Dragon Boat West

Now that the big Alcan Festival is behind us, which teams have impressed this year from last,  and which teams have disappointed?

My top teams that have impressed:

Eye of the Dragon - Rec A 6th in 2005 to Bronze in Comp C this year
ROLI - gearing up for Club Crews, they have really brought their game up
Strath DWW - Comp A last year and Comp A this year....but they've shown improvement and they have been able to post sub-two times this year.
ACME - after a one year hiatus coming back for a silver in Comp B

Teams that have disappointed this year:

Alpha - Comp B Bronze in 2005 to a Rec A Consolation...ouch!
PowerBar - Comp C in 2005 to Rec B this year
FODB - Comp A in 2005 to Comp B this year. That's still nothing to sneeze at, but they look like they've lost a gear or two.

Anyone else have thots on which teams have been hot and which have been not?

How about Los Angeles Racing Dragons (LARD)?  First place in Rec A in 2005 and this year with first place in Comp C.

RGL? rec b finals this year comp C 2nd

they're not hot.  they're Ridiculously Good Looking.   8)

Fresh had several rookie paddlers in the boat and less than half the same squad as that which made Comp A in 2K5.    You can call it a disappointment, I think other than a little bit of pride amongst veteran teammates, you'll be the only one saying that. 

rightarm: The learning dr.evil has clearly demonstrated that his/her knowledge only extends to the limits of seeing what's on paper.   We all know that reading numbers and alphabets is only part of the equation of one's journey in enlightenment.   I wonder if the ignorant doctor should prescribed brain surgery onto him/herself..   Actually.. let me retract my statement as some people in this world are just lost causes..

Zephyrantes & Rightarm:

Like I said, Comp B is nothing to sneeze at for FODB. I think Alan has done a great job coaching the team over the last few years. I am not just limiting myself to "what's on paper". I actually think FODB was technically better last year than this. As Rightarm pointed out, there are rookie paddlers on the team this year which would explain why the team looked better last year. Give them more seasoning and experience and I have no doubt they will improve.

Turnover on most teams is a fact of life from year to year. It's one of the things that makes our sport so interesting in that you never know what to expect come racetime, or from year to year.

My comments were not meant to "diss" FODB. And I apologize to anyone on FODB or on this forum that may have misinterpreted as such. I respect them as a team, their coach and their accomplishments. My comments were merely based on my observations from watching them at regattas and out on the water and my opinion is that I thought the 2005 version of FODB looked technically better than the 2006 version of FODB. That's it.

btw Zephyrantes....

I don't know where you get on off on name calling or personal attacks....but I think one can have an intelligent debate and discussion without resorting to such juvenile tactics. If you feel my comments are offside or worth a rebuttal, you can do it in a civilized manner without the personal attacks. You can learn a thing or two from Righarm on this point.

WHO'S NOT HOT...

Dr Evil  :upsidehead: for starting this post which will only result in some team's ego getting a boost and some teams getting bruised.  I'm all for the boosting but let's leave teams who we know did not fair this well at Alcan out of it, things happen to teams over seasons for what ever reasons and as long as everyone still loves and enjoys the sport that's all that matters.  Theyr'e are no "not hot" teams.  Paddle on everybody!

doctor: JUVENILE TACTICS, eh?   Wow... I really don't know what to say.   You've beaten me in this department as I think you've just proven yourself to be a hypocrit.   

If you did look beyond just the words and numbers on paper, you wouldn't even need to have started this topic.   Each team goes about their ups and downs and rebuilding stages.   Had you maybe done your "research" (which you should if you're going to start this sort of... JUVENILE topic), you'd see that there are reasons for teams ranking the way they did.

Yes, I also believe that I did go about my "personal attack" on you in a civilized manner.   I could've used STUPID, but instead I chose IGNORANT (both of which differ in definition, unless if you're going to prove me right again by not differentiating the two).   I also used the word LEARNING doctor, which merely means that you should maybe spend more time RESEARCHING your claims other than just taking what you know from the results.   

I'm sorry if you consider my tactics as "juvenile".   I guess in this case, sometimes, one has to stoop to another's level in order to get the message across.   "WHO'S HOT and WHO'S NOT - 2006" seems quite juvenile/"high schoolish", does it not?

Zephyrantes....then let's end the thread here now shall we? The forum gains nothing from us continuing our mudslinging at each other. Let's move on....

ok

Thank you Zephyrantes....

that was nothing.  you should read some of the PMs he sent me 3yrs ago before we became friends.  :lol: 
in all seriousness though, there was little juvinille about his post (and i tell him up front when i think he's being an ass or a bit over the top).  i dont' know why you are shocked at a "personal attack", seeing as he was merely commenting on the starter of the thread, YOU. 

as for FODB's 'ranking' this year compared to previously, my opinion varies strongly from yours, with an inside perspective.  i think technically, this year, we were on level ground with before (especially given all the technique changes that the team went through since last year), but there was something missing on another level.  not going to get into it here because frankly its of no one else's business, but there you have it. 
this year was a very different year for most teams out on the water.  there have been TONS of changes to most rosters.  i think it was a matter of who adapted to those changes best and whole made the most of them that were able to pull through where they did.  i think all teams put forward a solid effort, whether it was a complete rebuilding year, or a stepping stone year. 

Colossus:

I was not so much "shocked" at a personal attack, but more disappointed.  But Zephyrantes and I have a truce and I will leave my comments at that. No need to re-hash. We've agreed to move on.

In hindsight, I certainly screwed up with that thread. Definitely not my intent. I should've thought it through more before posting. For that, I do sincerely apologize to everyone that took offence.

As for my true intent in initiating the thread, it was to initiate discussion around what teams are doing from a paddling technique perspective. I used race results as a starting point for discussion and was hoping that we could start drilling down from there. Such as:  What are they doing to improve? What changes can we see in their technique?  How are they paddling differently? What are the major changes do we see in the team from year over year? I wanted to dig beyond the cliches of "they're training 5 times a week", "doing extra cardio" etc. I consider myself a student of the sport. For me, to watch the other teams gives me an appreciation of the technical aspects of their game. What the other teams do, I can learn from to improve my own paddling and coaching abilities. The way I started this thread was to be "tongue in cheek" and came across poorly. I accept full responsibility for that.

Gee, now that the early Alcan festival is over...who is hot?  I think the Gorging Dragons won it, again?  Dragonauts from Victoria were strong....as was Sweet and Sour.

I tend to think that this site is Vancouver-centric?

Victoria teams are still practicing and preparing for August.  Nice to see some of us in, or at, the top so early in the season.

 :lol:  gotta admit....dragon boating is FUN!

All is good.

Dr Evil you're hot again in my books!  Kudos to you for your last post  :clap:

awwww  isn't that cute....  :lol:

i like your intentions dr evil, but like you've realized, the way that the thread came across didnt' quite do them justice.

mmmm tasty. 

Fodb has a new crew, just like It's 2003 again.  Really this is old news, all teams tend to change faces after 3-4 years.

Although the mix this time is definately different.  Before it was all 100% fresh meat.  This time around we've got a few grizzled old veterans, a smattering of 'up and coming' rec level paddlers', and more fresh meat.  You'd think it'd be an advantage, but it can be tough to get everyone on the same page, same direction. 

Fresh has always had ok results, but one thing we talked about this year was, "hey, ok so we had pretty good results the last few years, but we're a new mix now.  We're not entitled to the same results and speed, we have to earn our way back up."

I don't know if this gets talked about much, but I wonder if people realize the real trick is getting the most speed you can out of your team, while they're around?  A particular mix isn't going to be around forever.  I am talking here about rec teams that don't do the A/B format, tryouts, timetrial cuts etc though. 

So Dr. Evil, you're right in your thoughts, although the delivery could have used some massaging, but it's nothing you have to apologize for.    But there's always more to it than simple results, there's always another race.

Tho don't be surprised by Zephy's initial reaction.  He's a guy who loves his team, and everyone knows you can't get enough people like that.