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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[BernMan]

Hi all.

Now that a few days have come and gone since the festival ended this past weekend I wonder if anyone has anything to say about the racing side of things. All comments are welcomed. What did you like about the weekend's racing side of things? What did you not like about it and what would you recommend to change about it to make it better? Is there anything that needs to be changed? I am just asking for this info so that I may be able to relay it back to the race management team. Thank you for your time and consideration. 

[alunjai]

this alcan was pretty amazing this year.. !!!...

still kind of wished they huddled every team together for the award ceremony instead of just the team getting it.. !!

[dboat village elder]

Just awesome.... every race is neck and neck.

[kryssee]

It'd be nice if there was a water station for the paddlers. Especially down by the marshalling area. After our first race, we were so parched, and then realized we had a 20 min. hike to get back to the tent to get the water. Then I saw an event person walk by with a large cooler of water on ice. I ran over, asked (almost begged) if I could have one, and she quickly replied that they were only for the volunteers. I was pretty blown away. I ended up weaseling a free Red Rain (didn't have to try very hard, and I got 2) just for something to wet my lips..and we passed it around! Also, speakers in the paddlers village (if it's possible to get them that far into the "refugee camp"!) We missed alot of things because we didn't know they were happening. Like the carnation ceremony..didn't have a clue until we were walking out to our next race and we saw all the carnations in the water. 

BUT..despite those to draw backs..this was my very first Alcan..and it was great!!! (other than those awful Gemeni's! They are the devil!! lol) I've never seen so many spectators, raced against so many people at once or had such great food at a regatta before! Especially loved the free razors..hehe Maybe next year, I'll make sure to have a bus pass..so that I can get to the marshalling area faster..lol

[leftsideburt]

It being my first RTA Dragon Boat Festival ... I had no expectations at all... but man was I floored. From the treamendous growth and development of our team (our 1st year), the immense size of the festival, the comraderie of all the teams near and far... truly a weekend not to forgot nor to be missed for future years to come!

NOW, that my team is in the interim, I'm on the prowl for a team looking for a left side paddler or even a steersperson (Certified @ DZ).
Just toss me into a team with a pfd and I'll paddle you to victory!

Paddles up!

[Rice]

It'd be nice if there was a water station for the paddlers. Especially down by the marshalling area...

Good call Kryssee!!  Water in the marshalling area would've been good.

[threesea]

I was in the beer garden on Sunday and I noticed that they expanded the area after the G&G race.  This was awesome to make the extra room so that those paddlers could get in and enjoy a brew or two after their effort.

Other then that, awesome racing everyone.  Tough, tough, tough...the way it ought to be!

[rb]

Lots of positives:

- stiff competition
- great race course, lots of markers
- excellent starter woman
- results were posted quickly
- friendly volunteers
- pretty good for viewing
- the beer garden was excellent, make it even bigger next year

One down side was the confusion over the awards ceremonies, most teams just grabbed their medals with no fan fare. Also it was pretty crowded on the sidewalk by Cirque, maybe they shouldn't have had vendors there, put them in the grassy area where there's more room.

The racing side was excellent, I can't believe with so many races that it ran pretty much on time the whole weekend. Well done.

[Aquaman]

I was in the beer garden on Sunday and I noticed that they expanded the area after the G&G race.  This was awesome to make the extra room so that those paddlers could get in and enjoy a brew or two after their effort.

Of course, they had to make room for this year's bigger beer bong!!
What a terrific job by the organizers and volunteers; as usual, a very well-ran festival.
Minor quibbles regarding having easier access to drinking water at the site, lack of speakers in paddlers village, etc, but it is tough to find things to complain about this year.
We Calgarians had a terrific time.

[NFW]

Some has already been mentioned, but i'll repeat them again.

Pros:
- Starter woman was definitely great. you can expect her to say the same things everytime (read: professional)
- Dock volunteers was awesome! Thanks for bailing water from the boats whenever possible.
- Super quick results posting!
- Good amount of race markers. a couple more would be nice.
- Decent race play by play by the radio/tv guys.
- Nice to see the very classy sportsmanship from CRC, even if they did beat us in the race. I wonder if the guy shook the girl's hands longer haha

Cons:
- The water ref defending the actions of "experienced" steersperson. very unprofessional.
- Award ceremonies? what award ceremonies? oh wait, u get a box of your medals and off you go. my team waited approx an hour after the supposed 5PM awards ceremony.
- Sidewalk by the cirque was definitely a bottle neck at the most inopportune times. trying to get to the marshalling area was like dealing with traffic jam, trying to run and not poke other people with your paddles.
- Definitely NEED a water station near the marshalling area, you get really parched when you have back to back races. (ie. comp race then mens race, and for some, guts and glory right after)
One lovely volunteer managed to sneak us 2 bottles of water meant for volunteers. she was heaven sent.
- Speakers in the racers village could be a plus. i'm debating the need for knowing what's going on vs being able to rest in the tents quietly (sorta)
at times, the racers village felt like an actual village, coz u dont know what's happening until someone from the outside world (aka outside the racers village) tell you so.
- I know its not going to happen, but phasing out the Geminis for all BUKs would be awesome! =P

All in all, AWESOME Alcan with tight races and great weather!

[jeannie]

excellent race weekend, and definitely lots of positives. Only confusion was some details about the paddlers party/beer garden. Like what the tickets were for and who was taking them. But otherwise, a very good time and CRC once again came through with their new and improved beer bong
definitely a great weekend and I would second the the idea of getting rid of the geminis

[mandachan]

Congrats to whoever planned the race site this year, no sarcasm! It must have been hard to be given a small race site, with a giant circus taking half of it, dealing with everyone's ...irritable attitudes.. and above all doing this all for the 20th Alcan anniversary. What a feat 

The awesomes:
- Race starter was very professional and everything was fair.
- Jen Breakspear allowing us to strap a banana on the dragon's head is a plus.
- Everyone was in very good spirit. No teams talk down to other teams (that I know of) very good sportsmanship all around
- Very fast results postings.
- Things were overall very smooth and had a good vibe to it. Sucks I missed out on the beatles tribute concert, though.
- Volunteers did a sweet job in not only docking but other things that people don't realize, like picking up after us messy racers and helping us find the occasional lost glove, etc.
- To pull everything together in time... props to Leah and co. for their efforts. GREAT Alcan this year!


The not-so-awesomes:
- I know it's hard to cram in the entirety of Alcan into that small space we were given, but why would they put the "free giveaway" stands right along the north shore of False Creek? The skinniest walkway on site? They could've put the free giveaways near the stage, where it's wide and open
- I'm not sure why they closed off the west side of Science World, but I wish they hadn't done that. I'm sure thousands would've had much better photo/video opportunities if it wasn't closed off. Very frustrating. Of course they probably had a good reason for it...
- The half-tents. Luckily we knew the 4 teams that were around us so it was okay to share a bit of territory when the other teams aren't there. But i was just imagining if we were sandwiched between 2 teams we didn't know, and after coming back from a race, seeing one or both teams stepping on all of our belongings. Or what's worse, "permanently picking up" something that isn't theirs.
- Nobody cared about the random tents jutting out everywhere. And chairs. And FRUIT TABLES for goodness sake.
- Unclear on how to get the medals (do we.. wait for an announcement? Go to the area after we know we won our race? do we stand on that stage? do we pick up the box and hand them out at the tent?)
- Gemini dragonboats... why are they still here? Who's with me: one day we'll break into Pogue, FCRCC and DZ, and sink all the gems we can find.


Could improve by:
- Not putting free sample tents at poor locations
- Providing a water station for racers and volunteers alike
- Not really putting a speaker, (as some teams prefer to sleep in peace) but maybe a giant whiteboard at the entrance of Racer's Village announcing which heats are...
a) racing
b) marshalling
c) premarshalling
They don't even need to list the teams that are in each heat, as the captains/managers of the teams should take care of it. It's easy to change anyway, and the announcer at the entrance of the village could just put them up when she gets the info that the next heat is starting. Also teams that know they're up soon would be leaving anyway to warm up or listen for their name by Dragonzone. The announcer at the village was awesome though.
- Giving 2nd and 3rd place ribbons to the consolation heats. A 2nd place in C consolation gets nothing, but a 2nd place in D champ gets something...

ah well the thrill of the race was good enough for us

Anyway, ill finish my complaints.

UNTIL NEXT SEASON, FOLKS 

[Martini]

Overall very impressed. I thought it was a very well run event, especially given its size. Excellent competition, races ran on time, marshalling area was well organized and efficient, good crew of volunteers on the docks, great location for the beer garden, the organizers getting the sun to shine, etc, etc.

Minor complaints: location of the paddlers village and the bottle neck getting to and from (I realize this was probably a one off); no medal ceremony; the delay starting the "guts and glory".

[LittleSchrodinger]

I'll agree with much of the positive, and also some of the not so good stuffs. Getting from racer's village to marshalling was practically hell on Sunday, with the crowded walkway and blistering sun. It's already hard enough that it's a good distance further than ever before, but having all those stands plus bleachers and speakers alongside is just asking for overcrowding. Gemini are still here, and that's not so good when entry into competitive from recreation is based on time. Either find a way to compensate for the different boat or make it so that if rec teams have a shot at comp, they all race the same bot instead.

[Mike]

the delay starting the "guts and glory".

I think the delay was something unpreventable.  Giant whale sized boat in the way