Gung Haggis Fat Choy paddlers building a big lead at the Steveston Dragon Boat Festival – 1st place in our consolation C race.
Scottish Robbie Burns music and poetry
+ Chinese New Year food and culture
+ BC history with Scottish & Chinese pioneers
= Gung Haggis Fat Choy
2013 is year 12, of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team, paddling
every year @ Alcan Races and beyond since 2002. It is also Year 17 for a
team that started in 1997 under the name Celebration Team and for which
the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner event was
created as a fundraiser for in 1998. This is the only team that has
twice won the Hon. David Lam Award for the team that best exemplifies
the multicultural spirit of the dragon boat festival (2001 & 2005)
We paddle every Sunday 11am -1pm (excluding holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day) and every Wed 6pm -7:30pm (starting next week). Our first practice in 2013 was on March 10th, last Sunday.
We paddle from Creekside Community Centre, at the East Bay of False Creek. It is centrally located to skytrain terminals and bus stops. It is just a few steps southwest of Science World.
2012 was a rebuilding break through year for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team. We started paddling in March, soon after celebrating our annual big Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner at Floata Restaurant on January 27th.
2012 Highlights included:
– 1st place Consolation Rec C Finals at Rio Tinto Alcan Festival
– 4th place D Division – Harrison Dragon Boat Festival
– 1st place Consolation C Dvision Steveston Dragon Boat Festival, Richmond BC Festival Canoe
– 2 teams in A Final at Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta
We will paddle throughout the Summer, entering races at least once a month, and finishing with one of the most fun events on Thanksgiving weekend, Saturday October 8th – the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta. You don’t have to paddle every race. Pick and choose where and when you want to race.
Lots of smiles on the 2012 team after we paddled in our first race of the season at False Creek, Vancouver – photo – T. Wong
We have unlimited team registration to join our “paddling and social club”
– but race events are limited to 24 paddlers + drummer + steers.
(20 paddlers in a boat + 4 spare paddlers) – we rotate everybody fairly, and nobody
sits more than one race (unless they choose, or special circumstances).
$150 Team registration includes practices, boat rental, coaching + equipment. And we have student prices!
Each race event will have a varying price depending on the cost. From $40 to $20, as the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival team entry is $1800, RTA is 2 day event with 2 races per day + special races, one day regattas are usually only 3 races.
We have really enjoyed meeting lots of new paddlers so far this Spring and welcoming back our veteran paddlers. Everybody has such a great positive spirit. We want 2013 to be lots of fun, filled with new friendships + race results to rival last year: Our teams over 16 years have raced in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Burnaby, Richmond, Steveston, Vernon, Harrison, Cultus Lake, Ft. Langley + Banff AB, Kent WA, and Portland OR….
CONTACT: Team manager Karl Castillo
Coach and team founder Todd Wong
778*846*7090
gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca
