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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[Katy]

Remember though that it's not just the teams that get bumped down that are affected, it's also the teams that are in the correct divisions but that now have to face teams bumped down from higher divisions leaving them with little hope of medalling in their own category which also sucks.

Basically grid issues suck for everyone, careful seeding is essential to any festival.

[Plum]

There was more waiting around than normal this year.  Some of it was unnecessary - such as Sunday morning.  PI was scheduled to race at 9:36am and we didn't head out until almost noon. 

[skygal]

Remember though that it's not just the teams that get bumped down that are affected, it's also the teams that are in the correct divisions but that now have to face teams bumped down from higher divisions leaving them with little hope of medalling in their own category which also sucks.

Basically grid issues suck for everyone, careful seeding is essential to any festival.

i agree with you, katy. it sucked for those teams in jade who were basically fighting for that one spot...bronze.

as i mentioned earlier, it was nice bringing a [silver] medal home, but i think it was satisfying b/c we lost to a really good team who also got shafted (haha).

[paddlemonkey]

Even worse is when a bad qualifying grid pushes you up. Its embarassing to be left in a different timezone on your final race. Thank god we dodged that bullet  

On a positive note, many teams (like us) got to race competitively on ALL of their heats, and a hard race fought well is a reward of sorts...  

[pikachu]

There was more waiting around than normal this year.  Some of it was unnecessary - such as Sunday morning.  PI was scheduled to race at 9:36am and we didn't head out until almost noon. 

I hear ya. Our race was scheduled for 9 but didn't get off the water until 11:30AM. We sat for an hour in the boat baking on the water while waiting for the Coho to go out, then waited for the Aquabus ballet to finish, the start line reset, and then raced. We may have won our race because so many of us needed to get to the finish line fast to go to the bathroom 

Oh well.  It's hard to get upset when the volunteers are so nice and we were treated so nicely all weekend. Sh*t happens.

[Recoil]

I'll correct you.

Advancements are first based on placing, you get 10 pts for 1st place and so on down to 5th.  However, as a bunch of teams can end up with the same points after the 1st 2 rounds then it comes down to cumulative times to break ties.

So, 11 teams came in 1st and 1st but only 10 fit in platinum, thus the one with the slowest cumulative time drops down to diamond.

That's why a sound race grid is so critical.

Thank you for correcting me. I know that's how many organizations run their respective festivals but I was led to believe time was the only factor in Victoria.

I personally felt though that the top 7-8 in Platinum (AND DEFINITELY THE TOP 3-4) were in a league of their own, and I'm sure many will agree that they all belong in the correct finals and were this festival's top teams without a doubt.

It's in lower Platinum to Diamond Division that I think the positioning can dramatically change based on many factors (such as race grid seedings, personal team factors, etc.) and it's a shame that some teams were effected by poor race grid placement.

[spark10]

As a member of a team that was 'shafted', I must admit the end of day 1 was met with disappointment, frustration and downright confusion at first but these feelings were quickly replaced by extraordinary pride knowing that other teams were feeling our pain..and that anyone had actually heard of our motley crue team:) Thanks to those who verbalized our frustration on our behalf, in particular, Blu By U who came up to us as we were warming up for our jade semi and told us we were not in the right division.  Blu By U, we raced you in Race #1 on Saturday.  We came up 2/100s of a second behind you to finish second.  We fought hard but you fought harder.  You showed us that competition is important but beyond that, you demonstrated that class and sportsmanship are just as important.  You gave me confidence when I questioned my ability.  We were truly touched by that short but powerful exchange. You've made a lasting impression.

Kudos also to the Dragonauts who must have been feeling the same way we were.  We raced you in the jade final.  Despite disappointment, neither of our teams gave up, evidenced by our times.  We fought hard but you fought harder.  There is no shame in either of our performances.  I cherish any medal because in my dragon boat world, medals are hard to come by.  Each precious medal that we win is a symbol of much more than a number or a placing.  I honor this medal by thinking of the community that supported us and the dog fight that ensued in so many races despite poor festival design.  Aside from the long waits in the hot sun, I had a great time at the Victoria festival and learned some great life lessons. THANK YOU to all the volunteers who braved the heat to help run the festival.  Congratulations to ALL teams.  See you in SFO or next season!!

[NFW]

Thanks also for everyone that supported the goblin empire and our spirit award win.

You guys definitely deserved that award, I saw so many paddlers assimilated by the goblin empire (tattoos) lol

Remember though that it's not just the teams that get bumped down that are affected, it's also the teams that are in the correct divisions but that now have to face teams bumped down from higher divisions leaving them with little hope of medalling in their own category which also sucks.

Agreed!

as i mentioned earlier, it was nice bringing a [silver] medal home, but i think it was satisfying b/c we lost to a really good team who also got shafted (haha).

I saw the very tight and intense race between Navy, Dragonauts, and LifeScan. unfortunately these things does happens sometimes, and as paddlecwazy said, just go and kick ass in kelowna for redemption! (or SF for some) 

Thank you for correcting me. I know that's how many organizations run their respective festivals but I was led to believe time was the only factor in Victoria.

Based on what we were told, I was also under the assumption that for the Saturday, all advancements were based on times...It was unfortunate that it wasnt the case.

[NFW]

Mad props to the volunteers in the face of the burning heat...I know I melted on saturday, sunday was a little bit better, especially after a helping of a DOUBLE BIG GULP gatorade slushee! lol
Congrats to all teams and thanks to all the teams in the platinum final, that was some intense racing, i think my lungs gave out at the finish line.

An I-wished-I-had-my-camera-moment: AWESOME performance! by who i'm assuming is known to NAVY, a paddler of scottish descent (or can impersonate the accent). The said paddler did a magnificent Braveheart rendition that truly entertained everyone (me included) on the docks during the platinum final while we were waiting go out. Kudos!

"Aye, paddle and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our WIVES, but they'll never take... OUR PADDLE!"

LMAO!

[dogpaddle]

Spark10...the support and camaraderie is why I love dragonboating! It touches my heart to know that a few small words made such an impact to you! I watched the final race between Dragonauts and Team Lifescan and was so impressed that both teams fought hard, despite the division they were in! Both teams should be proud of how they did!

There will be more races to come (Seattle anyone?) to battle it all out again! I am now a fan of Team Lifescan! I will be looking for you at future events and hope to race you again soon!

[LittleSchrodinger]

Oh god, yes, I second that Braveheart guy. It was awesome to hear that while we were waiting to head out to the start line. I thought he was with Xtreme Reach? I dunno, but props to him.

[madcap]

The Braveheart guy was hilarious. All he needed to do was to throw a paddle in the air, turning over and over and have it stick in one of those little ferries. Hoot mon!

[NavyRob]

Team Lifescan... There was more than one team this past weekend who had a lot of respect for you.  I think it was clear you deserved your own Lane 3 on Saturday.  I know that the Festival organizers read DBW and I am sure they are fully aware of the mistakes the lack of research caused in seeding.  We can only trust that next year they will be much more careful.

TO EVERYONE: This kills me.  I just discovered that due to a recording error, our third race, one of the most important in our history, was not filmed!  Did anyone film Platinum Semi 1 (Heat 46), hopefully with us in frame??

[doc]

Thanks to all the volunteers and even more so to the competitors.

This is definitely one of the friendliest events I've been to and it was this especially that made it enjoyable. From the random gorging dragons person in the Subway, to the person, whose team I didn't see, with the dual supersoakers who cooled us down in the racer's village on sunday afternoon it was nice to be welcomed to the island and for there to be very friendly competition.

[taeccool]

Mad props to the volunteers in the face of the burning heat...I know I melted on saturday, sunday was a little bit better, especially after a helping of a DOUBLE BIG GULP gatorade slushee! lol
Congrats to all teams and thanks to all the teams in the platinum final, that was some intense racing, i think my lungs gave out at the finish line.

An I-wished-I-had-my-camera-moment: AWESOME performance! by who i'm assuming is known to NAVY, a paddler of scottish descent (or can impersonate the accent). The said paddler did a magnificent Braveheart rendition that truly entertained everyone (me included) on the docks during the platinum final while we were waiting go out. Kudos!

"Aye, paddle and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR PADDLE!"

LMAO!

yes that was priceless.. i was right behind him while he was making his speech... congrats to all the teams and magnum for winning platinum.always a pleasure watching your team race.=)