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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[paddleboy]

 It's sunday nite now ,todays training is going awesome w/ the men's team getting better and better each time we hit the water .I see more teams have entered into mixed totalling 18 inc the Ukraine & Maccau and there are 20 countries in the open .

 The course is shallow and the boats actually noseing into the water on the catch which is something we were not expecting so we are working to try to limit this  which is a real challenge in itself. More teams on the water ,the ozzies are useing a much higher stroke rate than prior ,more like the asian teams but not really sure its working for them ......time will tell .The european teams seems to move the boats well ,the iran men's team was on the water this morning and looked pretty good but they just paddled around the course and did a couple of very short bursts so can't really tell much.The guys are mostly in their 20's ,very fit and wearing olympic symbols on their shirts so not sure exacly what that means .

 Anyway ,we head to the race site really early tomorrow so I need to head ,we'll see what surprises show tomorrow the the course .....it's interesting seeing all the different styles

[paddleboy]

 Today alot more teams were on the course such as the iranian women who actually looked very good and they were wearing the traditional berka headgear ,the chinese men and women were there and even at one point took a smoke break.......i'm not joking ,anf then came back on the course .

 We first ran into them this morning at 6 am breakfast where we all lined up to enter but the rest. was closed .There was us ,followed by the chinese women ,then men,iran,australia and whoever else was in the hotel. The doors opened and we lined up to get food but the chinese bolted and rushedthe line and grabed most whatever they could ,it was a feeding frenzy.......unreal to watch .Poor ozzies were left with little,lol.Chinese are very dominate in there actions here .....tomorrow moring is the second heat for the breakfast line at 6 am and this time Team Canada will be ready ,trust me !

 We finally saw the India men's team and they appear to be a rec level team with not a lot of experience and some serious timing issues but hey at least they entered and will learn alot.The powerhouse Phillipines finally showed looking stonger and taller this time and it was strange because they were mostly wearing touce's pulled down low and heavy jackets and looking very very GHETTO !!....the temp was mid 20's .

 I see our famous dbw photographer Lethal has shown up here in Prague so expect some great pictures of the action

 1 more day of practice then we take it to the line ......2000 meter first up

[Illuminate]

Today alot more teams were on the course such as the iranian women who actually looked very good and they were wearing the traditional berka headgear ,the chinese men and women were there and even at one point took a smoke break.......i'm not joking ,anf then came back on the course .

 We first ran into them this morning at 6 am breakfast where we all lined up to enter but the rest. was closed .There was us ,followed by the chinese women ,then men,iran,australia and whoever else was in the hotel. The doors opened and we lined up to get food but the chinese bolted and rushedthe line and grabed most whatever they could ,it was a feeding frenzy.......unreal to watch .Poor ozzies were left with little,lol.Chinese are very dominate in there actions here .....tomorrow moring is the second heat for the breakfast line at 6 am and this time Team Canada will be ready ,trust me !

 We finally saw the India men's team and they appear to be a rec level team with not a lot of experience and some serious timing issues but hey at least they entered and will learn alot.The powerhouse Phillipines finally showed looking stonger and taller this time and it was strange because they were mostly wearing touce's pulled down low and heavy jackets and looking very very GHETTO !!....the temp was mid 20's .

 I see our famous dbw photographer Lethal has shown up here in Prague so expect some great pictures of the action

 1 more day of practice then we take it to the line ......2000 meter first up

Usually ppl from China are lacking in mannerisms (I'm serious).  I would make sure hotel staff are aware of it and make sure they line up properly.

[paddlecwazy]

Usually ppl from China are lacking in mannerisms (I'm serious).  I would make sure hotel staff are aware of it and make sure they line up properly.

Mannerisms they have.... Manners ?????

[Special K]

Lol...good reading.

Remember the Chinese population is 1+ Billion in a country smaller than Canada, they have to be aggressive throughout their daily lives. Unfortunate to have to live this way but I don't believe they know any better. When I was in Greece I experienced a similar situation at the airport. Little old Greek ladies pushing there way to the front of the line up, I quickly learned to put out my elbows to block. That and my suitcase.

A word of advice, just make sure you're not in their (Chinese) way when they go to spit, which is often  .

Can't wait for Lethal's pics. Man that guy gets around.

Your sis

[DBWTim]

Just got some info and pictures from our correspondent in Prague

Race course is 1 hour by bus from hotel. 14 premier mixed teams, 17 premier open teams  
and so on, including teams from Iran and India here. Some very good teams here.


Race course and docks


Big timing tower (I think...).


2000m races on Wed. Notice the large turning radius for 2000m turns.


20 Swift dragon boats, made in China. 2nd generation, pretty good boat from what FCRCC paddlers told our guy. Selling for 4200 Euros after the event.

[paddlecwazy]

No update from Paddleboy today.......

I hope he survived the battle for breakfast .

[paddleboy]

 Day 2 at breakfast was different ,the chinese were much better ( obviously someone spoke to them ) .All the teams are here now ,the USA entered the race site doing a marching chant .....whatever ! The Phillipines showed with both their men's crew ,a womens crew and a mixed crew this time and are very impressive .The USA dropped out of the mixed 2000 because they are going to save it for the other distances and the 2000 meter really means nothing in the overall standings .  

 As we sat on the 250 meter loading dock the chinese pulled up ,exited the boat and took their smoke break . I wanted to get a picture but my camera was back in the team area . After the break they headed out and did a full 500 rating well over a hundred .During their pieces all chinese chant back and forth and we suspect its to help with breathing and getting the lungs more volume which would help in being able to perform at the high rates .The australians are useing a similiar rate but don't appear to be as efficient as the chinese or Phillipines .

 We have our 2000 meter open in a few hours at 4 pm and then our mixed at around 6.Its going to be tough in the mens as we are starting middle of the pack w/ china and the phillipines in front of us .The course is shallow w/ wide turns and the wash will be huge  .We are going to try to keep the boat flat through the turns as they tend to lean over on their own to the point where water almost comes over the gunnel and with the added wash the last thing we need is water coming over and adding weight to the boat .


The US men's team has the usual big names and Danny Ching of outrigger fame is seat 2 on the right .The US pays for for these ringers to come and even pays their flights and their lost wages apparantly .....The US is not the only one to do this ,the chinese are all paid as well as a number of other teams which makes it hard to compete  . For countries like Canada sometimes its only those that can afford to go that get to race and alot of great paddlers stay home . We have alot of very hard work ahead of us and hopefully we have brought enough to get the job done .....

[Kaohao]

Paddleboy, already making excuses and the races didn't even start yet! The big bad subsidized Americans, eh? What a crock. Remember, you guys are the socialists! Good Luck, bro! Quit worrying about everyone else and just paddle.

[luckierob]

Good luck today Paddleboy
love your posts, funny as!
I dont wanna be rude but what the hell lifes short I dont surpose you noticed how the New Zealand team done today thats if they made it out of that  old war bunker lol
any info would  be much appreciated
Cheers Robyn

[Illuminate]

Premier women got 1st in the 2000m!  8th in the Premier Open though
Get some revenge in the Premier Mixed boys

[DBWTim]

Received several messages over the night from our correspondent to update everyone. All times are Prague local times unless stated otherwise.

8:34am (11:34pm Pacific) - FCRCC premier mixed races 2nd last at 6:10pm. Premier Open around 1pm. Opening ceremonies and 250m relay demo races around 12 noon.

4:28pm (7:28am Pacific) - Canada's winning most of the 2000m races. The Swift boats can't take heavy crews, there have been 4-6 boats that have swamped and more just about ready to sink with so much water in the boats.

4:58pm (7:58am Pacific) - Shades of Harrison, thunder & lightning, pouring rain now. Last 2 races delayed, everyone off the water. Have the Canadian anthem memorized. Thunder right on top of us.

5:12pm (8:12am Pacific) - It's raining harder than Harrison!!!! Everyone under cover. It's crazy...

Photos received just before Noon Pacific time.

Opening Ceremonies - Parade of teams. Teams in the stands. Team from Iran, coached by a Brit.



Another one sinks - Heavy crew plus 2000m = swamping.


Harrison all over again - Storm moved over the course. Last 2 races delayed, everyone off the water and the metal docks.


Canada Premier Mixed 2000m - They started 2nd last and came 4th, .57 sec behind 3rd. Canada won the 
majority of the 2000m races today.

[Illuminate]

More photos here:

http://www.dragonboat2009.com/wednesday-26-race-day

[paddleboy]

 No ones making any excuses ,it is what it is and I'm telling like it is .......tell me again why you are still sitting in the US and not on the team ..........thats what I thought .

 Anyway , today the Premier Open 2000 was won by the US ,second was China , not sure who was third . A decision was made by the coach to race the team w/ 18 rather than 20 and split the boat at seat 5( to try to make the boat run better with these course conditions ) ,it was also decided not to do a start but rather do a gradual build to the start line and transition to 2000 meter pace we ended up 8th.The mixed raced with 20 and used the same start and was 4th ,1 second out of third  .Strategy played a big part in the 2000's and for some teams it paid off big .

 Iran open men ended up in the water on the final 500 ,and I believe Poland also did in the mixed 500.India was dead last and back a lap in premier open but it appeared they had a good time just being here .China is a powerhouse and they have brought a lot stronger team than they did the last time

 Tomorrow is the 1000 meter races so most of us are taking it easy getting rested for tomorrow ...stay tuned

[NFW]

lol, its Kaohao vs. Paddleboy all over again

Paddleboy, if I read what you wrote correctly, it was a running start? (for all teams?)