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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[Oldtimer]

Have you seen the Vancouver Sun today?? The festival event has gotten smaller, and the entertainment is not as varied. With the registration fees as high as $2000 per team with only 4 races.

 Wonder where the fees are going too???

As a paddler since 1989 you sure do not get the bang for your buck.   

[puppy]

Although, I do not know all the finances for this festival, please consider the following:

Where do the boats come from? Who pays for them? Some of the are borrowed, but some of them belong to ALCAN. These boats have a life span too. Repairs to these boats, heads/tails/drums.....
The Paddles and life jackets (which have a limited life span).
Hiring a professional water official group to run the races....
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The rental of tents, stage, location, race officials and other supplies?
The docks.
Gas for the water official boats.
Two full days of racing
Paddlers party at the end
Entertainment
Garbage Removal
Porta potties
Insurance...
Food for all the countless and dedicated volunteers
Profit, so that the money can help fund the following years.

Things are getting expensive in Vancouver.....

If you haven't looked around, buying a house, renting a car, transportation costs are all going up.  I think it's more prudent to ask this question.."Why can't I buy a house in Vancouver for under $500,000K?  I've lived here for over 30 years. Same logic.

Ultimately, the festival funds are not stretching as far as before. The festival will need to become more creative in offering a superb class event and try to continue this year after year.

I know that some other festivals offer similar festivals and have lower entrance fees. Please remember, some of them are solely sponsered by their local tourism board. They love when racers come to their town...because we bring so much revenue to their city.

If we want a world class event, coupled with competitive racing, we all need to understand how much it cost to run a festival....By asking the question, "What do we get for $2000", is valid...but truly, this is not a cheap festival to run. If you have any suggestions, please join the board and help find ways to bring the entrance cost down and keep this festival as big as it is.

There is an easier way to bring the entrance fee down...cut out all the FRILLS ..just treat it like the ALCAN Regatta....if that's what you want....this type of setup will be way cheaper...no sponsors, no tents, no stage, no food, no media coverage, no frills...just racing....

My real point is, until you really know the overall overhead of this festival, it's too easy to say, "it cost too much".

Secondly, do you think someone is getting "rich" on our $2K entrance fee for each team? If so, I want to know who it is....

[BernMan]

Me thinks puppy is sick and tired of hearing the same question over and over again, eh puppy? 

But you know oldtimer is not alone in asking that question and won't be the last one either! However if anything I think the cost for teams to join has been relatively stable. I seem to recall in my very first years of paddling, which is 1992, I think it was just in the low teens in terms of hundreds. So now with early bird registration it is in the upper teens in terms of hundreds to race. So basically plan it early and pay it early and your costs should be reduce somewhat.

But very good point puppy.... there are lots of costs involved to run such a huge event over 2 full days.

Good luck to you and your teams pup!

[Colossus]

The Paddles and life jackets (which have a limited life span).

some of the PFDs should definately be retired....    and perhaps a small handfull of LONG paddles for those who need more than a 49 who don't have their own.

[Lethal Weapon]

And who can forget the $$ of the Geminis! (sorry, Maybe this should be in the Rant Post!)
IMHO I think Alcan is a great festival. Well run, good racing, and will probably continue to be the proving grounds for western teams for a while
Some say its too early but any later and there will be too much overlap with other festivals.

Besides, what would ALL Puppy's teams have to do if there was no race!

[Oldtimer]

Most people that help out are volunteers. I think the lady at the top gets paid big $$$ !!!, also the person that started it all here in Vancouver.

With the Sponsors ie: Cathy Pacific. They also paid to advertize their company.. look around this weekend with all the companies that will have banners all throughout the festival. Your telling me that these companies did not paid a cent to put a banner up???

[puppy]

Agreed, there are some key sponsors, but not all of them give money....IE the Army....this group has been so dedicated and supportive in supplying the tents and their time....Nester's have helped out with supplying food to some of our volunteers...etc....

Before we start making making assumptions:

why not ask Ann Phelps directly:

Ann Phelps - General Manager
T: (604) 688-8300
E: [email protected]


Oldtimer, I don't disagree that the entrance fee is high (especially for a lot of new teams) and it's tough getting sponsorship for our own teams...but please remember, running this type of festival, is not cheap and I would not be surprised if it gets more expensive over the years....

I know that we will loose some of the novice/recreational teams that can't afford it....but if you have any suggestions on how to bring down the overall cost and still run a similar competitive race...please tell Ann and the board.

 

[puppy]

And who can forget the $$ of the Geminis! (sorry, Maybe this should be in the Rant Post!)
IMHO I think Alcan is a great festival. Well run, good racing, and will probably continue to be the proving grounds for western teams for a while
Some say its too early but any later and there will be too much overlap with other festivals.

Besides, what would ALL Puppy's teams have to do if there was no race!

Yeah, let's not bring up those Gemini's...having nightmares again.....

[StraightLine]

Where do the boats come from? Who pays for them? Some of the are borrowed, but some of them belong to ALCAN. These boats have a life span too. Repairs to these boats, heads/tails/drums.....
The Paddles and life jackets (which have a limited life span).

Actually, I suspect a lot of the boat and equipment maintenance is paid for out of revenues from DragonZone which is part of the CIDBFS.  There are what, forty or fifty teams practicing out of DragonZone, each paying up wards of $2,000 for a years worth of practices.  So, in a sense, teams practicing out of DragonZone are subsidizing the Alcan festival.

Not to take away from what the festival does.  They put on a great event and as puppy noted, things are getting more expensive every year.  It probably doesn't help that the festival site is being squeezed by all of the construction going on either.

StraightLine.

[puppy]

Squeezed out, is an understatement, Straightline...On the north side, we have Cirque and on the south side, construction for 2010 olympic village...

It will be interesting to see what happens to our race site, next year.

I would love to see Dragon Zone and Alcan have a permament home (with showers, lockers, boat shed, different boats, etc) @ False creek...that would be most ideal....

PS are you wearing your beanie cap? this weekend....

[puppy]

Me thinks puppy is sick and tired of hearing the same question over and over again, eh puppy? 

But you know oldtimer is not alone in asking that question and won't be the last one either! However if anything I think the cost for teams to join has been relatively stable. I seem to recall in my very first years of paddling, which is 1992, I think it was just in the low teens in terms of hundreds. So now with early bird registration it is in the upper teens in terms of hundreds to race. So basically plan it early and pay it early and your costs should be reduce somewhat.

But very good point puppy.... there are lots of costs involved to run such a huge event over 2 full days.

Good luck to you and your teams pup!

Thanks Bern...hope you don't loose another bet to your team.....See you on sat/sun

[Lethal Weapon]

I think the high price of admission is for people to watch the guy at the bridge direct traffic for the Guts and Glory race....
Fast and the Furious - False Creek Drift.....Woof!

[Secret Weapon]

FYI.  approx 170 teams x's $2000= $340 000, plus men's and women's teams.  That's a whole lot of $$$$$$.  I don't think it costs $340 000 to put on the Alcan festival with all the volunteered items and staff.  Is there not an annual budget released on this. 

[Oldtimer]

 I was going to put that in Secret Weapon, you beat me to it. Don't forget the GST & PST. I agree with you  Secret Weapon, also each Sponsors like Cathy Pacific gives about $50,000-75,000 for having their name all over the site and in the programs.  Look at the passes for the racers this year. Paper!!! They should be laminated. When they get wet and it will they will rip.

This Alcan Festival is over $$$, no wonder the smaller festivals are having so much fun. Like Victoria, Kelowna (which Alcan festival is running it),the best medals are at the Tawainese festival on Sept. long weekend.
 
 

[adbf]

Yep Alcan is not the cheapest festival but they did drop the fees this year by $100 (that is what we were told anyways).  Again it appears they are trying to listen to the paddlers (finally), still expensive but you can always go to Richmond and have 3 blind people timing for you and nothing to do except watch the grass grow, probably why it is only $500.

If you actually look the racing side is the same size this year as last, I counted the number of teams, yeah slow day at work.