View photos of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in action from the 2005 Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.

Click here for all pictures and slide show.

photos by Naoko Watanabe and Nick Chin

for articles on the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team:
see http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2006/3/29/1847817.html

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team had a very exciting and full dragon boat weekend.

Our weekend activities included:

1) Being featured on CBC Newsworld live national television,

Good reports from the interview… Toronto CBC Newsworld Produce
Hilary Walker called it “Awesome!” I talked with reporter Andrew via
earphone and microphone. None of the dragon boat team standing behind
me could hear the questions I was being asked, so I was re-stating the
questions, as I answered them. We were able to demonstrate enthusiasm
for dragon boating, excitement for multiculturalism, show off our
decorated paddles and our kilts. We were also able to introduce
both  Bear Kilts sponsor rep Peggy Watkins (Bear's wife), and our
Roxy Nightclub sponsor rep Tanya Romanuk – both are paddlers on our
team.





2) Racing for medals in the D division final,

Our team is a combination of brand new rookies and seasoned
veterans who make having fun a priority. I was hoping that we would be
good enough to move up to Rec C, but we were solidly in Rec D as we
again competed in the Rec D finals. But once  again… not strong
enough to win a medal. Saturday seeding races are tough, as there is no
chance of beating Comp or Rec A/B teams… This is certainly
disheartening to Rec D/E teams. But on Sunday, our semi-final race as
very exciting, as we were one of 3 teams surging together towards the
finish line. We were 3rd by 18/100ths of a second – giving us the
fastest 3rd place team finish for the wild card spot in the Red D
Final. Our new chant was “We LOVE Gemini Boats on Sundays”, following
our disappointing first race on Saturday in a Gemini. We posted one of
our best times at 2:34, and finished 7th out of 9 teams in the Rec D medal final.




3) Winning the Hon. David C. Lam Award for being “the team that best represents the multicultural spirit of the festival”

This Award is amazing. The Dragon Boat Festival was founded to help
promote multiculturalism through hosting dragon boat racing. It is a
great honour for the team and our efforts in promoting
multiculturalism. I have previously won this award with my Celebration
Team in 2000. In 2002, I revamped the team and renamed it Gung Haggis
Fat Choy, to have a stronger tie-in to the Robbie Burns Dinner that is
the team's major fundraising event. The focus for the team also became
multiculturalism, as we continue to attend a tour/lesson in the Dr. Sun
Yat Sen Garden/Park, have multicultural dinners, and for the first time
– wear actual kilts on dragon boat weekend, instead of tartan wraps. I
have never before in one day been asked so many times, what is worn
beneath the kilt – nor had so many women trying to peek under the kilt
– in the beer garden – no less.



4) hosting “the Sunday night party to be at”?

We are very grateful to The Roxy for hosting a Apres-Paddling
Party. We gave out 300 FREE tickets on the dragon boat site to teams we
knew and liked. Each ticket gave Free Admission + one Free drink. It
was great to have the Gung Haggis team paddlers relax, dance and
socialize – especially our rookie paddlers as we induct them into the
dragon boat season culture. It was great to see old friends from Wasabi
and Kai 'iKai'Ka join us, as well as new friends from San Francisco
Dragon
Warriors.

We hit the dance floor to the Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane”
with Wasabi and Gung Haggis paddlers. Later my friend Suzi from Wasabi
Team Huge, grabbed my hand and said “Toddish, they're playing our song”
as the houseband Midnight Ramblers launced into a cover of Johnny Cash's “Ring of Fire”.
Photographer Friend Ray Shum, who was paddling with CBC Wave Catchers,
showed up and took some pictures, which I will post here later….



This was a lot of fun for me – personally! It makes me so glad to be able to just focus on one team, and not be coaching 3 teams. We had a wonderful group of
people who were all on board for the same goal – enjoy the experience.

Organizing a dragon boat is always a lot of work. But the real
reward comes in knowing people's appreciation, and seeing the
development of people in
both their paddling ability and as human beings. I have a lot of help
with this team. Coaching and team development from Bob, organization
and support from
Deb, managerial from Peggy, sponsorshop from Tanya, team leadership and
support from Kristine, technical paddling from Craig, Race day warm-ups
from Karmen,

and most of all ENTHUSIASM from Gail, Pam, Natalie, Ashley, Grace,
Randa, Aislynn, Alf, Carl, Ernest, Daming, Dan, Joe, Marlene, Manfred,
Ian and Doug!

It is truly a compliment to the team, that Manfred, Ian and Karmen
– all coaches and team leaders in their own right and boats – give high
praises to both the
Gung Haggis Fat Choy team and its leaders, and they still say they had
such a great time. We look forward to joining them at Harrison Lake on
July 16th, for
their inaugural Fraser Valley Dragon Boat Festival.

Congratulations everybody!

Party was good last night… Paddlers from Wasabi, Shibumi, Kai
Ikaika – all from Portland, Dragon Warriors from San Francisco,
PH&N Horny Goats, Drunkin' Dragons, Nestors, all from Vancouver….

This wednesday… the general feeling is we need a rest from dragon
boating…. maybe in the absence of paddling…. I will suggest
relaxing in a whirlpool jacuzzi… 
waterslides / wave pool anybody?

Next race is July 9/10 SeaVancouver Festival followed by July 16
Fraser Valley DBF @ Harrison Lake Sept 4/5 Vancouver International
Taiwanese DB Race

Optional races will be:

Vernon BC

July 23/24 – on Kalamalka Lake

San Franciso

August 27/28 – Treasure Island in the middle of San

Francisco Bay… 10th Anniversary races…

Paddles up!

Todd

for articles on the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team:see http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2006/3/29/1847817.html


Peace and Blessings,

604-987-7124
gunghaggis@yahoo.ca
www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com

Alcan Dragon Boat Festival

To Whom It May Concern:

Re: Alcan Community Spirit Award

Google the words “Vancouver”, “dragon boat team”, and “community” and the 1st entry is Gung Haggis Fat Choy.  

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team is very active in Vancouver’s
community. Our Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner “Gung Haggis Fat
Choy” which our team is named after, is considered one of Vancouver’s
annual cultural highlights.  We share our proceeds with Asian
Canadian Writers’ Workshop and Rice Paper Magazine, helping to promote
Canada’s rich and important Asian Canadian heritage.  This is a
dinner that creates and shares community spirit, and is inclusive for
all who attend.  People walk out of our dinners with big smiles on
their faces, and say “This is so Canadian,” and “I have to tell all my
friends.”

The spin-offs from our cultural fusion dinner have included the CBC
Television performance special also titled “Gung Haggis Fat Choy” as
well as the Simon Fraser University “Gung Haggis Fat Choy Canadian
Games” for which our coaches Todd Wong and Bob Brinson conceived of and
created the world’s first “dragon carts” to simulate a dragon boat race
on land.

Everybody attending Vancouver’s 1st and 2nd St. Patrick’s Day Parade
can tell you how surprised they were to see a dragon boat float rolling
down Granville St. Invited to bring our multicultural energy to the
inaugural parade in 2004, we are now a featured attraction, and were
written about on the front page of the first edition of the Metro –
Vancouver’s first of the new free daily newspapers, as our special
guests Vancouver City Councilor Ellen Woodsworth and CBC radio host
Margaret Gallagher were interviewed.

People walking into the Roundhouse Community Centre in February, saw
dragon boat heads being carved from cedar wood.  Yes, Gung Haggis
Fat Choy was there, carving away, ensuring a community presence and
informing onlookers about the importance of multiculturalism and our
love for dragon boating.  We will also be carving dragon boat
heads and tails at the inaugural SeaVancouver Festival this coming July.

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy team and its members have made contributions
to many dragon boat events and international teams as well.  Our
coaches Todd Wong and Bob Brinson were two of the founding organizers
of the Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race, and worked
in close coordination with the Taiwanese Cultural Festival.  We
participated in the World’s first dragon boat barrel races in Seattle,
with the Tacoma Dragon Boat Association, and helped to develop dragon
boat barrel races as part of  the Vancouver Taiwanese DB races. We
have also worked behind the scenes to not only help supply prizes for
the other teams’ events, but we have contributed coaching many other
local teams as well.

We have many dragon boat friends outside the Vancouver community. 
Over the past few years we have contributed to and formed teams with,
and taken in paddlers for our races from Fraser Valley Dragon Boat
Association, Tacoma Dragon Boat Association, Dieselfish from San
Francisco, Wasabi Paddling Club in Portland, and the Fort Langley Canoe
Club.

And just a two weeks ago, we helped take three boats full of high
school students from North Vancouver and Quebec City on a dragon boat
program in False Creek, and accompanied them to lunch in Chinatown.

Last year, Gung Haggis Fat Choy was the dragon boat team chosen to
demonstrate the spirit of  multiculturalism in the television
documentary series “Thalassa” filmed by France 5, public television, at
the 2004 ADBF.  The Director and producer Anne Gourmand felt this
was important to show not only France, but to francophone communities
all around the world.

What is our community spirit?  We share our love of dragon boating
and multiculturalism openly and freely with not only other dragon
boaters, but also with the community of Vancouver, and Canada. 
But the “Gung Haggis spirit” is about cultural fusion and humour, and
iit is this “spirit” that is spreading not only all across Vancouver to
Simon Fraser University and the CBC, but also all across Canada, and
the world.

Please consider the Gung Haggis Fat Choy team to be the 2005 recipient
for the Alcan Community Spirit Award, for all the sharing and community
activities that this team and its leaders willingly demonstrate for all
communities, all across Canada and the world.

Peace and Blessings,

Todd Wong,
Coach and Founder of Gung Haggis Fat Choy
604-987-7124
gunghaggis@yahoo.ca
www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com

Hi Everybody

Our first race is 10:30am Lane 3.
So…
10:30am race
10:00am loading dock
9:45am martial area
9:15 warm up at tent
9:00am team strategies
8:45am meet at tent.


Very important for everybody to be early and not late.

Please know that 180 teams and hundreds of vendors and thousands of
attendees will be attending. Give yourself plenty of time to find a
parking spot, take skytrain, and to find our tent.

To find our tent – enter the
racer's village area on the North side of Creekside Park – entrance is
probably on Quebec St. just north of Science World and just south of
Pacific Blvd. Got to Racer's info booth – find out Tent number. I will
be there early with Team banner to put up on tent.

Tent space. This is our “home”
for 2 days. Let's make it nice. If anybody has blankets or mats to lay
down on the blacktop or grass – that will be good. deck chairs are
always good. But no security.

If you have a friend who would
like to do some security shifts while we are paddling… please invite
them. Dave Montrose will be our Race Manager for the weekend, but will
need to watch the races in case we need to launch a protest. Our spare
paddlers can also take turns rotating, when not on the boat.

Bring your own water and food for the tent.
We will coordinate some fruits and power bars for sharing… We could
do a pot luck and bring coolers. This means we do not have to go
searching for food and pay top prices. Maybe somebody can do a run to
Chinatown for some buns. I will bring some gatorade and a cooler. It is
very important to make sure everybody is hydrated, and eating lightly…

OUR RACE
Our first race at 10:30am is called a seeding race.
All the teams have been ranked according to past reputations and
performances in recent regattas and races. Ideally, this helps
determine performance ability for each team for placement in Comp A/B/C
or Rec A/B/C/D/E divisions.

Expect approximately, lane 5 to make it to Comp Div, Lane 4 & 6 to
be in Rec A/B, Lane 3 & 7 to be in in Rec B/C, Lane 2 to be in Rec
C, Lane 8 & 1 to be in Rec D/E

Don't read too much into this,
as teams are jostling for positions, and a tight race between two boats
could move one boat up, and one boat down. Repechage races will follow
to further help refine the divisions. Use the Saturday races to get
comfortable, and blend as a team. Sunday races will be very tight. The
bottom line is we want to do the best we can in each race, this helps
hone our racing skills.

Here's the expected order of finish for our first race.
Let's do our best so that lanes 7,2, 8 & 1 don't pass us.

5 Fresh Off the Dragonboat
4 TDBA – Destiny Dragons
6 Drunk'n Dragons Blue
3 Gung Haggis Fat Choy
7 JET-Ai
2 Missabittatitti
8 OC United Dragons
1 Dragons Abreast Australia

Oh – yeah… remember to have fun…

Hi everybody

Good wet time to be had by everybody at the ADBF regatta on Sunday.  Thank goodness we weren't out
there at 11:30 to noon when the rain poured sheets and buckets of water.

It was very important to stay warm and hydrated.  Very good to see the team sharing food.  Dan was passing
granola bars around.  Joe offered hot chai tea.  People shared blankets and jackets.  Team energy was
very good.  We kept our energy and our spirits up by jumping up and down, marching on the spot and with
jumping jacks.   The group circle massage was very good too!  Perfect group exercise for huddling closer
under a tent in the rain.  Next practice we will learn martial arts moves with the dragon boat paddle to help
create the first marching dragon boat paddle drill team... he he :-)

Bob and I were very pleased with the team's overall performance.  We came 3rd in our first race, and were
pushed into the top 50% of teams.  Bob noted that of all the top teams - we had the slowest 1st race time. 
This meant that we would most likely come 5th or 6th in race 2, which we did.  This pushed us into the
Division B Finals, as the top 3 teams all went to A Finals.  In our B Finals race, we had a very exciting
start and had paddles colliding with the Richmond Centre Dragoneers who were squeezed with GVRD on the
other side of them.  

We can feel good about making it into the B category, as it shows us how much more we can improve, rather
than if we coasted in the B or C categories and beat other slower teams.  Many of the teams we raced in our
2nd and 3rd races have paddled together for a few years and have a greater cohesion and number of
experienced paddlers than we have on our team.  And we belonged in B, we only finished 2 seconds behind 5th
place in our 2nd race, and about not much more in the B Final.

The 2nd race in the Gemini boat was challenging.  The seats are closer together, and even Craig Brown says
that it is difficult to get a proper rotation in them.  All the ADBF final races will be in Gemini boats, so
it may come down to whoever can solve the secret to paddling in these boats will win the medals.  We will
request a Gemini for our final Dragon Zone practice next Sunday on June 12, so we can practice really
leaning outside of the boat more to get a better reach.

For our 3rd race.  The start was very very exciting as paddles clashed on our right side.  While we want to
keep paddling so our boat will hopefully pull away from the other boat beside us... please be protective
of your hands.  We do not want any concert pianists or dentists to suffer a broken hand or finger.  Good
focus in the boat during such a confusing time.  Very good example for us to experience, as we had remember
all the simple basics that Bob and I have tried to teach the team.  1) Focus in the boat, 2) Heads up 3)
R-e-a-c-h 4) Rotate 5) Go Deep - all helped us to stay competitive with these teams in the B Finals.

We had 7 rookies padding in the regatta: Ashley, Natalie, Grace, Tanya, Dan, Ernest, Daming.  Naoko,
Jen and Cory are second year paddlers.  Great congratulations to all of our race-seasoned rookies
now.  We missed Pam who is on vacation in New York, and Carl & Aislyn who were celebrating her mother's
wedding on Saturday.

Great thanks to Jen Leung, Ian Paul and Cory for joining us on less than 24 hours notice.  They were
each able to jump right in without previous practices with our team, and demonstrates how well they were
able to adapt. Ian and Cory paddle with "The Pirates" in Chilliwack - while Jen has been paddling outrigger
in Vancouver.  We thank them each for their wonderfully positive attitudes and energy.  Ian has
asked to join us for ADBF races, and we hope Jen will too!  :-).  Naoko was doing double duty, simultaneously 
volunteering on the docks, and racing with us whenever we were on the boats - Long wet day as she had to start
 at 8am.  And she had energy to paddle with us!
Wow!

Peggy also deserves a Big Heart award as she had been riding her bike all the way from Marpole when all the 
big rain came down.  At the end of the 3rd race, she was suffering from cold and exhaustion.  First Aid introduced 
her to the really cute Canadian Army medical officer.  (please note: Ashley, Natalie, Jen,
Kristine, Grace and Tanya - I do not recommend this process for meeting cute guys.)  
Craig Brown always brings great experience to any dragon boat he paddles on now.  He gave Dan and Nick
some very good pointers, and helped inspire Ernest and Daming sitting behind him.  Special kudos to Craig for
coming out with us, as he is paddling outrigger almost every day of the week, and having to do race-offs
against people contending his #9 position at the Jericho Paddling Club.

And special thanks to our newly minted drummer/caller Deb Martin!  This was Deb's first time ever drumming
for dragon boats in a race.  We really haven't given her much training or practice, and she has willingly
and reluctantly climbed onto the seat at the front of the boat.  Comments from some of the team members
include "Deb gives us encouragement and helps us feel better."  And no... Bob and I are not biased towards
Deb simply because she is my girlfriend.  We have seen and coached many drummers and are genuinely surprised
at what a natural cheerleader and team leader she is sitting at the drummer's seat.

Great work everybody!

..... and PARTY!

We had 14 team members join us for dinner and drinks. Grace and Tanya were first to arrive, followed by
myself and Craig.  Following soon after were Kristine, Ernest, Dan, Alf & Randa, Nick, Bob, Joe, Deb and
Daming.

Also joining the party were paddlers from the Horny Goats, TCC Carib and Drunk'n Dragons.  All were very
appreciative of the opportunity to mix and mingle and socialize, and have good food and drinks.  They look
forward to attending future events hosted by us.  The P&H Horny Goats brought in a group of 10, so they will
win the $1000 sponsorship from the Roxy for next year's team shirts.  I had great conversations with
this team, and we joked that next year to celebrate the Chinese New Year calendar, they may change their
name to the "Year of the Horny Monkeys." 

Special thanks to Tanya and Granville Entertainment Group for helping to arrange the party and future
parties.  We are hoping to start up new party traditions for dragon boat paddlers in Vancouver. 
Next party:  June 19th at the Roxy following the ADBF races.  Definitely expect more teams to attend looking
to party, especially our friends from Wasabi in Portland, TDBA from Tacoma, and Dieselfish from San
Francisco. 

Cheers to all,
Todd