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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[exronoevi]

I didn't see any replies to other people's similar posts, but I'll try my luck anyways...

I would like to start paddling and I'm looking for a team. I have no previous experience.

I am a 42-year-old male. Currently I swim once a week, but not much else in the way of physical activity. I have no idea how well I could cope with paddling, but I would like to give it a serious try.

I would prefer something close to downtown (e.g. False Creek), but I would consider other locations as well.

I saw a post hinting that the season would be over soon, which surprised me, as I saw people paddling on False Creek in the middle of winter. I would rather start right away.

If you think you could give me a chance, please e-mail me at [email protected].

Thanks!

Marius

[paddleboy]

 The dragonboat season is pretty much coming to a season end soon and the "out of their mind crews " you see on the water in the cold ( insert myself )  are usually the hard core competitive crews who are training for much bigger races such as world championships or warmer climate races in other countries for the most part .

 You would be looking for a recreational crew to start ,which there are lots ,but they generally do not start up until the new year .My suggestion to you is to sign up for a novice outrigger paddling course this fall and winter and learn to paddle and then in the new year find a team  by looking in the recruiting section on this forum .There will be lots of teams to choose from and by that time you should have a pretty good idea on paddling technique from the outrigger course(s) you have taken .

 Outrigger courses are not expensive and paddling outrigger will make you a much better dragonboat paddler .You will feel alot more comfortable when you jump in with a crew and you may even find yourself joining a much higher level dragonboat crew then if you entered as a newbie paddler

 FCRCC offers fall outrigger courses which should be starting over the next few weeks and Vancouver Ocean Sports offers courses as well .You just need to decide whether you want to learn to paddle solo ( oc1) or with a 6 man crew (oc6). If solo then you should make sure you are a half decent swimmer as you are going to get some extra swimming lessons as well for the same price,lol but its worth it .Paddling solo outrigger is a blast ...on a windy day its kinda like surfing .If you decide 6 man you more than likely will keep dry for the most part but you will need to learn the "huli drill " which will be taught to you when you take the course and its the one time you will get wet but you will be forewarned .

 Go to  www.fcrcc.com     ( see small boat coaching for oc1 - its yet to be update with the fall dates ) )or www.poguesports.com/vancouveroceansports.ca/ for more info .FCRCC is located on Granville Island at the False Creek Community Centre and Vancouver Ocean Sports is down by Vanier Park ( Planetarium ) ,the last wire fenced compound on the road ...there are signs

 This also goes for all the other dragonboat paddlers that want to step it up and crosstrain and become a much stronger paddler .

 

[Special K]

Wow, thanks for the plug big brother.

Just an FYI our fall/winter program is to start soon and we offer intro/novice/competitive levels.

Cheers,

Kelli

[NFW]

paddleboy is right, unfortunately most if not all recreational/competitive team's season will end in about a week after the Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival. (which means they will only have 2 more practices or so to go in the season)

Your best bet is the outrigger programs or you could wait until feb/march when the season starts to pick up again for most rec teams.

Whatever you choose to do, I guarantee that you'll have a blast or money back...ok maybe not money back but yea lol
Good luck!

This also goes for all the other dragonboat paddlers that want to step it up and crosstrain and become a much stronger paddler .

If they are on a comp team, they should already be doing this lol

[exronoevi]

Many thanks for the info, paddleboy. I wanted to go pretty much the way you suggested, but didn't know about any novice programs during fall or winter.

I knew about FCRCC's outrigger novice program - which seems to be offered only next spring - , but not about their small boat coaching, which the web says is available year-round, but nothing concrete about the fall and winter. Maybe they will offer it in the end.

I didn't know about Vancouver Ocean Sports either, and they are offering a novice program in October. The web says nothing about anything later than October, but it sounds like a good starting point.

I was feeling apprehensive about trying with a team without going through a novice program first, but now the solution seems to be at hand. So I won't be joining any team yet, I'll update my request when I am prepared for it.

Marius

[Special K]

Hi Marius,

Both FCRCC and Vancouver Ocean Sports go year round. VOS is out of the Burrard compound as well as FCRCC outrigger. FCRCC dragon boat is generally out of Alder Bay (False Creek) with additional training out of Burrard. You could always try out both to see which offers the best program for you. I'm the race coordinator for VOS and can put you in contact with our recruiting contact as well I can pass you along to the FCRCC outrigger novice contact. Both clubs offer great coaching.

Note FCRCC outrigger and dragon boat are two different clubs.

Cheers,

Kelli

[paddleboy]

 Fcrcc is a large paddling club which caters to several different paddling disiplines .There is Dragonboat,Outrigger,Kayak,and more but it is the same club just different disiplines .Some of us compete on both sides ,others just one and there is good rivalry within the club between the different disiplines ..........you confused now,lol ?

 It's all the same club .......

[Special K]

I beg to differ with you. The long distance outrigger crew paddle together as crews and the FCRCC High Performance dragon boaters paddle as separate crews. They don't train together as one and they have different coaches. Kind of like a club within the club is what I meant.

I don't believe you yourself Paddleboy consider yourself a member of the FCRCC long distance outrigger club coached by Calvin, instead you are a member of the FCRCC High Performance Dragonboat crew coached by Kamini.

Yes/no???