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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[junkie]

i think this is one of the better alcan festivals ive been to in my 6 years of paddling.   no real complaints at all...just a few suggestions.  

1.  a huge screen for live races, replays, and finish times similiar to the harrison hot springs festival a couple of years ago.  (im sure its likely very expensive for it but hey, you have to admit, its pretty cool)  

2.  a water station is a great idea!

3.  one medal awarded for the consolation round.   there was past talk on this forum regarding this issue and whether or not there should be medals issued or not.  i say compromise.  how about just ONE medal being awarded, winner takes all.   this way, at least there is still something to race for in that final race.  

4.  no extra tents/tables/chairs allowed in the walkways.  

5.  professional photographers.   did i miss seeing them this year?  were they there?  last year, it was pretty cool to be able to buy pictures of your team/yourself racing.  while we're on this topic, still race pictures displayed on the big screen would be pretty cool too.  

[coach]

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.

Advancement is based on points then time. The seeding is usually done well so the points work out. When the points are tied time is used, but the time used isn't the actual time but differential time, that is your time compared to the average time of your heat. Everyone in your heat has the same boat, wind, tide and starting point therefore it's fair. For example, if the average time in your Gemini heat was 2:25 and you're 2:15 that's -10 seconds, compared to another team in a BuK heat with average time of 2:20 and their time is 2:12 for a differential of -8 seconds. So you are faster even though you were 2:15 and they were 2:12. It's a bit more involved than that but that's the concept. Alcan does it very well using a lot of programming ahead of time so it's automated. Almost all the teams end up in a suitable division with close competition. Very rarely is there a final with a team winning by a huge margin. I give them credit for this, they put a lot of effort into it. It worked out pretty well again this year, lots of close races. Maybe start a separate thread if you want to discuss this more.

One more suggestion for you Bernman, have the medal ceremonies in the beer garden. Spread them out, so say an hour after the race give the medals on a podium or stage in the beer garden so the teams can be acknowledged. Rec E at 3:00, Rec D at 3:15, etc.

They have awards in the beer garden in Nanaimo and it's been done other places and it works well if there's room.

The 20th Alcan was great.

[LittleSchrodinger]

Ah. Thanks alot for explaining that, coach. That certainly cleared up a few things.

[paddling geek]

Maybe I've been around a tad to long, but I always have looked forward to having ALL the awards given out after the last race on Sunday..  In a non beer garden setting, as last time I checked juniors teams aren't allowed in beer gardens.

[Aarsace]

My 7th Alcan, and I certainly enjoyed it.  It's always been a world-class event.

I agree with most of the comments so far.  The consolation medal (or some sort of prize) is an idea that has merit.  Other thoughts:
-  Spacing was a little out of proportion as some areas were packed (passage to racers tent, beer gardens) while others weren't used as much (grass area by stage, VIP lounge).
-  Aluminum Chef was a cool idea although I didn't get to watch it (how did it do?).
-  Sorry but I'm not a fan of the commentator that comes back year after year.  It would be nice to have someone from the dragonboat community that knows a little more about the sport and teams involved.  Would be nice to know a few things about other teams' history, different techniques used, etc.  Also a very odd feeling when you're pumped to race and he horribly mispronounces your team name for everyone to hear (didn't happen to us this year).
-  Some teams had to endure team tents in super-dusty, rocky areas.  We did, which isn't a big deal to me, but seeing dust all over the Dogwood Nothin' tent was a little sad.
-  Most people I know aren't fans of dragon dollars and beer tickets.

Bottom line for me though, is that Alcan is a great event that I look forward to every year.  The premarshalling-marshalling-boarding-alignment-finishing-docking process is organized extremely well, considering 8 teams x 22 racers = 176 people plus staff, Aquabus patrons, etc. per heat.  Kim (starter) continues to do a great job at the line.  You know it's finally time when you hear her voice.  The organizers also continue improving on staying on schedule every year.

It was great that it was finally sunny and the event drew record attendance.

More than anything I hope dragonboat will always have a home in the vertically-exploding City of Vancouver.

[BernMan]

Sue (starter) continues to do a great job at the line.  You know it's finally time when you hear her voice.

More than anything I hope dragonboat will always have a home in the vertically-exploding City of Vancouver.

Her name is Kim. And yes I too hope dragon boat racing will always have a home in the city of Vancouver!

[Aarsace]

My bad!  Shook her hand 3 or so years ago.
Has a daughter that paddled for RaceFace?

edit:  Thanks to Phat Phish for that insane last race, by the way.  Cheers!

[kryssee]

-  Most people I know aren't fans of dragon dollars and beer tickets.

Oh ya, those dragon dollars!! What was the point of having them?? Other than making money on unused dollars! What a was of time, standing in line to get them! And if we didn't have dragon dollars, that would have freed up spots for other vendors. It was interesting, seeing people handing out flyers on "going green", yet we had to go buy dragon dollars that were most likely not made with recycled paper..a bit ironic, no??

[magicpaddler]

Only comment I can make that hasn't been made already.

There was a noticeable presence missing in the marshalling area (Not mentioning any names).  Makes marshalling so much more entertaining.

[Aquaman]

Only comment I can make that hasn't been made already.
There was a noticeable presence missing in the marshalling area (Not mentioning any names).  Makes marshalling so much more entertaining.

Agree, MP.  While the marshalls did an adequate job, Alcan just isn't Alcan without a certain someone, um, doggedly getting the teams ready for races...I assume he will be barking in Vernon, however?

[shuynh28]

-  Most people I know aren't fans of dragon dollars and beer tickets.

Oh ya, those dragon dollars!! What was the point of having them?? Other than making money on unused dollars! What a was of time, standing in line to get them! And if we didn't have dragon dollars, that would have freed up spots for other vendors. It was interesting, seeing people handing out flyers on "going green", yet we had to go buy dragon dollars that were most likely not made with recycled paper..a bit ironic, no??

Perhaps Alcan came up with the dragon dollars for security reasons?
I'm guessing it would be a good idea to have all the money in one safe place as opposed to each vendor having their own cashbox.
I don't know what security is like around their stands but I imagine it would be a pain to have to keep a watchful eye on the thing, especially when it gets really really busy. Admission was free so anyone could have just wandered in and tried to rob somebody.. that would have been chaos.
I'm assuming thieves won't steal dragon dollars lol.

[Martini]

the delay starting the "guts and glory".

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

Yeah, I guess my point was that it would have been nice if that could have been prevented. Wasn't an issue during any of the other races so I assume so arrangments had been made. Not a huge issue but as someone who had a plane to catch the delay in starting the "Guts and Glory" seriously cut into my beer drinking time. Thank goodness for the beer bong.

[Special K]

Perhaps Bernman can shed some light on the real reason to the delay of the G&G. I'm assuming like me, most missed the chase boat impromptu huli drill  . Must have been a crowd pleaser!

[brainiac]

Perhaps Bernman can shed some light on the real reason to the delay of the G&G. I'm assuming like me, most missed the chase boat impromptu huli drill  . Must have been a crowd pleaser!

Yeah, I heard about it and was wondering how on earth someone could capsize that skiff, which was lent to the festival by FCRCC.

[cookie]

Can we possibly be talking about a very cute little "puppy"? heehee

Only comment I can make that hasn't been made already.

There was a noticeable presence missing in the marshalling area (Not mentioning any names).  Makes marshalling so much more entertaining.