Category Archives: Dragon Boat photos 2003

Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival – Day One

I am paddling in Kelowna with “How Wet Can You Get”
– formerly known as Scotia Dragons for the past decade, they changed their name this year.

I last raced in Kelowna in 2001 with GM Team (also known as Canadian, and later Roli), and in 2002 we raced a Gung Haggis Fat Choy team supplemented by paddlers from the 39th Brigade Army team.

The race site is on Okanagan Lake, just north of the new Bill Bennett Bridge and beside the Grand Hotel. There is a small beach that is used for the loading and unloading of dragon boats.

There are many people I know and have paddled with over the years o this team. I was invited by my paddling friend Lisa Venables, who joined the team this year after paddling the previous 8 years with O2P. Steers William Cheng and I last raced together in 2001 when I coached the Civil Serpents and we brought him on as steers. Back in 2000, Manley was on Dragon Hearts novice team, when I drummed and coached the Dragon Hearts Rec team. Cal Kelly joined the Gung Haggis team for the Taiwanese Race 4 years ago. And Connie Pan works at the Vancouver Public Library with me.

On the first day of this Kelowna Festival, we raced two times, and came 2nd in each race. Our morning race time was 2:20 – losing by 4 seconds to RGL United

In our afternoon race, with increasing winds and rough water, we raced
2:26 – losing by 10 seconds to Without Warning – where Dan Seto is
paddling.

But… we made it into Diamond Division – the second highest tier – so
we are in the top 20 teams of about 80-100 teams (I don;t know what the
final total is). We are in lane 1 – so we probably had the slowest
combined time, (they always seed the fastest team in the middle eg. 3
for 5 teams).

But we have 5 or 6 “borrowed paddlers” – so with each race the entire
team improves as we learn the race calls, adjust to the stroke and
pace, and help bond as a team. But the other teams have borrowed
paddlers, and are adjusting too. Also in Diamond Division are SFU
Scaly Justice Bytes with Stuart Higginson and Ron Chin + Booze Cruise
with mercenary paddlers Manfred Preuss + Carolyn Jeffries & Alex
Kwok from CC Riders.

The weather started off raining this morning… but cleared up for our
first race. Sunshine actually happened. But winds blew up after our
2nd race – causing a boat collision – but they kept going. Sun and
heat arrived in time for beer garden time after the races.

I chatted with lots of dragon boat friends.
Manfred Preuss is here with his wife Kathy, paddling on Booze Cruise,
Manfred paddled with Gung Haggis at Rio Tinto Alcan this year.

Carolyn Jeffries from CC Riders and the CC Riders Coach Alex Kwok are also on Booze Cruise.

Maggie and Harvey are racing with Dragon Hearts Beat, as is James Yu (coach of Metro Van 44 Cheeks)

Allison Adachi and Wade who came out to practice with us on Tuesday are here with a mixed Chilliwack team.

Guen from Shaggin' Dragons is wearing her bunny ears on the drummer's seat.

Lee who paddled with us at Taiwanese last year is here with her Sudden Impact team

Lots of paddlers from Kelowna, including the Blazing Paddles who insisted on buying me a beer for steering for them in Vernon.

Gung Haggis dragon boat team races inaugural Last Gasp regatta and posts big leads!

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Gung Haggis dragon boat team posts two big 1st place finishes in Vancouver's inaugural Last Gasp dragon boat
regatta.

The Dragon boat racing season isn't quite over. With the cancellation of the 6 year old 2009 Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race, held in conjunction with the Taiwanese Cultural Festival, the new Last Gasp regatta found it's place on the Vancouver Labour Day weekend.

Gung Haggis team after the 2nd race, first 500m race of the day – photo T. Wong

10 person dragon boats were incorporated into the race grid alongside traditional 20 person dragon boats. The race format featured one 200m. sprint + two 500m races with an optional 1000m. race.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy team was a competitive 3rd place (by 1/2 sec)
in first race, a 200m sprint. Facing tough competition from Starbucks Waverunners and Phat Phish who came 1st by 2 seconds, Gung Haggis was slow off the start, but picked it up for a strong finish. Finishing so close to more traditionally stronger teams was a big boost to the confidence of our paddlers.

For our 2nd race, I sat off the boat, as a 10 person crew needed a steers. We had brought in former Gung Haggis paddlers/drummer Julie – so she drummed our regular races. Steven Wong and I shared steering duties, so he took over for the 2nd race.

Our
2nd race had a strong lead from the start. After the first very tight race, it was hard to believe that Gung Haggis had such a big lead. Our team kept up the pressure, calling power series and a strong finish.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team crosses the finish line in our 2nd race. – photo T. Wong

The final races, were ranked in order of combined times from the first two races. We ended up in the D division, even though we were just .23 seconds slower than one of the teams going into C division. But that's racing. We would have liked to have raced our friends The Pirates from Chilliwack.

For our D Final race, we were lined up beside Aquarius Aqua Divas – a women's made up of paddlers from Shaggin' Dragons and Speediatrics. I've known their drummer Guen since about 2006, and Charlene from 1999. Also lined up beside us was Twisted Hips – a rookie team that was developed from the Paddlers Up public paddling program, that we helped start up back in 2006.

From the start, we took a slight lead. The team paddled steadily. We could feel the surge of the boat with each stroke. I could hear veteran paddlers Tony and Dan calling “Backs Push” – keeping the backs strong and steady. By the mid-point we had a comfortable lead, so Julie didn't call any more power series.

“Finish Now” yelled Julie. And the team dug their paddles deeper. “More” I called from the 4th seat. And we all paddled harder. We crossed the finish line, as Julie yelled “More!” Next she called “Let it run” and we collapsed in fatigue, turning our heads to see the other boats approaching and crossing the finish line, following us by 5 seconds. Our final race time was 2:25, very close to the 2:24 times of the C final above us.

There were 5 finals altogether. In the A Division Final Race – A and B had four teams racing. C, D and E had 3 teams racing. We were happy that our final time beat two teams in C and B divisions.

Masters
of D'Zone prevailed, with the addition of our paddler Gayle, who used
to paddle with them many years ago. Gayle is the strongest and most
experienced woman paddler on our team, and we feel very fortunate that
she likes us and paddles with us for two years in a row now. We
nicknamed her “The Goddess”.

Gung Haggis team passes under the Science World dock after their 2nd race of the day. – photo T. Wong

Gung Haggis did NOT race 10 person boats… just 20 person boats + 1000m race.

I also steered a 10 person boat for the joint Banana Fusion / Race Face / Dragon Z team – We came 1st. for their final Mens team heat. The 10 person boats also raced heats for womens and mixed as well.

This was my first time in a 10 person boat. It is very sensitive. I needed to brace and balance a lot. It would have been fun to do a barrel race in them!!!!

Our 1000
m was fun. We had a good start and caught up to the team ahead of us at
the turn. But… they slowed down spiking the turn – where I steered
a wider course to keep our speed up – trying to cut behind them, as
they turned out…. BUT THEY SLOWED DOWN TO MUCH. I told our team “Slow
Down” I clipped the outside of their stern… I should have yelled
“BACKS HOLD!” We got forced to go outside around the ADD (Shaggin
Dragons/Speediatrics) team…. Damn. we will have to practice turning maneuvers with multiple boats as we prepare for the UBC Day of the Long Boats (Sep 27) and Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Regatta (Oct 12).

If
I made the turn, we would have sling-shotted past the 3rd starting
boat, and quickly caught the 2nd starting boat. 1st starting O2P was
left behind on the first straightaway. 5th starting Strathcona Storm
came behind us on the turn, caught up, and powered to the finish.

I am Very proud
of our team's performance and that they are all wonderful good-hearted people who like being friends!

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team – Last Gasp edition:
l-r Dan, Sean John, Todd (front), Jim, Christine, Nancy, Joe (back), Stephen W., Tzhe, Walter, Carly (front), Raphel, Julie (almost hidden), Stephen M (back), Marion, Danielle, Karen, Devon (back), Debbie (front), Steve (back), Hillary, Tony, Georgia, Michael, Marshall – photo D. Martin

Final dragon boat races for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy team Saturday Sept 5th @ Science World/False Creek

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It's the final dragon boat regatta of the 2009 season in Vancouver

Last Gasp dragon boat regatta Sep 5 Saturday @ Science World/False Creek
This will be the first public dragon boat race in Canada that features 10 person dragon boats. These boats were first used in Vancouver for the World Police and Fire Games in August.

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team started their racing season with practices in the last week of February, the first race on May 2 in Burnaby's Barnet Marine Park, the Dragon Zone regatta on June 7th, and the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival on June 20 and 21st.

We entered the Richmond Festival for our first time, and came 4th in the A division. We traveled to Vernon for July 25/26, as it is our favorite race of the year on beautiful Kalamalka Lake.

We will next enter the UBC Day of the Long Boats and the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Regatta, to race in voyageur canoes.

But first…. we have to race Saturday Sep 5th at the Last Gasp regata.
Dragon Zone beside Science World, at Creekside Park, Vancouver BC.

Please come cheer us on!

Here's the message from our magnificient manager Tzhe Lam:

'ello Gung Haggis,

I have finally received the race grid from Dragon Zone and it looks like the first races of the day start at 9am.

Our
first race of the Day will be at 9:55am so we will need to marshall at
9:35 if they are on time which means I would like everyone to be at
Dragon Zone at 9am at the very latest.

This is so that we have
enough time to setup tents and get organized as well as make sure we
get the final roster into the Officials so that we can race.

If you have not signed the roster yet make sure you arrive early so that you can do so.
Also bring me your $20 race fee if you have not yet paid me!!!

Our second race will be between 12pm and 12:45pm depending on our placing in our first race

Race 3 will be most like between 2:15 and 3pm depending on our times

Race 4 1000m will be between 3:20pm – 4:20pm again determined by overall time.

These are rough estimates of time and can and will change on race day depending how quick/slow they get the races out.

As always bring food and drink of your choice to the event. Preferably something that won't make you sick while paddling.

Fans and supporters are welcome.

Tzhe

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team heats up Vernon Races

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Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at the start line for 5th Annual Vernon Dragon Boat Races.

2009_July_VernonDragonBoat 004 Steven Wong is steering our first race on Saturday.

Vernon Dragon Boat Races are one of our favorite races of the year. We love the hot weather, lots of sun, the beach and the clean clear cooling water of Kalamalka Lake. This was our 4th visit to these waters.

Our first race was a 200m sprint. We finished in 53 seconds…. and some of our stronger paddlers weren't even in the boat. I videoed the race on my camera.

2009_July_VernonDragonBoat 008 Video of 1st Race – 200m sprint.

We
were loaded in the boat for our 2nd race of the day. We had already
posted a 53 second 200m spint… and we were ready for the 500m.

The winds picked up. Two other teams were already out on the water….

The race was post-poned. We were told to wait it out on land. But the wind started to blow all the tents away. We were told to go look after our stuff.

We saw the band stand tent nearly getting blown off the stage.

The races were being post-poned for about 40 minutes.

I
saw the big wave action at the beach, with lots of white caps, and
encouraged the team to come “wave jumping” with me. I took two paddlers
into the lake with me – and we tried body surfing.

Then the rain started…. Somebody said there was hail.

Captain
Jimmy B. reported that the races were being canceled for the day. Our
500m race would rescheduled for 9am first race of the day….

The 1000m race was canceled 🙁

We
packed up the tents and equipment, loaded up our cars in a downpour,
then went to Deb's parents' lakeside home, where we were hosting the
team bbq.

We have a picture of 13 people in the hot tub… as the sun was coming out.

Hot Tub at Martin's Nest

At
5:46pm I received a phone message, “This is Vernon Dragon Boat Races,
We are live… There is sunshine on the beach. Come down to the beer
garden and help save the festival.”

But we were already relaxed, and preparing our traditional bbq at Martin's Nest – childhood home of my girlfriend Deb Martin, former paddler/drummer/steers for the team.. Some of our paddlers went canoeing and kayaking…. at the private dock.

Sunday Races

2009_July_VernonDragonBoat 023 Jane drums for the re-scheduled 500m race at 9am Sunday morning.

We were in the first race heat on Sunday morning, rescheduled from Saturday afternoon. It was an easy 500m race. I (Todd) steered. I think we came 2nd. After we got off the boat, I was quickly pulled over to steer for another team, then another team. I had to take a break after being on the water for about an hour in the heat.

We
raced our Semi-final around noon, but we spun out, after steers Dave
Samis lost control. We clipped another boat – but finished under
control.

This
was right after, I had steered a boat for DRAGNUM…. and hit boat
waves… losing control of the boat. DRAGNUM had posted a 2:12 quarter-final time, and was a top seed… but because
of the spin-out, narrowly missing another boat, they got bumped down to
B Final instead of A final.

Because of our spin out, Gung Haggis was bumped to D Final instead of C Final.

We had a good race final finishing 2nd with a time of 2:25.

Then I (Todd) steered again for the Kelowna Blazing Saddles. The team had a strong race finishing 2nd, after catching up and passing a boat that had been neck and neck with us. Final time 2:16.

Time for the beer gardens Gung Haggis team got the dancing going in the beer garden on
Sunday with a “revised lyrics” version of 500 Miles. eg. “I WOULD
PADDLE 500 MILES”. Lethal Weapon – we will have to teach your teams
for improved DB spirit! We even put a kilt on a Calgary paddler, known
to this forum.

2009_July_VernonDragonBoat 029 “I Would Paddle 500 Miles!” – Kilts in front of the stage. Bruce from Calgary, Debbie from Kelown with Dave and Todd. more Gung Haggis paddlers on the right.

2009_July_VernonDragonBoat 033 Colleen, Alissa and Debbie show our 2nd place ribbons!

Calgary Teams ruled the fastest times along with Kamloops' Extreme Currents, and Extreme Curves women's team.

Congratulations
to all teams that participated and contributed to the truly friendly
atmosphere, and willingly volunteered to help make these races run
smoothly, in the wake of so many challenges (eg. Dynasty Boats ugh!)

Gung Haggis Fat Choy Team Captain Jim Blatherwick pointed out that:

1) Fastest 200m by GHFC at Vernon at 53 seconds.

2)
Our 2nd place time in our final (2:25) was 1 second behind the Bronze
medal time of the A Final. It was also our 2nd fastest time in Vernon
ever for the 500m.

3) Our steerers raced with countless other
teams. Todd, Steven, and Dave are to be congratulated as it seemed like
they were somehow involved in every other race.

4) During our
unfortunate collision of the semi-final, everyone followed instructions
and Dave was able to keep his wits about so that we only clipped the
other boat and didn't hit it in the middle. Bruised egos are better
than bruised people and as a group we did well.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team racing in Vernon

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The Greater Vernon Dragon Boat Festival, is “THE FAVORITE” race of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team. This is the the 4th straight year we have entered, and the 5th annual race in 2009.

In 2007, the Gung Haggis dragon boat team won the gold medal in B Division. In 2008, we finished 2nd in the C Division Finals.

We posted the 6th fastest time for 200m sprints this morning.

Coach/paddler/steers Todd Wong, and paddlers Dave Samis and Steven Wong are also helping out to steer boats for other teams.

On Saturday afternoon, the team had just gotten seated in the Calgary based Dynasty dragon boats, when the races were temporarily canceled due to
high winds. The team waited out the wind and rain in the racer's village. But thunder and lightning storms continued the delay, until the races were canceled for the day.

Gung Haggis Fat
Choy dragon boat team retired to Martin's Nest, the home of our hosts, and 14 paddlers jumped in the hot tub.

Now we have to paddle the first race of Sunday, and do 3
races on Sunday…. Team is in good spirits… and now doing bbq.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team places 4th overall at Richmond Dragon Boat Races

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Richmond was a good fun race…
We posted the fastest time ever for Gung Haggis.

The race couse was 425m.
our first race was 2:15
our second race was 1:26 – with incoming tide.
our final race was seconds away from 1st overall.
We came 4th…
fractions away from a 3rd place medal.

Here's the video of our 2nd race.

It was the 3rd fastest time of the day.
It put us into the A Final. 1:26

Here's another view

Richmond Dragon Boat Festival 2009 Heat 16 GHFC

Here is our race in the A Final – filmed with better quality.

1:27

Richmond Dragon Boat Festival 2009 Heat 20 GHFC

4th place overall in A Division is something to be proud of.
The other teams we raced were also conglomerate teams and/or were used to paddling at
Rec A/B and Comp C/D levels.

Front Row (kneeling): Dominic, Tony, Todd, Jim, Tzhe, Oliver,
Middle Row: Gayle, Karen, Lisa, Danielle, Debbie, Christine, Keng, Harvey (steers), Ernest
Back Row: Richard, Dan, Kevin, Danny, Jessica (Drummer), Barb, Devon, Richard, Maggie

All the paddlers had never paddled together before – but we paddled as
a team. We stayed positive, made new friends, and put good effort into
this.

12 paddlers from Gung Haggis Fat Choy
4 paddlers from PCL Centurions
3 paddlers + drummer from Flight Centre
2 paddlers from How Wet Can You Get
1 paddler + steers from Eye of the Dragon
1 paddler from Sudden Impact black (Gung Haggis alumni)
1 paddler from False Creek Grand Dragons (Gung Haggis alumni)
Some of the paddlers from other teams were old friends, some are brand new.
It was fun to share stories about paddling with Richard and Karen Mah from PCL, back in '99 in San Francisco.
Or about drumming/coaching the Nokia dragons team to a Rec B Gold in 2000, with Danny Issac's (Flight Centre) older sister.
Or about Richard Montagna's first time paddling dragon boats in Vernon with us back in 2006.
Or learning that Dominic has both Scottish and Chinese ancestry…

2009_July_Richmond_Dragon 039 Harvey did a great job steering the boat.

2009_July_Richmond_Dragon 038 Jessical was our wonderful drummer

Special Thanks to Jim Blatherwick for captaining and Tzhe Lam for managing.

Let's bring this wonderful experience to the rest of the team, and take it up to Vernon with us!!!

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team has a great weekend at Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival

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Look at that R-E-A-C-H…. Gung Haggis stays ahead of boat 1 in the Rec D Championship Finals – photo Deb Martin.

Congratulations to Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team paddlers!

They conveyed a sense of teamship, caring for each other, and for community.

They paddled their best, adapted to changing situations, changing rosters, and changing race conditions.

2009_June_RTA_DBF 015 by Toddish McWong.

Gung Haggis paddlers after our 1st race on Sunday morning – photo thanks to Allan

Our paddlers improved with every race, both individually and together.
Very little separates you from the teams that we know who finished in
Rec C (O2P, Hmmm Sea Monster), Rec B (Pirates, CBC, Strokin' It Hard,
Flight Centre, CC Riders) or Rec A (Metro Vancouver, Banana Fusion,
Shaggin' Dragons) – except maybe a little bit of testosterone, a little
bit of cardio and muscle work, a little more attention to detail such
as rotation, reach, entry, paddle angle, etc.

4 seconds
faster and we could have medaled in Rec C Final.
10 seconds faster and we could have medaled in Rec B Final.

Sean John high-fives Karen and other paddlers as they come up the ramp from the boat docks, after our Sunday morning race. We came 3rd, so we moved into the Rec D Final for the afternoon – photo D.Martin

While medals are fun, I think it is more important to be part of a great group of people,
that had fun, did their best, and can be friends together, and share
meals together. I am personally very proud of everybody on the team,
and I know that everybody each has something special that adds to this
team.

It was great to have Manfred in the boat with us this weekend.
He has been a coaching friend and rival competitor and occasional
teammate for many years. He says this is a good team. He likes your
attitude, your paddling ability, your friendliness… and sense of
fun. Manfred will not take off his pants for “just any team” you
know…

Special thanks to Commodore Stephen Mirowski, team
manager Tzhe Lam for helping to organize the team, roster and leadership.

Thanks to Keng and Gerard Graal to step in to drum and be land manager, after spending the past 3 weeks in Holland.

Gung Haggis team was filmed for the upcoming documentary “Chinatown Canada” produced by Image Pacific, to be seen on Omni Television in the fall. I was also interviewed talking about Vancouver Chinatown, Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner, and the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team – photo D.Martin

It was a busy weekend for me as I was also busy with:

my coaching Killarney Cougar Dragons Junior Team
our being filmed for the “Chinatown Canada” tv documentary series
my being interviewed for the “Chinatown Canada” tv documentary series
my steering for out of town teams (I used to be on the Race Committee, so they know I am a good qualifited steers)
my
social involvement and networking with ex-paddlers, friends on other
teams, race organizers, Festival past-presidents, friends on out of
town teams, friends who cheered us on,

These are also qualities that makes Gung Haggis
Fat Choy dragon boat team and myself, amongst the first choice to be
involved in film documentaries and books on dragon boating!

As lang's me arm…
Todd

Todd Wong stands with dragon boat community friends Enzo Guierro (RTA DBF Race Committee) and Milton Wong (founding chair of the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society), Todd served on the DBF race committee from 2001 to 2003. photo Steven Wong.

More photos Click here: Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat.. on Todd's Flickr site.

We attend the VIP party for te Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival

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Dragon Boat Festival Chail Jas Kalsi talks about importance of a boat house for dragon boats on False Creek to sponsors, politicians and dragon boat festival organizers.

The VIP tent was packed on the eve to the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival. Politicians and digniteries walked in from the eye-dotting ceremony conducted by Taoist priests. Parks Commissioner and former Gung Haggis dragon boat team paddler Stuart Mackinnon dotted one of the eyes with a paint brush.

Lots of great food was served in the VIP tent. Sockeye Salmon, Tuna on wild rice patties, corn chowder – all provided from the VCC culinary arts program.

But this year's VIP party also had a serious tone. On Tuesday, the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society had sent a letter to Vancouver City Council, stating that because of development on Falser Creek, the 21 year old festival was in jeopardy. Festival Chair Jas Kalsi talked about the issue to the audience.

The
VIP party was attended by Mayor Robertson, councilors Ellen Woodsworth,
Suzanne Anton, Raymond Louie, George Chow, and Andrea Reimer, as well
as Parks Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon, and Sen. Nancy Green Raine who said that the federal government will pledge $100,000 to the RTA Festival.

Mayor
Robertson said he supports councilor Raymond Louie's statements,
that city council supports dragon boats on False Creek, and things are
moving through the planning stage. Robertson also shared that his son
is paddling in his first dragon boat race.

Terry Hui, CEO of Concord said that Concord is committed to the Festival.
See Concord's commitment in yesterday's 24 Hours story
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2009/06/18/9835626-sun.html

Members of the Festival board
and Race Committee talked to the politicians. I also talked with
Concord Pacific's senior vice-president of planning – Matt Meehan, who wants to come to the next Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner, as he remembers seeing me perform at Jenny Kwan's scotch tasting parties.

I chatted with Mayor Robertson (who has attended the last 2
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinners), and he told me which team his son is paddling on. I informed him that his son was being coached by one of our Gung Haggis paddlers Gayle Gordon.

Dragon boat coach and former Olympic sprint kayak paddler, Kamini Jain, brought me 5 copies of the new dragon boat book “Paddles Up! Dragon Boat Racing in Canada.” You can bet that the other
paddlers/organizers/coaches were all jealous when they saw them. Kamini had written the chapter on coaching, and I had asked her to autograph copies for myself and my friends (Gayle and Stuart). And…. I was able to introduce Kamini to Sen. Nancy
Green Raine (former Olympic ski gold medalist) – just before Sen. Nancy
left the party.

Gung Haggis dragon boat team racing Sat 9:50am Race #11

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Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival
Creekside Park, Science World & False Creek
June 20/21 2009

First race for GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY dragon boat team.
Saturday June 20
9:50am Race #11, lane 6

Look for us in the afternoon in race 30, 40 or 42. between 1:30 to 4pm

On Sunday, times to be determined by Sat 6pm
Semi finals in the morning, Finals in the afternoon.

Look
for our kilts and tartan sashes… followed by film crews for IN THE
SAME BOAT doc film… or CHINATOWN CANADA – to be seen on Omni TV

Call Coach/Clan Chieftain Todd Wong at 778-846-7090 to find us!

Paddles Up! New book on dragon boating by Torontonians Arlene Chan and Susan Humphries

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Arlene Chan has written a new book on dragon boating.

Arlene paddles on a Toronto dragon boat team. Susan Humphries is past president of Dragon boat Canada. Arlene wrote a children's book on dragon boating, Awakening the Dragon. This book features chapters on various topics written by top coaches, paddlers, and organizers from across Canada. Vancouver coach Kamini Jain, former Olympic kayaker, has written the chapter on coaching.

Here's a description from Kamini's website

Description: Paddles Up!
provides an in-depth look at dragon boating from its beginnings in
ancient China to the modern-day prominence of Canadian teams on the
international scene, as told in the words of top coaches of men's and
women's teams, experts and enthusiasts, and sports health professionals
across Canada. Contributing writers include Mike Haslam, executive
president International Dragon Boat Federation; Matthew Smith,
president Dragon Boat Canada; Kamini Jain,
Vancouver; Albert MacDonald, Halifax; Jamie Hollins, Pickering; Matt
Robert, Montreal; and Jim Farintosh, Toronto. Through legends, history,
and traditions, to paddling tips and mental readiness, and from
choosing gear to exceptional achievements, a battery of Canadian
dragon-boat notables share their considerable knowledge in one
authoritative volume.

Last year in June 2008, the author Arlene Chan contacted me. She wrote:

I found your name
on your amazing Gung Haggis Fat Choy website. What interests me is your
personal passion for dragon boating. The book project that I am
co-editing with Susan Humphries, past President, Dragon Boat Canada, . I'm assembling photos as well as
testimonials.

If
you're interested, I'd love to get a testimonial from you about what
the sport means to you. The idea is to have about 20 testimonials that
will be interspersed throughout the book. It's not to promote your
team, rather, to let others know how and why dragon boating has been a
passion for paddlers and coaches, like you.

This is what I originally sent to Arlene, most of it is printed on page 27:

Dragon boating is about team tribalism. You can join a tribe that you
can belong to. It might be a competitive team, a corporate team, a
recreational team, a breast cancer team… or a team that promotes
multiculturalism. That's our team. We wear kilts, have lucky Chinese
coins on our team jersey. We eat Asian foods and Scottish haggis –
sometimes combined. It's become more than just being social… It's
become a family.

Here's a picture of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team that appears on page 23. This is from the 2007 Vancouver Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race. I am drumming. Emilie is our flag puller learning out over the dragon head. This photo is by my friend VFK whom I introduced to Arlene to be included in the book, as well as photographers Ben Lee and Heather Mclaren – photo VFK

I discovered more about Arlene. She is a librarian with the
Toronto Public Library and had written two previous books, The Spirit of the Dragon: The Story of Jean Lumb, a Proud Canadian Citizen and The Moon Festival: A Chinese Mid-autumn festival.

When she told me she also organized a fundraiser dinner for the Jean Lumb Foundation, I had to ask, “Jean Lumb… the first Chinese Canadian woman to recieve the Order of Canada? I know her daughter, Janet Lumb in Montreal… we met in Ottawa for a conference. I introduced Janet to Sen. Vivienne Poy (the first Chinese Canadian senator) “

It's a small world. Arlene told me that Janet is her younger sister. Back in 2002, I was working for the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society. Janet is the founder and organizer of Access Asie, the Montreal version of Asian Heritage Month Festival. Sen. Poy is the patron senator of Asian Heritage Month in Canada, having had it proclaimed in parliament. Sen. Poy's husband Dr. Neville Poy had an aunt in Vancouver… who married my grandmother's eldest brother. “Auntie!” I called her.

You can purchase Paddles Up! on Amazon.ca here:
http://www.amazon.ca/Dragon-Boat-Racing-Canada-Paddles/dp/1554883954
or contact Kamini Jain in Vancouver
http://www.rightangleperformance.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=74

Gung HAGGIS Fat Choy

Toddish McWong's Misadventures in Multiculturalism: through arts, culture, food, dragon boats, travel + more…

Category Archives: Dragon Boat photos 2003

Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival – Day One

Gung Haggis dragon boat team races inaugural Last Gasp regatta and posts big leads!

Gung Haggis team after the 2nd race, first 500m race of the day – photo T. Wong

Our
2nd race had a strong lead from the start. After the first very tight race, it was hard to believe that Gung Haggis had such a big lead. Our team kept up the pressure, calling power series and a strong finish.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team crosses the finish line in our 2nd race. – photo T. Wong

Gung Haggis did NOT race 10 person boats… just 20 person boats + 1000m race.

Final dragon boat races for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy team Saturday Sept 5th @ Science World/False Creek

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team heats up Vernon Races

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team racing in Vernon

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team places 4th overall at Richmond Dragon Boat Races

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team has a great weekend at Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival

More photos Click here: Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat.. on Todd's Flickr site.

We attend the VIP party for te Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival

Gung Haggis dragon boat team racing Sat 9:50am Race #11

Paddles Up! New book on dragon boating by Torontonians Arlene Chan and Susan Humphries

Gung Haggis team after the 2nd race, first 500m race of the day – photo T. Wong

Our 2nd race had a strong lead from the start. After the first very tight race, it was hard to believe that Gung Haggis had such a big lead. Our team kept up the pressure, calling power series and a strong finish.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team crosses the finish line in our 2nd race. – photo T. Wong

Gung Haggis did NOT race 10 person boats… just 20 person boats + 1000m race.

Our
2nd race had a strong lead from the start. After the first very tight race, it was hard to believe that Gung Haggis had such a big lead. Our team kept up the pressure, calling power series and a strong finish.