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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[chuieXX]

wanker and right-arm....  oh i see what you guys mean now.... can't read sarcasm sometimes, my bad i apologize  , but don't worry wanker, when FCRCC posts times like they do, all teams -comp and rec- are watching their backs so you're not alone. 

[magicpaddler]

I wasn't complaining about being in the G&G.  We loved it, and had wanted to be in it.  We were dissappointed initially when we were told we were not in it.   It was the confusion about not being in then being called down to marshall after we had packed up.

The staff was not all in the know about who was entitled to race that race.   Not as clear as the regular race grid.

[Viking Paddler]

The CRC was just happy to be able to paddle in the same water as the big teams, so thanks for having us.

 

[rb]

My suggestions:

1. Having a held start would be a great improvement.

2. For the race grid and rankings, spread out the out-of-town teams into different heats. The grid can take one surprise in a heat but two doesn't work so well. Specific example: NY and Topmade surprised in Heat 10 in the first round resulting in 4 comp-level teams in one heat instead of 2. That fed into Heat 41 in the second round where there is only supposed to be 1 or 2 comp-level teams and there were 4 (Calgary Race Club, JDA, Eye of the Dragon, and Xtreme Reach). CRC went on to Comp and the other 3 from that heat went on to sweep the medals in Rec A easily, taking the medals from the Rec teams.


Thanks for the chance to give feedback.

[Secret Weapon]

race, but that's the point of dragon boat racing, sh*t happens and you paddle through. Pacific Reach 1 failed to reach comp A like most thought but you don't see them bitching on the forum do you?

They are under a very strick 'no posting allowed' rule.

[Janna]

I'm not a member of Portland Paddling Club but I can assure you, they did not intend to get into the Novice Div !  If you were able to watch the semi-finals for part of Saturday, then you would've seen what we witnessed for about 8-10 races ... there was a spot in lanes 6-7 at about 200 meters, or so, when the current just simply turned the boat virtually parallel to the course, sending it right into the lanes to port.  Even a very skilled tiller had trouble. Some avoided colliding, others did not. Some had to stop paddling and restart.

Others who witnessed this, please post.  Most False Creek paddlers I talked with thought it was an intended error or the fault of the tiller ... they could not have seen what we saw heat-after-heat that day.  Ask the course marshalls what they saw!

So, ease up on assumptions of sand-bagging.

Keep the medals ceremony happening throughout the day ... out-of-town and/or out-of-country teams must leave immediately at end of racing to return home for Monday morning jobs. The whole team is usually unable to attend late ceremonies, meaning, they miss the joy of standing up with the rest of the crew to get their medals. It works so much better for those who must travel to stagger the awards ceremonies just as they were done this year.

Better race announcing is needed! Give the mike to a pro.
We were constantly asking which race we were watching and often no one knew at the sidelines and no one announced it, either.
Skip ALL the silly chit-chat; this is not a radio talk-show.
Racers and viewers need good, clear information.  Be professional.  
We need to know just who/when/where and time - and we need it repeated several times in case we missed the first time (did not hear, for instance).
Get the team names and lanes correct, too.  
Learn team name pronunciation before the event.
Use a script and keep a running commentary of the events ...

1. Call the race at the start line with the heat#, event and team names. Repeat all of this during the race, calling, if possible, the lead teams by name.
2.  At race conclusion, repeat what event it was, with heat #.
3.  Immediately announce, "Next up will be heat #__, event ___"
4. Read out finishers (by heat# and event) for previous heats as soon as available.  
5.  If there are lane changes, notify the announcer so he/she can call it correctly.

Burn the Geminis ... yes!

Is there really a reason to marshall 2 hours early?

Keep the photo boat farther away from the course ... wake swamping issues happened in our heat on Sunday.

Don't allow giant yachts to anchor right up near the finish line ... their boat obstructed views for honest folks on the bank watching the BCS and other finishes on Sunday afternoon.  Who was that boat, anyway?

Having given all these comments, I must add, it was a superb event and we all had a really great time. There is always room to improve. Thanks for listening!!

[BlueStreak]

I didn't watch many races this past weekend but in the one's I saw, lanes 1 & 2 were the ones losing it... but I did hear of the lanes on the other side running into trouble too.

Speaking of the race commentators, the end of the science world pier (to the left of the finish line) was sorely lacking in PA speakers. IMO, this was the better place to watch races from... yet you weren't able to hear anything from the commentators there.

hrrmm, here's an idea that popped into my head... How about re-broadcasting the race commentary and marshaling announcements around the site using low power FM transmitters?? Sorta like how Canucks games inside of GM place or (on a much larger scale) the Symphony of Fire are re-broadcast so that people away from the main speakers can hear what's going on...

[BernMan]

OK as a on water official and a coach I do have a couple of comments.

First off my crew did race in both lanes 3 and 5 on Saturday. In the first race (lane 3) my steerer did have to do a sharp correction to his right as he was drifting toward the middle of the course and into lane 4. And in the second race (lane 5) he seemed to be OK. So I don't really know if there are currents affecting the outer extremity lanes but it is something of a concern I suppose. Why else would there be so many near collisions and actual collisions? My crew's steerer has been around a long time and knows how to steers very well.

As a water official I did see a lot of near hits (and actual collisions!) and they came from both sides, lanes 1 to 3 or lanes 6 to 8. It seemed to me that there was more than the usual few near hits this year compared to years past. Again perhaps the change in the water/landscape may have something to do with that. I did not steer any of the races this year so I can not comment.

I too would encourage other steers people to address that aspect. I know some of them out there steered their fair share not for just their teams but also for other teams. I imagine they could have steered from both of the sides causing the problems.

[paddleboy]

 I too heard the comments about the steering problems in the outside lanes although we were never in any outside lane .

 The problem may be the new man made island has changed the flow of the currents and tides  .I did paddle through that area last nite in my oc1 but did not experience or feel anything that made the oc1 move around so not really sure

[Mike]

This year was my first time at Alcan and I would have to say it was very enjoyable.  I only wished there were more races for each team but what can you do with an even with that size?  It was awesome to watch some top tier team race and also race against them as well.  One thing about Sunday afternoon, we were warned that it was extremely hard to hear the start from lanes 6, 7 and 8 and it was in fact almost inaudible.  I don't know if that was a problem with the speaker or just being too windy but I'm sure it hindered some teams unprepared for it.

P.S.  Burn the Geminis! 

[ConfusedAsian]

Could it be the buk, I remember the first few time steering in them I had a hard time. Did any of the FCRCC teams have a hard time in the outside lane? or was it all the other clubs that didn't have buk to practice in?

[StraightLine]

OK as a on water official and a coach I do have a couple of comments.

First off my crew did race in both lanes 3 and 5 on Saturday. In the first race (lane 3) my steerer did have to do a sharp correction to his right as he was drifting toward the middle of the course and into lane 4. And in the second race (lane 5) he seemed to be OK. So I don't really know if there are currents affecting the outer extremity lanes but it is something of a concern I suppose. Why else would there be so many near collisions and actual collisions? My crew's steerer has been around a long time and knows how to steers very well.

As a water official I did see a lot of near hits (and actual collisions!) and they came from both sides, lanes 1 to 3 or lanes 6 to 8. It seemed to me that there was more than the usual few near hits this year compared to years past. Again perhaps the change in the water/landscape may have something to do with that. I did not steer any of the races this year so I can not comment.

I too would encourage other steers people to address that aspect. I know some of them out there steered their fair share not for just their teams but also for other teams. I imagine they could have steered from both of the sides causing the problems.

I steered for 5 teams in a total of 8 races this year, not including my team as I was calling.  I steered both BuKs and Geminis (and one race in a 6-16) from lanes 1,2,3,4,5, and 8.  I can't say I really noticed any difficulties maintaining a straight course down the lane for any of the races I was in.

I'm wondering if the issue had more to due with a lack of familiarity with steering the specific boat types.  If your team practices out of DragonZone, Alcan may have been their first race in a BuK.  Both the BuKs and Geminis are light boats and will turn very quickly and easily at speed.  I could easily see a steersperson who is not familiar with a given boat type getting surprised by how easily they turn.

StraightLine.

[Aquaman]

I steered for 5 teams in a total of 8 races this year, not including my team as I was calling.  I steered both BuKs and Geminis (and one race in a 6-16) from lanes 1,2,3,4,5, and 8.  I can't say I really noticed any difficulties maintaining a straight course down the lane for any of the races I was in.

I'm wondering if the issue had more to due with a lack of familiarity with steering the specific boat types.  If your team practices out of DragonZone, Alcan may have been their first race in a BuK.  Both the BuKs and Geminis are light boats and will turn very quickly and easily at speed.  I could easily see a steersperson who is not familiar with a given boat type getting surprised by how easily they turn.

StraightLine.

I agree with this.  Anybody used to steering Dynasty's or Six-Sixteen's would be very surprised by how quickly the lighter boats turn...especially if your first experience is under race conditions, with significant wind and current. 

[IronGiant]

From StraightLine: I'm wondering if the issue had more to due with a lack of familiarity with steering the specific boat types.

I think there's two points there ... familiarity with steering (experience) and familiarity with boat types. I've done different boats, but as a non-DZ team, the 06 /07 Regattas were the first time in Geminis and BuKs respectively. Not the friendliest of introductions, but, if it is your first time, it's not like you start at the start line and suddenly have to deal with currents, speed, and an agile keel ... you at least get a feel from having to load, back out of the dock, get out of DZ, pick up speed and perhaps even do a stop and start on the way out. There are a few opportunities to get comfortable and test the helm.

At most festivals, away teams are given opportunities to practice but, given travel schedules, it's not always possible. Given the nature of Geminis and BuKs, it might be good to ensure unfamiliar steersfolk and their teams are comfortable ... quick, early, early morning trials perhaps? Late-arrival spins? Let the team sleep and provide a token boatload of volunteer paddlers - or other steerspeople - for the steers to test drive at 6am? Wait now ... what am I thinking!?

[James Cole]

One of the Wasabi tillers (with about a decade experience steering, including at the World Championships 4 or 5 times) had problems in Lane 6 in one heat.

She has extensive experience in BuKs (we own two) and has steered at Alcan for about the last 7 years.

She said she caught a big diagonal sideways swing about 1/3 of the way into the course.