Booya!

I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope it’s true. Milleniums are well suited as club boats, but not for those pursuing high performance training or wanting sport-level racing off the Island.

It has long been my belief that Island competitors have been held back from sport level competition because of the lack of IDBF boats and the lack of access to a high performance training program.

Thankfully, Victoria’s Gorging Dragons have taken up the challenge by providing both the training and the racing hulls needed to upgrade the level of the sport here on the Island.

It’s an idea whose time has come, and the Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival Society would do well to get off their duffs and open their festival management contract up to competitive bidding and join the 21st Century.

 

The Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival Society Board of Directors circled the wagons at their 8th annual AGM, which was attended by 15-20 people (I didn’t count them) who fully expected to join the Society and take part in the meeting, nominate directors and vote for their favourite candidates.

It was not to be, however, as President Bob Buchanan made immediately clear, when he announced that the bylaw’s Clause 4, which reads, “A person may apply to the directors for membership in the society and on acceptance by the directors is a member,” is interpreted as meaning that such applications can only be considered by a “directors’ meeting,” and that the AGM was, er, not such a meeting, even though all the directors were present.

Using a voice which could only be interpreted as patronizing, Mr. Buchanan explained that the applications would be considered at an unstated future moment (I am paraphrasing): “There are a lot of non-members here tonight, and we want to hear what you have to say, and you’re welcome to apply for membership, but you can’t vote.”

In other words, we and our aspirations were dismissed out of hand.

 
Click here to read the full article and comment

 

Click here for a report and discussion

The Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival Society’s annual general meeting (AGM) is scheduled for Tuesday, October 25th at 6:00 PM.

Rumor has it that some members of the Board are going to try to block paddlers from participating in the AGM. To do this, they would have to actually deny membership to all those who show up, ready to join.

Frankly, I can’t imagine that anyone on the Board would be foolish enough to go out of their way to alienate the entire Island’s paddling community – the very people that make the Society’s lavish party – and donations – possible in the first place.

The meeting will be held in the meeting room of the Ramada Inn on Terminal Avenue (at Rosehill).

I encourage Everyone to attend and bring their ideas for improving the festival – and five bucks – with them.

The $5.00 is the cost of becoming a voting member of the Society, and that, children, means you get to participate in the election of the Board. (No, you don’t have to live in the City of Nanaimo – anyone with $5 can join the Society and become a Member.)

As I recall, there are only two paddlers on the Board at the moment, and at least one of them is stepping down. As a paddler and Coach, I don’t think that’s good enough – I think paddlers, not businessmen, should be driving this festival, and that both groups should work together for the betterment of the sport.

This should not be taken as a criticism of the festivals – they’ve been successful beyond what could have been imagined when this all began.

It’s simply a reflection on my belief that there are lots of improvements that could – and should – be made, not the least of which is the introduction of IDBF racing on the Island.

The introduction of IDBF racing would mean that recreational teams would not find themselves in the bizarre position of racing against teams like the Gorging Dragons, the Navy’s Dragon Anchors or the Portland Fire Dragons. Even though everyone knows the initial heats aren’t competition per se, but time trials, I think it’s still pretty demoralizing to lose your first heat by 30 or 40 seconds because random selection left you going head to head with sport-level competitors.

IDBF racing would also serve to attract more competitive teams from the lower mainland, and that can only be good for everyone.

Whether you agree with that particular idea or not, I urge you to bring your own ideas and join me for the meeting — and don’t forget that five dollar bill!

Some paddlers and coaches feel that there is too much emphasis on breast cancer, and not enough on cancer as a universal killer, others may feel that the beer garden revenues are more important than the racing…. whatever YOUR views, join the Society and air them on the 25th!

Is it worthwhile to ask whether paddlers are valued more for the money they bring with them than the sport, skills and enthusiasm they share with such passion?

While you’re at it, think about folks you’d like to see on the Board for next year’s festival – your Coach, perhaps, or an outstanding paddler with a love for the sport and a talent for leadership — and then encourage your entire team to attend and participate – you’d be amazed at how much difference 22 votes can make!

Nominations will be accepted from the floor, so this is your chance to make a real difference!

You’ll find an AGM Event page on Facebook here

Please note clause 2(a), above.

Questions you might ask a candidate:

• Do you support IDBF racing in the Nanaimo festival?
• Will you support and encourage a high performance paddling centre in Nanaimo?
• How do you feel about de-emphasizing breast cancer and honouring all cancer patients and survivors instead, in accordance with your Constitution?

• Will you support and encourage paddler participation in the Society?
• The Society’s Constitution says that one of the purposes of the Society is to, “provide financial assistance to research facilities, Foundations or Societies involved in the development of cures for, and life extending treatments of all types of cancer in humans.” The Society’s website contradicts this purpose, saying that “Every dollar raised through our volunteer efforts is committed to help those in need in their efforts to fight the fight through donations to the Nanaimo Hospital Foundation to purchase diagnostic equipment to treat breast cancer.” How do you feel about this contradiction?
• Has the race management contract for the 2012 Festival been signed? If so, was the process open to bidders, and was the lowest bid accepted?
• How many festivals have you paddled in?
• How many festivals have you paddled in other then on the Island?

 

Click on any photograph to be taken to the full set on Flickr. Photos are also available on Facebook under BC Dragon Boat Paddlers

GO has posted the results here.

 

Three teams had registered for the 2×1250 meter pylon-turn races, and a forth, comprised of eager volunteers, was added the morning of the event to balance the schedule.

VCKC is to be commended for staging dragon boat races covering more than the usual 500 meters. National and International dragon boat racing includes races of both 1,000 and 2,000 meters, and the fact that race organizers on Vancouver Island haven’t thought to organize similar events depresses me. In the end, excluding these distances simply denies sport-level experiences to Island paddlers, depriving them of the opportunity to qualify for national events; how any festival organization can justify this is beyond me. (I understand that a popular Island festival will probably be offering distance events in 2012. If so, it will be a positive breakthrough for Island paddlers.)

I’m hoping that VCKC’s Guts & Glory will grow to include not only 200 meter sprints, but 1,000 and 2,000 meter events as well. (It’s high time someone on Vancouver Island filled this vacuum!) I have long believed the lack of 1,000 and 2,000 meter events has had a negative influence on Vancouver Island teams, as has the lack of IDBF-certified racing boats – it’s difficult practice in an Edsel when you’re going to race in a Ferrari.

Congratulations to VCKC for taking the lead in providing IDBF-certified hulls and dragon boat competitions of both over and under 500 meter distances – it’s an action that’s long overdue!

The Champion 912 boats used during this event were acquired by Victoria’s Gorging Dragons, the club that announced their high performance training program for Vancouver Island paddlers on August 13th.  It’s wonderful to know that IDBF-certified boats are finally going to be available for high performance training here on the Island, and hope that Island teams take full advantage of the opportunity to take it to the next level.

 Nanaimo’s Aquaholics heading for the finish line…

My pick for “Story of the Day?” The amazing performance of Victoria’s MS Warriors, who showed us how to get the job done.

From my point of view, it wasn’t a great day for photography, as my camera seemed to change its modes almost on its own, resulting in zillions of under-exposed and blurred photographs. There are clearly times when simply having a nice camera just isn’t enough – you actually have to understand how to use it, and I confess I really don’t

Shooting on a perfectly bright, cloudless day ought to be easy, but I just couldn’t seem to find that synergy between camera and subjects needed to produce the results I wanted. I have a lot of homework to do!

The complete photo set is being uploaded to Flickr as I write this. Click here to see them!

On another note, I can’t help but comment on the paddlers who treated these IDBF rockets like the sort of training boats they were accustomed to. I have to confess to experiencing more than one heart-stopping moment on the dock while watching paddlers jump in and out of  these 350 pound rocket ships as if they were (forgive me) Milleniums. I watched two boats nearly swamped before they even left the dock as paddlers shifted their weight around without remembering that they were in a racing boat, rather than an overweight barge with training wheels.

The shreiks  made as careless paddlers tipped these lithe little rockets over to the gunwales through their own carelessness was enough to make this 70-year-old’s heart skip a beat – I really didn’t want to watch twelve enthusiastic dragon boaters dump themselves into the Gorge. Fortunately, God was on our side, and the boats managed to remain upright in spite of the paddlers who hadn’t yet learned to respect IDBF racing hulls.

The smiles on everyone’s faces at the end of the day told their own story, and it’s clear the Champion 912s were a hit.

VCKC has posted the results here.

 

The International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) congress met yesterday in Tampa Florida to vote for the Host Nations of the upcoming IDBF Championship events 2013-2015.  Dragon Boat Canada (DBC) is excited to announce that Canada has been selected to host the 2015 Dragon Boat World Championships.

Dragon Boat World Championships Niagara 2015,  is expected to attract up to three thousand athletes over four days of competition.

This is the first time that the World Championships will take place in Canada, and DBC is thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with the Welland International Flatwater Centre (WIFC) in the hosting of this event.  Both DBC and WIFC are committed to making the 2015 World Dragon Boat Championships an outstanding athlete focused event. 

Stephen Fischer Executive Director of the Welland Recreational Canal Corporation (WRCC) and WIFC had this to say, “We are honoured to be the site of the 2015 Dragon Boat Racing World Championships and incredibly pleased to be so unanimously endorsed by DBC and the IDBF.  This is exactly where we want Welland to be.  This is exactly why we’re making the investment in Welland in flatwater sports. Working with DBC and hosting the World in 2015 speaks to the long term return on investment in the WIFC and will continue delivering lasting impacts and legacies for our community, and our region, as we stage this spectacular World Championships”.

Matt Smith, President of DBC expressed that “Dragon Boat Canada is excited host world class athletes at a world class venue, the WIFC.  The association is committed to making the Championships a memorable event for Dragon Boat athletes in Canada and around the world”.

For more information on this event or the sport of Dragon Boat in Canada, please contact Dragon Boat Canada atdirector@dragonboat.ca

Dragon Boat Canada is the official governing body for the sport of dragon boat racing in Canada, and is recognized as such, internationally, by the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKRMGQD5GTo

Here’s a question for you:  Should the boat have stopped to pick up their drummer?

 

Ladies, thank you so much for that spectacular entrance – alas, you didn’t tell me what your team name was, so I can’t tag it here. Can someone sell me a clue? (I got a clue: These are the ladies of Vancouver’s The 7th Wave.)

Photographs taken during the 2011 Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival are available in two places online. The sets can be found on Facebook in the BC Dragon Boat Paddlers group and on Flickr. Sunday’s images have been uploaded to FaceBook,
and the Flickr upload is now complete.

It was great to renew acquaintences with old paddling friends while we promoted our Champion dragon boats and the upcoming VCKC “Guts and Glory” event on August 27th.

All the best,
Ken

 

The more I observe carnation ceremonies at dragon boat festivals, with their inevitable Sea of Pink, I have to admit that I find myself getting irritated.

Before I meander further, and create thousands of grumpy women, let me offer credentials.

I am a 70 year old male with metastasized prostate cancer.

I was diagnosed in mid-2003, and underwent a radical retro-pubic prostatectory (which I couldn’t pronounce, let alone spell, at the time the surgeon sliced me up and put my prostate gland in a jar) which, alas, was too late to rid me of the disease. It had already metastasized, although we didn’t know it for a few months.

There was no need to treat it way back then – there was no way of knowing where it was then residing, because it was too small to detect, outside of the blood test which told us it was alive and kicking.

So yes, folks, I’m a Survivor, sort of. I’m still here. But I’m also a patient. In another month or so, because the cancer has grown to its original state and now represents a threat to my life, I will begin to receive anti-androgen treatment in the form of a drug called Lupron.

Lupron is a medication that is used for the treatment of prostate cancer. Lupron treats the disease in its advanced stages, and is not intended to cure it, but instead to manage it by slowing down its progression and soothing some of its uncomfortable symptoms. The medicine is administered via injection. In my case, the dose will be designed to last about six months and injected subcutaneously.

You can read the balance of this opinion piece here, in the forum.