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.

 

By Wayne Goldsmith | In Coaching Tips

It takes 20 years to become an overnight success. Successful coaches have by a combination of experience, skill, education and practice, developed ways and means of getting the best out themselves and their athletes.

Here are 101 Coaching Tips to help you achieve your coaching goals.

1. Plan.
2. Develop communication skills and never stop trying to improve them.
3. Learn to effectively utilise the Internet, social media and email.
4. Never stop learning. Learning is for life.
5. Be open-minded. Never say, never.
6. What you may lack in knowledge, make up for with enthusiasm, desire and passion.
7. Be a role model for your athletes.
8. Accept constructive criticism as a positive. Learn from mistakes, take steps to improve from the experience and move on.
9. Allocate time every day for personal health and fitness.
10. Keep a detailed diary and record work actually done by athletes not just what was planned to be done.
11. Embrace effective change.
12. Use sports science wisely. The art of coaching drives the science of performance.
13. Seek out information – don’t wait for the “secret to success” to fall into your lap.
14. Coach with your heart but don’t forget the basics. Secure adequate training facilities, keep good records, observe O.H. and S principles, and maintain a commitment to safety and equity. Having the “nuts and bolts” organised allows you to focus on what you do best – working with athletes.
15. Believe in your athletes – they believe in you.
16. Steal ideas from others sports (and improve on them).
17. Strive to make yourself redundant – develop coach independent athletes.
18. Listen with your eyes and watch with your ears.
19. Attitude + application + ability = achievement.
20. Coach the person not the athlete. Coach the person not the performance.
21. Develop a network and support structure. Be a resource manager.
22. Best, better, brilliant – there’s always room for improvement.
23. What you believe will happen, will happen. What the mind can conceive it will achieve.
24. Persistence pays – never give up.
25. Learn basic business skills. Understand the basics of insurance. Be familiar with legal liability. Understand the basics of taxation and the tax system. Make coaching your business!
26. Give an ounce of information and a ton of practice.
27. Communicate – clearly, concisely, calmly, constructively, consistently and cleverly.
28. Seek out a critical friend. They are you greatest asset.
29. Help develop your sport not just your current athletes.
30. Mix with successful people. Success breeds success.
31. Delegate, delegate, delegate, give athletes, assistants, parents and officials responsibility for aspects of your (their) program.
32. Enthusiasm, encouragement, energy = Excellence.
33. Look for things to improve in yourself.
34. Have fun. Life is short.
35. It is easy to coach athletes when they are performing well. Do you have the ability to help athletes (and yourself) deal with the tough times?
36. Focus on the long term even when trying to achieve in the short term.
37. Contribute to the development of other coaches. You may learn from teaching and students are often the best teachers of all.
38. Listen to your athletes.
39. Develop peripheral vision – in your mind.
40. Present information at coaching courses and workshops. Be willing to share.
41. Treat athletes like customers – coaching is the ultimate in client service.
42. Read journals from alternative industries and seek out principles that you can apply to sporting situations.
43. Be flexible in your methods and approach.
44. Embrace the principle “For the love of it, not the money in it!”
45. Athletes develop confidence through competence. Nothing develops confidence like a thorough preparation.
46. Constantly challenge yourself and your athletes.
47. Create a safe, stimulating, interesting training environment where athletes enjoy coming to train.
48. In preparing athletes: leave nothing to chance, nothing untested: don’t rely on luck: make your own!
49. Subscribe to this Blog!
50. Do your homework. Know the strengths and weakness of your athletes, yourself, your opposition. Know the standards, what are the world records, national records, state records, regional records, and club records, what are your goals?
51. Look to help

Published with permission of the author, Wayne Goldsmith

http://www.sportscoachingbrain.com/101-coaching-tips/

 

It’s a White Carolina J12 coach boat – GO decals on the sides of boat Dark Grey Yamaha 15 hp – Go decal

If you see or hear anything at all please contact Holly Wylie right away.

Thank you so much,

Holly Wylie
Nanaimo Paddling Centre
Go Row and Paddling Association Of Canada
holly@gorowandpaddle.org
250-616-0592
250-754-1991

 

Gorging Dragons Open House

Vancouver Island Paddlers

DATE: Sunday January 29, 2012
TIME: 4pm (1-1.5 hours expected)
PLACE: Yellow Pages office, Market Square, Lower Johnson Street
(Enter through Market Square Johnson St. gate, up the stairs on immediate left and enter building; Yellow Pages office is across from Ashtanga Yoga)

Drop in and learn about our women’s, open (men’s) and mixed dragon boat programs for 2012.

Meet our coaches, and learn about our program and the options the Gorging Dragons can offer to help you meet your paddling goals.

Who should attend?

1. Anyone interested in paddling with a Gorging Dragons team this year (either full-time, or while continuing to paddle with another local team).

2. Anyone who wants to learn more about our team, our training, or our new club.

- – -

GD Senior Crew Open House

Vancouver Island Paddlers 55+

DATE: Sunday January 29, 2012
TIME: 10:30am
PLACE: Yellow Pages office (directions above)

We got lots of interest from paddlers all over Vancouver Island in taking a Gorging Dragons-led crew to the BC Senior’s Games in 2012.

As well, we heard from paddlers who would prefer other senior crew competitions than the Senior’s games.

Interested in knowing more? Come and meet our paddlers and coaches, and let us know your paddling goals.

- – -

Please share this newsletter with anyone you think would be interested.

Cheers,

Tom Arnold
Gorging Dragons

 

Watch this video on YouTube.

 

One boat’s on Vancouver Island (Nanaimo’s Nauticals Marina), and the other’s on the mainland at the Dragon Zone:

(The red boat is in Nanaimo)

Asking $7,500 each, fully equipped, as is, where is.

Contact Ken (250-616-9431 or sales@championdragonboats.ca)

 

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

 

Certification: Candidates are required to successfully complete a written assignment, hold a Small Craft Operators license, and complete NCCP Intro to Competition Part A before they are fully certified.

Please click here for the course outline.

COURSE DETAILS

Date: October 29, 2011

  Time: 9:00 am ? 5:00 pm

    Location: Creekside Community Center

      #1 Athletes Way, Vancouver, BC

 Cost: $190 + HST

Please email jackie@dragonboatbc.ca for more information and to register. Be sure to include your Name, Email and Phone Number.

 

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?