and 9 paddlers from Gung Haggis Fat Choy, all came to share stories
about their paddling adventures and friendships.

We started out
by having everybody meet inside the clubhouse, as the weather was damp
outside.  We did introductions, and I shared dragon boat history
(origins, local and international) with everybody.  Some people
had come to try the public paddling, advertised by Dragon Zone, some
because they had heard of the Cherry Blossom event.  All were
looking forward to trying dragon boats for their first time.

We
took two boats out.  I coached one boat with Shawn steering. 
Shawn is one of the staff members at Dragon Zone, working the docks and
clubhouse, ensuring safety and smooth management.  I have known
him for a number of years, in his role as a volunteer for the Alcan
Dragon Boat Festival, and also as a paddler and steersperson for
different teams.

Second boat coached by Dave Montrose with Ed
from Eh Team steering.  The friendship between Dave Montrose and
myself goes back years to 1998, when we first paddled together on a
Civil Serpents team competing in Victoria.  In 1999, we again
found ourselves on the same team – this time it was Spirit of Vancouver
competing for a race in San Francisco.  Dave joined me when Civil
Serpents team went competitive in 2001, and we also helped set up the
39th Brigade Army team, and some of their paddlers joined us in 2002
for paddling in Kelowna.

We split people into two groups and matched experienced paddlers with 1st timers. 
We did warm up exercises, paddle instruction, safety lesson – then loaded onto the boats.

Boats separated for paddle instructions, then met for a race towards Plaza of Nations.  Ending with a short race back to
Dragon Zone.  All races were kept short, to minimize stress and risk of injury to paddlers.  Having
the two boats out together was ideal, because we could have the mini
races.  It gave people a sense of dragon boat “racing”.

Everybody
really enjoyed themselves, and many said they would be back.  We
had great compliments from the paddlers from the Eh? team – a
wondefully friendly seniors team.  I have known Bill Redhead and
his team mate Ed for a few years, since my father first painted a
unicorn on a paddle for Ed.  Dave Samis paddles on the GVRD 44
Cheeks team, and he has also joined Gung Haggis Fat Choy for races in
Victoria, Seattle, Harrison Lake and the Vancouver Taiwanese
Race.  I also taught Dave how to steer a boat, and like with Dave
Montrose, we have developed a nice frienship over the years.

It
is dragon boat friendships like these that inspired me to create an
event for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.  I have been
marvelling at all the cherry blossoms sparkling in Vancouver for the
past few weeks, and thinking that it is very cool that Vancouver now
has a Cherry Blossom festival.  Hopefully next year, we will be
able to have more paddlers out for our annual event, and that when
Vancouverites start to see cherry blossoms blooming, they will start to
think, “Time to get into a dragon boat for some paddling.”

If
you would like to try dragon boat paddling, come down to Dragon Zone at
Creekside Park.  For $2, on Sunday at 1pm, you can have a paddle
instruction session – until April 30th.

Check out the beautiful photos of Vancouver's cherry trees and also the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
website.  The following 2002 pictures are from the Sakura Diary
website, and the trees can be seen while paddling on False Creek.
 
 
Cherry Blossoms overlooking False Creek between Granville Island and Burrard Bridge.

Granville Island Cherry trees

Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat 2005 summary

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Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat 2005 summary:


We really achieved a lot this year!

The summer dragon boat paddling season is finally
over.  We started paddling in April and finished paddling in
September on
Labour Day weekend, with a wrap up dinner with surprise gifts for all
paddlers attending!. And during these past nine months from February to October we made lots of new
friends, welcomed old friends, and had soooooo much fun!

Not only did we paddle dragon boats, but we carved our own wooden
dragon heads and tails from cedar, put a dragon boat in Vancouver's St.
Patrick's Day Parade, got featured on national television, developed a
reputation as a “real fun” team, hosted parties at The Roxy, made lots
of dragon boat team friends, and raced for medals in every race we
entered.

*  Dragon Boat head and tail carving
at the Roundhouse Community Centre and filmed for CBC local news in
February, and featured at ADBF Dragon's Den tent + Sea Vancouver
Festival at Maritime Museum/Kits Point site.
   
 
*  Dragon Boat float in the Vancouver St. Patrick's Day parade – featuring
special guests City Councillor Ellen Woodsworth and CBC radio
host/reporter Margaret Gallagher in March

*  Taking highschool kids from Quebec out for a dragon boat lesson and mini-races
*  ADBF regatta in May
*  David Lam Award for Best Multicultural Team @ Alcan Dragon Boat Festival in June

*  CBC Newsworld national TV spot @ ADBF
*  Rec D finals for medals @ ADBF


*  Sea Vancouver Festival regatta Saturday & Sunday

*  Rec finals for Harrison DB races
*  Bronze medals for Taiwanese DB races


* 
Hosting after-race parties at The Roxy following ADBF and Taiwanese
races + 3-in-1 parties at the Roxy/Doolin's & The Cellar – always
giving FREE tickets to out-of-town teams from San Francisco, Portland,
Calgary, Tacoma…

*  + we helped out a lot of other teams such as Chilliwack Pirates,
Tacoma Destiny Dragons, Scaly Justice, The Eh? Team, and especially….
Concord Pacific Flying Dragons winning Gold medals in San Francisco –
Yeah Kristine, Dan and Pam!!!!
*  and…. got great compliments on our team-shirts!
*  wrap-up dinner on October 2

Did I forget anything?  A lot of teams have trouble doing just one or two of the above listed events….

Running a dragon boat team, is similar to owning a motorboat or a
sailboat. It is still a boat on the ocean that is like a hole – you
keep putting money into… but you love it just the same.

Coach Bob Brinson & I really were very very pleased with this year's team. Okay,
we often say each year is the best yet… but the 2005 version was
really special on many many levels. Kristine, Gail, Peggy, Dave Samis
and Deb,have been with the team through many of its different
incarnations, and Craig, Kristine, Dave Montrose, and Dave Samis have
been with me on novice, recreation and competitive teams, as well as
paddling with me on many other teams. We do have something special…
we recognize it, and we give thanks to you all.

The GHFC dragon boat team is something I have nurtured since 2002, and
the GHFC dinner since 1998. Managing, organizing and coaching both is
challenging, and I am thankful for having Bob coach it this year, and
supporting the team as steersperson in the previous years. This year I
gave Coach Bob a nice honorarium, something I have never been able to give
myself for coaching past years. But this year was a stronger year for
fundraising with a good GHFC dinner of 600 people, and $1000 from the
Roxy, + some fundraising parties at the Roxy throughout the year.

Many people have asked for off-season activities for physical
exercise… Here's an idea: a different event each month. Indoor
Rockclimbing, roller hockey, floor hocky, volleyball, badminton,
waterslides… just something fun, and social – this will also aid in
planning for next year's dragon boat team and GHFC fundraiser dinner.

For 2006, I would like to see 2 GHFC dragon boat teams. One for
beginners, and One for experienced paddlers – mix them all up, and have
double the fun we had this year.

Join the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team by calling me – Todd
Wong at 604-987-7124  or e-mail   gunghaggis 
@  yahoo.ca