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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[red]

My office (BC Children's Hospital, Pediatrics) is creating a team to race in the Paddle for Kids this year.  Is there anybody that would be interested in coaching for us on Thursday nights from 6-7:30?  We have 1 experienced member and the rest are completely new.  Please contact me at [email protected]

Cheers.

[PaddleFunk]

Didn't they tell you... you get coachng at paddle for kids... and a drummer and steers person.

Half the point of the event is that most of the paddlers don't know what they're doing.

Besides the paddling only counts for part of the points... really you should be training on how to run with a pool noodle between your legs...

[red]

Free coaching! That would save us some time and money.  We have a steersperson but no drummer yet, might need to pick one up.  Do they coach us before the paddle for kids or just at it?  The office crew wants to learn how to paddle before the event and I'm hoping they like it enough to have a team for the whole season next year.

As for the noodle race, practice practice practice ...

[BernMan]

Hey Red.

I have been a volunteer coach for Paddle For Kids now for I believe 5 years going. This year will be my 6th. Most coaches are also steerspeople. I suppose you can use your own steersperson and then the volunteer coach can be the drummer. But as Paddlefunk mentioned you get 2 volunteers per team. Both have either paddling experience or coaching or both. The goal of the event is to raise money for the kids but at the same time introduce DB paddling to those who often thought about it but were too nervous or what have you to inquire. This way about 90% if not more have never done it. Sure you get the odd team that is truly a DB team that has practiced numerous times and raced in regattas and races but they also challenge other teams (I assume!) to raise the most money between them. I don't believe they enter just to race because they know there would be very limited racing challenge from the rest of the paddlers/teams who will be there. (No offense to TD as I know you guys always raise a heck of a lot of money between yourselves and that is why I believe a good majority of your team enters. I also know a token few of your paddlers in the past have never paddled before this event so you are being good ambassadors of the world of DB racing!) Anyway Red you only need to come up with the registration fees (and more hopefully! Remember its for the kids!) and leave the coaching and drumming to the event organizers. Just hope for fantastic weather and you will definitely enjoy the day! BTW a lot of people who have never tried DB racing and only tried it at the Paddle For Kids ended up asking some of the volunteer coaches about joining an already established DB team who has room on their roster to accommodate them. So good on you to get a crew from your work and hopefully when they get their "feet" wet they will want to continue it for the new upcoming season in 2007.

[DiggerPig]

Obviously I have heard and seen pictures of the Paddle for Kids event, but have little background knowledge on it ... when, where, how much?  Is fundraising similar to other charities?  How do I get more info? 

Sudden Impact would definitely be interested in raising money for this worthy cause.  We've already been kicking around some ideas - or is this off limits to experienced teams? 

Anyone in particular I should talk too?

[Dan Hebert]

You'll find more info at http://www.paddleforkids.org. It's Sunday September 10 at Dragon Zone and Creekside Park (Science World).

It's open to all teams. You can bring your whole team intact if you want but we encourage existing teams to bring some new people because it's really a great place to try dragon boating for the first time. It's not so serious of a race and there's lots of newbies there. Some teams are intact, some teams are all newbies, and some are a blend (existing teams that merge with family and friends). There's no roster rules - your kids can paddle, you can swap paddlers, or you can paddle with more than 20 people. Put all your cousins in the boat, there's no protests at Paddle for Kids. This year we have a team coming from the island (Dog Paddlers) so they'll be in the last heat so they can ferry over in the morning. They're bringing about 10 of their paddlers and 10 newbies (that's what we like to see). We supply coaches/ drummers/ steerspeople to teams that need them.

There's an entry fee of $400 (you get tents, t-shirts, prizes, breakfast and lunch and Starbucks coffee for everyone) then the paddlers get pledges for BC's Children's Hospital, and 100% of all the pledges go to the hospital because the entry fee covers the expenses. All left-over entry fee money goes to the hospital as well. In 7 years over $200,000 has been raised for Children's Hospital.

The dragon boat portion is an obstacle course as well as a 250 metre sprint. Each team has 4 races (on the water twice, racing the obstacle course then the sprint each time). On shore is more competition. It's an action-packed day.

You can contact me for more info or hit the website. Thanks for your interest.


Dan Hebert
Organizing Committee Member
Paddle For Kids