Dragon Boat West

Ok , lets get the ball rolling on top top ten in Kelowna

in no particular order.....

Team Success
Subaru Outback
ROLI
Absolut Adrenaline
Extreme Reach
Alpha Dragons (Red?)
FCRCC Mixed
Ruckus
Storm
Navy Anchors

Other suprises may be Sudden Impact, Subaru Legacy (who had a good year) and SSSteam Heat. I am sure a few Victoria teams will have different paddlers on their rosters With some top teams from Victoria not attending so it should be interesting to see how strong they will be.
Looks like its going to be a dog fight on the water! Let's hope for sun (instead of the miserable weather we had last year) and that the beer Garden doesn't run out of beer! Book Monday off now!

you know, sometimes i get the feeling you're just copy/pasting that list from every other festival post  :roll:   :lol:   :wink:

Where can I find the list of all the teams competing in Kelowna?

On the home page of the festival website

http://www.kelownadragonboatfestival.com

I would also place Vipidi in the top ten.  They are a combination of the Koi Dragonauts and Precision Impossible.  

Trying to sneak in under the radar with a new name.  Cat's out of the bag!

I would add the following:
Pacific Reach
Tempest

BTW: Outback is the rec team, Legacy is the comp team.

None  :lol:

Look towards Vancouver, Victoria and Portland for competition. I would be surprised if any of the Alberta teams get to Jade Division.  I am sure the Alberta teams are hoping I am wrong and maybe I will be.

Tempest is the team from Toronto.  But I heard they are not bringing their starting line-up.

nah I would have put Swordfish there if I did!  :lol:
Pac Reach is going?
OOPS! Add them and remove the Navy boys (and Gals)




aaah thanks Magnum! I was wondering where all those guys were going to turn up! Any loose GD paddlers ho-ing themselves out as well?

A lot of Victoria teams are going as combined teams, so forget what everybody saw in Victoria. Many of the teams will have new paddlers from other teams that are not going to Kelowna. You never know whose boat the lonely paddle sluts will climb into.

On that note, the NAVY team will be missing quite a few experienced paddlers from earlier this season due to deployments to the Gulf of Mexico for Hurricane Katrina humanitarian aid missions. All a part of the job.

So there may be a little more beer left in the beer gardens!

My predictions for Kelowna's that Sheena will take a trip up there and support RGL United! ;)

how 'bout Just Dragon Fresh Along?

Support sure you mean get drunk with  :D  I know I will be.

JDA is fun team to be with hehe that's all I have to say

ah...  but see, it isn't JDA anymore....   its a mutant breed.

note to self: take off shirt and flex as much as possible to get female support.   8)

Hey, don't bite another team's style.  How about wearing a skirt like that zepheranthes character?  or try wearing too much clothing.

I say Colossus one ups Zephys antics and wear a bikini. LOL.

been there, done that, wasn't comfortable.  next idea?

Where the hell is the moderator?

Don't tell me he has a real job!!!!!

Come on people....stay on topic for crying out loud....it's NOT about what guy will wear what woman's clothing!!!!!!!

I say Guido be hired as a moderator!

St'Keya will not be in Kelowna this year...we closed in San Fran.

Just judging from the posts here, that may not be a bad thing.....we are an old team - but do not so bad.

We did not like Kelowna last year, not just because of weather......but the paddling was good!

Have fun all!.....I am in paddling withdrawal a bit...but the gym and OC6's beckon.

sorry sir.  :oops:

going to be a tough field in the finals, thats for sure.  look forward to seeing everyone there!

note to others:  take shirt off and flex if you like to get female support!!!

lol my bad.  I totally got this thread off topic.

Sorry Mr. Moderator.

but yeah, I'm planning on taking a trip up there with a few of my teammates to support RGL, watch the races and to party!!  Hope the weather turns out great...or else photog's pics, and my own, won't be quite as stunning!

G'luck with your races, everyone.  Wow, it's next week!  Pressure is ON!

Haha did you guys actually name it "Just Dragon Fresh Along" for kelowna?

You're coming up eh?

Come by and say hi. I've never actually gotten a chance to talk to you @ SFU Surrey  :cry:

Sorry guys, but it'll be Synergy who will show you all how it's done ;)

Show us how to bail fresh water instead of false creek water out of a boat?  :shock:

WOW....they pay on this site?

Ha ha ha....Synergy in the Top Ten.....I heard that will happen when they change colours.


Pacific Reach
Team Success
Subaru Legacy
CIBC False Creek Mixed
Tempest
Absolute
Subaru Outback
Sudden Impact - (Just saw the other post...they're outta here to be replaced....who to replace....who to replace.....)
Alpha (Red)
Scotiabank Dragons
VO2Max (replaces Sudden Impact down here though)

Scary....isn't it.....

Guido,

Most of what you have I would agree with, not sure about Scotia and Alpha.  You know something that we all should know?  Did they pickup paddlers from somewhere?  Inquiring minds want to know :-0.  

You don't think Roli will be up there?  Aren't they going to be p***ed at you, got support your former team don't you  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I don't know what it is Mr. Guido, but you crack me up.   :lol:


I'm going to make a prediction!  Team SUCCESS is gonna beat out FCRCC Mixed!  

And one of the Oranged-Jersey teams will make it into the top ten :roll:

You definitely are cracked up....don't need me to help you become :rofl: !!!!!

Well tigger......I pulled out the old 8 ball.....and what can I say?

Hey tigger....stop editing your posts....can't keep up.  I've heard a lot of the boys that paddled on ROLI this year aren't going up.....and the BIG boys are running the races....

Here is what I have heard (all unconfirmed):

a. Success has picked up some of the FCRCC Mixed crew to paddle with them.  
b.  FCRCC Mixed is going up to party and it will NOT be the same team as Alcan (some are paddling with Success and some are not going) but they have picked up some strong women from the FC Master Women's team.
c.  Swordfish is not going but a number of their paddlers are (on other teams), hmmmm.
d.  Alpha looks like they are struggling to get 2 full teams.  I have heard one will be way down the ladder (Alpha Blue I guess) since they have some very new paddlers.
e.  Roli is a combo team since a number of paddlers have finished for the season.  They have picked up some paddlers from teams not going to Kelowna (see point c above).

I have heard some more gossip but back to work for now  :P

Tig

Ergo why I didn't put ROLI up there.

You work Tigger?  My sources say you're seen in the cafeteria almost 8 hours a day.

I saw Roli do a race piece against 4 or 5 teams on Wednesday and they had open water.  Now the teams they were racing were not Platinum quality but hey you never know.

Are you saying the BIG boys are going to "fix" the races (where is my bookie) :shock: or just not going to paddle?

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Your source actually lives in the cafeteria and I don't  :wink: .

Now back on topic, what about the Koi combo team, Magnum says they are a coming and they were strong last year.

Well...let's see...who's out at the same time as ROLI...
AIAB
Nancy Lord
Saggin Dragons
Scaly Justice
Mac CC Dragons

No offence to the other teams (they are mostly women) ummm....I could see open water after their race piece. :clap:

Well....if we take the photo finish away for all the Island teams and run the races as GOROW does....I'd say they have a chance.

Hmmm guess no one is considering FODB to do well at kelowna? As far as I know they're pretty serious about this festival, maybe somewhere near the form they had at alcan.

Fodb isn't at the festival.  Juicy Delicious Fudge Apples is.

Ringers, huh?  Not like Success needs them!  Thus, I believe it's all made up!!!  I bet FCRCC just wants just to believe they gave up some of their paddlers.  Muahaha... you thought you had us fooled but we saw right through your dirty tricks!!  :lol:




yummy... I would like to have a taste of that :wink:

Hmmm "JDFA" wonder why you guys didn't go with the other name.......... :think:

You seem liked quite the confused asian, ConfusedAsian!  I think this Rossifumi guy is trying to trick us too!  Throwing our guard off with thoughts of yummy treats!!  All these conspiracies!!  Next thing you know, Team Subaru will replace all the human team members with rabid canines!!

Maybe Guido is right, the crack is starting to kick in..  :twisted:

What does that suppose to mean??

Don't take offense, Guido is just being a/an (insert word here).   :lol:

Yoohoo.. Adrian darling, someone wants a lick of your..  er nevermind..

Seriously peeps, it ain't Fodb in Kelowna.  It's Juicy Delicious Fudge Apples.  "The Fudge... it ain't for packin!"

EXCUSE ME CRACKHEAD?

I am not.....an animal.....I am a HUMAN BEING....and
Synergy....will never ever ever be a Top Ten team.

There I said it.

:rofl:

Top 14 since that is how many teams get into Platinum (or from what I hear only 12 make it into Platinum).  I guess we shall see in one week, Synergy has something to prove now, "Put 120 paddlers together can you get 20 competitive paddler out of that number?"   :lol:

Talked to somebody today and they indicated there may be men's races this year.  Anybody confirm?

lol~!  I think that's a formal challenge to a water fight... :twisted:
I say J-speed or Dregoon will end up in top 20 some where, 15 if they stack the team, 10 if they replace a few more with their coaches

what do people think of phat phish and sssteam heat?

I would take ssSteam over phat phish.  Probably hear from Bernman who will differ, but I call it the way I see it  :P

holy **** do none of you people work? :wink:

We all work I'm sure, just happen that our comps are right in front of us when we are hard at work all day  :lol:

Well Tiger you might be right. I quite frankly have no idea who SSSSteam is. Yes sometimes I get really proud of my crew and I have no problem showing it. However I don't go making predictions because everytime I do I screw it up. My gut feeling is if I have more than just 9 men (as of today that is all I have) then I would say they could very well end up in the 2nd highest division. I believe that is Diamond? Top or bottom of that division I don't know. Afterall they do have practices twice a week and should bloody well be in that division. Now have they filled the boat up at every practice? NO!! If it was the same crew that I had last weekend at the Taiwanese festival then for sure they would be there because that crew put it all together when it counted the most. They've beaten teams they would have had no chance in beating early on in the year. Afterall only about 6-8 of them have paddled before this year and the rest are pretty well newbies! However if SSSSteam is somewhere in the Rec B division as my crew was in Vancouver then they could be pretty close. Although I would like to think my crew has developed a tad more than they were back in June. My predictions though (what the hell!) are FCRCC, Pacific Reach, Subaru and Success but in no particular order. I have only seen these guys race before or know of them so that is why I just listed 4. Do I believe the crew I paddle with can be in there? Sure I do but it is so different than the crew I paddled with in Vancouver. It was even more different than that crew I paddled with in Calgary and now this is my 3rd race this season with Roli so we'll just have to wait and see.

ssSteam Heat is a victoria team they didn't enter alcan as far as i know this year. They came in second at the richmond festival behind another victoria team (correct me if I'm wrong). They're a rec team but have done pretty well this year including at the Victoria festival.

I can't believe how many unrelated posts I had to scroll past to get to here...People, keep on topic pulleeezz!

My top five

Subaru
FCRCC
Vipidi
Pacific Reach
Success

The winner will be whomever gets lane 7, aka 'The express lane'.

OMFG I can't believe someone is putting that up again. I keep hearing how there is a preferred lane every year that I am up at Kelowna. Don't you think that if this were true that something would have been done? I mean the folks that put on/run the races (me included) should consider putting in the "barney" boat in lane 7 if this is the case and see if that changes anything. But now my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. I could have sworn that Success was not in lane 7 last year, although now that I think about it, was there a lane 7? I think you meant the outter most lane so whatever number that was lets just say the outter most lane. Anyway Success was not in that lane and clearly won. And the team I was on last year I think we were in lane 3 (?) and came in third. I dunno but anyway I think those who say lane 7 or the outter lane is the faster lane is just saying that because they lost. Now please don't take my comment to be something that I am starting to stir up because I don't want to start anything up. I just think that anything can happen to any crew in any lane. Bad start, bad finish, bad middle of the race or bad steering. Anything.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL IN KELOWNA NEXT WEEKEND! AND RESPECT ALL TEAMS!

Just to refresh your memory and add a for instance (and no disrespect to Acme), but last year in the infamous 'lane 7' Acme placed 4th in the Platinum division, and they were less than have a second behind the top placers.  Now if you look at their Alcan placing and time that same year they were almost ten seconds behind these same teams.  Perhaps you could explain to me how the improved so vastly (and borrowing a few paddlers would not explain the difference).  Most teams peak at Alcan and have their fastest times.  Perhaps someone could contact Jing Du to explain currents, tides and fresh water differences.  BTW  where the hell is that Jing Du???

Look at last years results, there were 7 lanes.  Let's look at the finals (I believe Lane 7 was reserved for the slowest team in that heat looking at the advancements):

Lane 7 placing:

Paddlin on MT 2rd Silver B Final
Hex was 2nd in Silver A Final
Hot Sake 1st in Gold A Final
Team Masala 1st in Jade B Final
River Rats 2nd in Jade A final
X-Calibre 1st in Diamond B FInal
Roli 1st in Diamond A Final
Subaru 1st in Platinum B FInal
Acme 4th in Platinum A Final

See a pattern?

Bernman would you like to take back what you said.  Clearly looks like a lane advantage to me.  Some will say that the teams were even but I don't think so, looking at times and past performance.  How many people would have bet that some of these teams would beat some of the "best" teams around.   If the placings were true then I would have thought some merged teams would have been stronger this year.  Think about it, take the winner of one division and merge with an almost winner of the top division and what do you get, a Comp B team.  Doesn't make sense, that merged team should have placed higher if last year's results are to be believed.

AMO but I think there is a lane bias in Kelowna.

I don't think I have to take anything back. There are obviously good points to support your take on what you say. I don't believe I was offending anyone by what I said. Or did I? I would think not. But anyway I think all the good strong teams will simply pull it together and do as best as they can and hopefully win. So if Success were to have a lousy semi but still made it in to the finals and were placed into lane 1 as opposed to lane 3, 4 or 5 don't you think they would still win? Or how about FCRCC? Same for them? Or any team that should be up there with the best of them? Like I said you do point out some pretty good points with respect to certain teams that on any given day would not even have a chance and yet are up there. But what I would like to think is that some teams do in fact improve over where they were in Vancouver. Some teams are already at their best probably at Vancouver and work at staying there while others do make some changes and tweak a little here and there and they end up improving. Its as if I were to say "damn forget about winning guys that other team has lane 7 and we got a hope in hell of beating them!" If I were to think that way then I have no right to be out there and race or coach. Like I said some teams do in fact improve and others who have gone as far up as they can either stay there or struggle to stay there. But again I do see what you say about teams such as ACME whom I would have said at one point in time that they didn't belong in the same division as the Roli's, The Pac Reaches, The Subaru's or the Successes. But after having known a good bunch of them over their last couple years of their existance I would say they improved as a whole. Trust me I have no favourites on that team and I am not sucking up to them. Besides a good chunk of them merged with Roli and everyone knows that. So ACME is no more. Good thing too 'cuz I thought the name was kinda bland! And I could see it now my buds from ACME are not going to let me live it down. But I sure loved their team uniforms. Very nice tight fitting ones at that! LOL :oops:

Whats scary?

So what was that about female support?

oh and RGL's gonna win 'cause they got my support ;) my 2 cents of a prediction.

Bernman - Please stop using the d@mn bold all the time. It's a pain in the a$$ to read. Or maybe I should just stop reading your posts like many other people! (jk).

From what I heard, Tempest is a top 5 team from Toronto and the reason why they're coming to Kelowna is because they won free airfare. I'm not sure <how> they won this, whether by a random draw or by winning some sort of race.

no you're not......we're all with you Angus.

So....seems like we have a mixture of contingencies from across Canada.

We have the Island.
We have the Westcoast region teams(Vancouver, the Interior, Edmonton, Calgary).
We have the East(Tempest)

Should be interesting.

it should be interesting indeed... From what I predict, Tempest should do quite well as their stroke style is well-suited to Kelowna's fresh water (my best friend from Success paddled with them a few times out there).. as for taking the Platinum A though, I doubt it.. Sorry I don't keep up with the Comp teams to make a knowledgeable prediction... all I can say is good luck to everyone going, and get those bailers ready if you see a Synergy team bringing your boat back  :lol:

Not sure if there's even a debate about this, but I honestly believe that some teams don't reach their peak until Kelowna (my team has never done well at Alcan, but somehow manages to gel throughout the summer months)... As for teams that do well at Alcan and struggle to maintain their standings, I've never been on one of those teams, so I can't comment, though I wouldn't be surprised if some team does well at Alcan and gets lazy afterwards.. classic tortoise and hare

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...one more thing... what's with all the trash-talking/insult-throwing lately? I remember when this forum was just a bunch of paddling nuts who liked to share ideas and meet other paddling nuts... let's try to stay civil and keep the name-calling to a minimum ;)

I'll debate ya Willpower.

Perhaps rec/novice teams peak in Kelowna but I would say almost all competitive teams peak at Alcan.  That is where the serious competition is.  Everyone looks forward to Kelowna to relax, party and paddle.  Is there any crew that is brining there full Alcan roster to Kelowna?  Few I would think.  Training usually does slack after the intense training leading into Alcan week.  People get back to their lives during the summer.  I relate most of what I've said to reflect competitve paddlers.  So in summation I'll have to disagree with you Willpower.

I hate to give anyone kudos but ... Team Success is my pick (for what it's worth) to do damage at the top of the heap.  We definitely want another shot at them!  We've had great races against Alpha, Steam Heat, and Swordfish - look forward to battling it out on the water with all teams one more time this year.  


Sudden Impact Paddler 4 Life!

The Fish are not going up to Kelowna as a team but have "slutted themselves out to many fine teams! Good luck to everyone and C U in the beer tent!

That's NOT the grid.  DOH....it's only the times of the first heats....where's the rest?

That link's good for the whole race grid now. Hey look Ma, no 7th lane!

I think that Kelowna is becoming more of a "funfest" for some teams. One last end of season party...with a bit of paddling. Some teams seek out the strongest paddlers from other teams that aren't going, dump half of their initial crew from the season and stack their boat for Kelowna. Others take who they can get this late in the year.

Not all teams go to Alcan and for some reason this festival becomes the sole indicator of whether or not a team is good. There are a lot of other festivals that both Island teams and mainland teams go to that show continued performance throughout the season against top teams from both the Island and the mainland. Why must the "Almighty Alcan" be the only festival that counts? It seems to me that if your team didn't go to Alcan then you are a brutal team because nobody bothers to check the standings for any other festivals.  :?

Island teams take note: If you don't go to Alcan....you don't count!

Looks like I won't get to go out to Kelowna and cheer on the Vancouver teams.  Too bad, so sad.  Wishing you dragonboaters GOOD LUCK.  Kick butt out there on the water and come back with all the medals!!  I said ALL of them, aight? ;)

I have been reading now for some short time about the Van .Isle vs the Lwr Mainland and I am so glad that this will finally be put to rest this weekend.The Van Isle teams have had it somewhat easy and your about to get to play w/ the big boys this coming weekend and show what your truely made of .

 You will get to experience first hand the crews that just finished the race offs and fresh off big success in San Fran . You will will be up against teams such as FCRCC,Pac Reach,Roli & Subaru as well as Success & Tempest from out east .  :shock:  ..... seems I may have already put together the A final  .  

 The Van Island races should be considered somewhat of a cakewalk compared to what you are going to face in Kelowna.I think we will see some pretty awesome racing this weekend and will the Van Isle teams be able to keep up and make the A final ?? Guess we'll see .... :wink:

 FCRCC and Pac Reach have been on fire looking at the times they posted in Calgary .To give you an example ...the navy team ( a decent team ) was turning 2.08 when FCRCC and PAC Reach were in the 1.53 - 1.55 range . It should be, like I said ,interesting to see if the Van Isle teams can keep up w/ the mainland big boys .

 I glad to see that Success as usual has added FCRCC paddlers to their roster as well as Xtreme Reach picking up outrigger paddlers from the interior to help out . I guess they felt maybe not so confident in thier crews ..... thats too bad . Afterall this is partially a mental game and the last thing you want is your own crew doubting their own strength against the big guns .

 Anyway ,Good luck to all and enjoy the competiton and paddle your little hearts out this weekend ......

Unfortunately, my team will not be going to Kelowna, we finished our season in SF.

However, I would like to dispel something here....I believe the high end VI teams would like to compete more with the high end LML teams, it just does not seem that festival schedules, money, etc. make it possible.  I would like to point out, however, that VI teams have not only placed high at AlCAN - several teams, but have won, and have come 3rd in the World's (well, one of the VI teams anyway...just shows potential?)....to be honest, we are a somewhat smaller city and do not have the population to draw on for too many high end teams.  Having said that, Roli and Subaru were awesome to watch in SF...they did not win, but came oh so achingly close!  And they did win the mens and womens.  There were some great teams in Sf...I recommend it for a season ender.

Personally, I kind of like a rivalry as long as it does not get out of hand.   Again, when you meet a dragon boater somewhere...there seems to be a bond - it is an awesome sport.   Good luck to all the teams in Kelowna.....and may VI teams win  :lol:

A good race is an amazing thing to watch...or paddle in.

:clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :werd:

Good Luck to EVERYONE!! And see y'all there!

'The Van Island races should be considered somewhat of a cakewalk compared to what you are going to face in Kelowna.I think we will see some pretty awesome racing this weekend and will the Van Isle teams be able to keep up and make the A final ?? Guess we'll see ....  "  

I would like to meet the person that stated this....I really would....it would be interesting to see how the province's education provisions have failed.


Soooooo.....given that lml paddlers are so disdainful about the vi festivals....how did we all do?  And, frankly, did people have fun?

I gather from this thread that the more teams in a festival, the better?  Big is better?  On a logistical note, the Victoria festival will be unlikely to handle more that 100 or so teams....by the venue -- likewise, after seeing Alcan last year, I doubt it can be expanded, and I think the thing is overextended.   Now, if you wish to state that the venue sucks....I cannot think why?  

I am joking a bit....I am looking for the results from Kelowna...