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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[puppy]

For those teams who participated in a great event, supporting the BC Children's Hospital, did you enjoy the festival?

What did you like/dislike about this fundraising festival? What would you have added/changed/omitted from this fundraising festival?

[puppy]

Adding Alex (the race announcer) was a positive thing....

[BernMan]

I have been doing this festival/fundraiser for quite a few years as a volunteer coach/steers person. And it seems that some teams are just way up there with their competitive level that they just don't get it! This is supposed to be a festival for people who have never done it before. Now I do understand that some of the actual DB teams did really well in the fundraising dept but they shouldn't be putting their whole actual crew on a boat for this event. They will win every time they are out there. It could be discouraging for other teams who only come out for this event once a year. Just my two cents worth. Although I wholly support the cause as we all either have children or have little ones in our lives who one day may need the services of the BC Children's Hospital.

[BernMan]

A good point you made puppy in the PM you just sent me. Yes the team that I was referring to is a very good group that does not get in your face especially since they did win every heat. They are obviously not there for winning because there just isn't any competition for them there. And its not about the competition anyway. However your suggestion that we should pool all available experienced paddlers and divide them up evenly for the other teams is a valid one. Maybe the organizers can limit the number of paddlers on a team that comes together for this one yearly event so that it can allow up to 4 experienced paddlers to jump on their boats and assist them. But then will there be enough paddlers willing to spend a good chunk of a Sunday for that purpose? No question that a lot of us who were there yesterday and in the past have no problem with that but now we will need a few more volunteers. No?

[soma_paddler]

Well said, BernMan. Having participated in this event for several years, the teams that seem to have the most fun (and raise the most $) are the teams who are new to the sport and are competing against teams with comparable skill levels. While they are there ostensibly to race, they are also there for a much more important reason. This event isn't about murdering your competition or stacking your team to get the best result - the goal is to raise money for sick kids and have a little fun in the process. Limiting the number of experienced paddlers per team would be a good change, and I doubt that we'd need too many more volunteers - as you said earlier, we all have our little reasons for participating in this event, and it only takes one beautiful day out of the year.

All in all - it was a fabulous day! Great weather, fun racing, goofy Olympcis and lots of $$$ raised for the BCCHF. Way to go, all volunteers, sponsors and teams!!!  

[StraightLine]

Let's not dance around the subject, BernMan, the team you don't seem to want to name is TD Lightning and yes, their roster was made up of their regular crew.

TD Lightning attends Paddle for Kids on behalf of their sponsor TD Canada Trust and takes their responsibility to positively represent TD Canada Trust in the community very seriously.  I believe TD has been supporting Paddle for Kids since the beginning and has been one of the top fundraising teams during that time.

As for TD's performance on the water, does it hurt having some experienced teams demonstrating the sport to the few hundred potential recruits attending the event?  I noticed that the biggest crowds along the railing seemed to be when TD was on the water.

I know of more than a few paddlers who have joined the sport after attending Paddle for Kids.  If anything, it wouldn't hurt to have a few more regular teams attend the event and then we could have a "competitive" division and really demonstrate the sport.  I'll bet that many of the attendees at Paddle for Kids have never attended Alcan or one of the other fesitvals.

And a number of the TD paddlers did join other crews that were short for their races.

All in all, another great event and $46,000+ raised for Children's Hospital.

StraightLine

[Secret Weapon]

I agree with Straightline.  I think it would be a great idea    to have a few experienced crews in a demonstration race, no prizes.  Then have them all jump on different boats to teach and help out.  A great way to introduce the sport to the future paddlers, young and old.  Good job Straightline  

[BernMan]

are people I enjoy socializing and racing with. My wife and I have paddled with many of his crews in either the DB races or the long boat races. I know a good handful of them and am not slamming them in any way. They are all good people. I hope my post did not come across that way. While I am aware that the bank is a big supporter it was not the actual bank that I was trying to speak about. It was about the crew. Now Ray knows that I told him he should relax and not think about winning all the time. But the people that I spoke with actually were not looking forward to racing against them because they knew they were going against a crew who practices and races in DB's all the time. So I was trying to eliminate the fears of going up against a crew such as TD's. As for putting in more actual DB teams in and do a demonstration heat if you will is also a very good idea. In exchange though I would think those members of the crews should then stick around for the duration of the fundraising event and hop on boats to offer some guidance. It has to be worked out that's for sure but it can be done.  8)

[BernMan]

Straightline and others who know me personally I believe you should identify yourselves to me in person or a PM. I keep reading what is being posted when people address me directly that I swear sometimes it seems I am being taken a shot at. So if I knew you and you did take a shot at me I would at least know how to take it. If I don't know you and read the things that are said in here it can be taken offensively. For those who know me I have been very straight forward and haven't insulted any of you personally.  I have been told that I am very practical at times. And yes I have taken small shots at some of you but that is because I know you personally Or I know who you are. But it is usually followed with an emoticon of some sort to show it was tongue in cheek or said jokingly. I have far too many friends in the DB world to start worrying about not offending anyone that the last thing I wanna do is put something down in writing that can be perceived the wrong way entirely! For all I know I could know a whole lot of you but not by way of these nicknames we use. Mine is so straight forward to tell who I am. I have the the teams that I am involved with listed in my profile that it is next to impossible to know who I am! Oh and my real name is in my nick name too!

[puppy]

OK...let's get this back on line....for those who atteneded the fundraising festival, what else would you recommend, add or delete from the festival? Did you like the mini olympics? the racing format? the venue?

[DuckMan]

You know what.. I wouldn't change a thing. I had a great time besides having my paddle getting punctured by a novice stroke and splitting down the middle :-p.  guess I learned my lesson..

At least my new hotness jet paddle is ready today.

It's a fun event, we're all there to raise money regardless of how we do. The final ringer boat for Power Smart was a great mix of novice, roli and drunk'n paddlers. All so we could beat Rick..  Not looking forward to practice tonight.



 8)

[soma_paddler]

Venue: Good, although we could have done without the swamp in racer's village. Convenient for those driving or taking transit. And great viewing opportunities from onshore. Marshalling worked well. The parking siutation was a little unfortunate. A few people I knew had to pay $10 in the supposedly free parking area (due to the Bell Canadian Open parking I suppose).

Entertainment: the DJ was awesome (his choice of tunes had me dancing all day). And it was great that he was calling some of the races, so you knew what was going on even when you weren't racing.

Mini-Olympics: these are fun, although I missed the scavenger hunt this year. Blindfolded puzzle was my favourite. A few co-workers couldn't walk after doing the "noodle" race.    The scheduling of on- and off-water activities kept everyone busy and interested.

Races: potentially add more boats to each heat so that you can race more than twice over the course of the day. Love the obstacle course - wouldn't change a thing. Adds a different dimension to the racing (and a workout for the steersperson)!

One thing I would change? Bring back the Triple-O!

[mildseven]

Venue: Good, although we could have done without the swamp in racer's village.

Pretty tough to avoid the wet grass in September if they don't cut it short. Maybe bring some giant hair dryers next year?

The parking siutation was a little unfortunate. A few people I knew had to pay $10 in the supposedly free parking area (due to the Bell Canadian Open parking I suppose).

The free parking area was right behind Dragon Zone and I think had plenty of room. The Bell Canadian Open parking was west of the concrete barriers. The thing is those Open parking people had no clue there was a Paddle for Kids event and free parking for the paddlers on the east side, so they most likely thought everyone was there for golf. I just drove past them as they tried to wave me to the west lot (one rather aggresively ) but it seems other people were fooled.

I agree the DJ/Announcer was good and the mini-olympics kept everyone busy between races. More races would never hurt since dragon boaters seem to have an endless appetite to paddle but I was fine with two obstacle and two sprint races. Thinking forward to next year, I'm going to try and get more novices to participate. It's a great introduction to the sport although getting thrashed by an experienced crew might dampen that a bit.

[puppy]

If the fundraising event did go longer, (too fit more races), would that be an issue for the majority?

Or is the current event's duration good enough?

[StraightLine]

Thinking forward to next year, I'm going to try and get more novices to participate. It's a great introduction to the sport although getting thrashed by an experienced crew might dampen that a bit.

The novice team I was steering for were estatic at the fact they had the 2nd fastest combined time for the obstacle course and were not all that far off the time set by TD.  So having experienced crews racing isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The job done by Alex (DJ/Announcer) was fantastic and added a great element to the races.  Hopefully he'll be back next year.

Pretty tough to avoid the wet grass in September if they don't cut it short. Maybe bring some giant hair dryers next year?

It wasn't so much that the grass was wet in the morning, but the fact that ground was saturated.  Behind one tent there was actually a small lake!  I've never noticed a drainage problem at that location before; did someone forget to turn off the sprinklers?

StraightLine