4 days to go, and the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team is ready for the biggest dragon boat festival in North America.

Wonderful practice tonight on Vancouver's False Creek waters.. we even had 30 paddlers show up for 20 paddling seats in a Gemini boat.

Not everybody is racing Rio Tinto Alcan Festival, so 3 paddlers went
out on the GVRD/Metro Vancouver boat… We traded our Gemini for a 6-16
boat with Concord team.

We had 24 paddlers, then rotated drummer and steers throughout the practice. 
It's not the best way to build team consistency, but it is a way to
share responsibilities, build in flexibility and teach paddlers to
adapt.  By having our Commodore Stephen Mirowski at both steers and
drummer positions, as well as paddling – if gives him a better view of
how seating arrangements and paddler abilities will be arranged.

Thank you to Gerard Graal, who will step into our manager position.  He
and Keng have just returned from 3 weeks in The Netherlands – Gerard's
native home.  Keng also did a nice short job on the drummers seat,
despite being a bit jet-lagged.

We started practice doing some warm-ups, and saw Alissa, Nicole and
Devon paddling with the Metro Vancouver Team.  Didn't they all look
good.  I swear the best looking paddler on the left side of the boat
was Alissa…  With that dazzling new smile of hers!

Video of a race start for a Gung Haggis dragon boat practice a month ago.  Tzhe and Jane are lead strokes in this video – photo T.Wong.

We did a race start lined up beside the former Comp team formerly known
as Scotia Dragons, now called How Wet Can You Get – which is ranked #24
out of 148 teams that have raced in regattas so far this year.  Guess
what?  Gung Haggis Fat Choy is ranked #31, ahead of #33 CC Riders and
#35 Metro Vancouver.
See the rankings here: http://www.dragonboatwest.net/index.php?page=14

We are doing pretty good for our development this year.  We hit the waters in March, wore our toque hats and have pushed our veteran paddlers while nurturing brand new rookie paddlers.

Gung Haggis dragon boat team in March, it was still so cold, lots of people dressed with warm hats and windbreakers and gloves for paddling.  Tzhe and Nicole in seat 1, Alissa and Wendy in seat 2, Brooke and Ashleigh in 3, Sean Jean and Nancy in 4. Raphael and Marion in 5. – photo T. Wong

Paddling in March – Left side from front: Karen, Steven, Christine, Danielle, Colleen.  Right side from front: Joe, (somebody's brother guest paddling), Ernest, Diana, Stephen steering – photo Todd Wong.

We worked on some race strategies, and some basic drills.  The key
thing is to keep a  consistent rate.  The only improvement you can make
as paddlers is to keep reaching a little bit more, get your paddle in a
little bit quicker, pull with a full blade in the water, and keep your
heads up to stay in time. 

Fun surprise of the evening was singing Happy Birthday to Danielle. 
Today really was her birthday.  Great dedication by a rookie paddler to
come paddling with us, before going out to dinner with her husband.

Here are rookie paddlers Karen and Katie paddling and looking like veterans (almost) – photo T.Wong

“News” of “In the Same Boat” has finally hit the dragon boat forum at www.dragonboatwest.net  Check out this topic:
http://www.dragonboatwest.net/index.php?topic=5581.msg52013;topicseen#new

You can identify a few of our paddlers in a “In the Same Boat” youtube trailer here:
tp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zs0eQp81Mc

Tonight, after practice – the Gung Haggis team had a dinner social at The Clubhouse japanese restaurant.

I showed dvd's of the documentaries we had been involved in previously.
It was great fun to identify the paddlers who were on the teams in
2005, 2006 and 2007.  Some are still with us, some are paddling on
other teams.  We could also compare and contrast our paddling styles. 
I do believe that our 2009 team is good and strong.  We have a group of
core paddlers that has improved a lot since 2005.  And we have some
great rookies and second year paddlers now too!

“Thalassa” is the 2005 TV series produced by France 3, which
followed False Creek Women's Team and Gung Haggis Fat Choy –
contrasting the premier Women's team with a mixed recreational team. 
You can see us doing race visualizations, and even our one-finger lift
of then coach Bob Brinson who also steered for us.

In 2006, CBC film crew shot us at the Vancouver Taiwanese Dragon Boat
Race for the documentary Generations: The Chan Legacy.  Basically
the story was about my great-great-grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan and his
descendants – 5
generations of Chinese Canadians including Todd Wong.  So they
interviewed me, and filmed some of my many  community activities
including dragon boat racing, speaking at Terry Fox Runs, being a
cancer survivor, helping to save author Joy Kogawa's Childhood home,
and the cross-cultural phenomena of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, Toddish
McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner.

And we also showed
footage of the 2007 Dragon Zone Sprint Regatta, captured by ZDF TV
(German) for the doc – From Toronto to Vancouver by Train.  Not much
footage actually made it into the aired edits – but ZDF was kind enough
to make me a dvd with all the footage of our team.

See everybody on Saturday
Please arrive early with your wristband… and get lots of sleep the night before!

Cheers, Todd

Gung Haggis Fat Choy paddlers are paddling into shape

Next practice is Easter Sunday 11am, followed by Tuesday 5:45pm

or if you need to have lunch time free…
join Gayle Gordon's G-Force Wind at 9:45am/10am to 11:30 on the water.

Following
is video that I filmed on Tuesday evening, April 7th.  Last year we used video for a paddle clinic with former Olympic kayaker and FCRCC dragon boat coach, Kamini Jain.  see Kamini Jain gives paddle clinic to Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team

http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/27/3663831.html

I will analyze the video with
individual paddlers at the next practice.  But for now… please enjoy for
what it is… seeing a dragon boat team practice from a drummer/coach's position at the front of the boat.

For
this first video – Gayle and Wendy are leading at an easy pace.  Then
you can hear me call a power series.  The camera focuses on Wendy
first, then Gayle, then afterwards we can see more of Keng and Hillary
in the 2nd seat.

Watch
how much both Wendy and Gayle rotate and reach forward.  This is
Wendy's 4th year with Gung Haggis, after joining as a rookie in 2006. 
By 2007, Wendy had advanced to become a lead stroke.  Gayle has paddled
about 20 years on many competitive and high recreational teams.  You
can watch and see the difference of power that Gayle generates with her
body.  Special note is to watch Gayle really extend her outside
shoulder on her reach.  It almost “pops” forward for those extrat 4
inches.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53803790@N00/3427882337/in/photostream/

In
this second video, you can see an actual start.  Six slow powerful strokes, followed by 12 quicker strokes, then settling into race pace. Watch how vertical the
paddles are at the start and Wendy and Gayle keep the paddles vertical
as they paddle.  Vertical paddles are important to get a stronger
stroke and avoid “slippage” from angled paddles.  As the boat
accelerates, you can really see the effort that Gayle and Wendy, and
Hillary (behind Gayle) make as they pull together with each reach.

This is Hillary's 3rd
season with us, and Keng's 5th season after joining us after Alcan Festival in 2005.

In
the 3rd row, Christine is on the left and Ashleigh on the right. 
Christine has paddled only about 6 times ever on a dragon boat so
far… Ashleigh has paddled since 2005, but missed Alcan races in 06
and 07 due to living abroad.  Mid strokes in the middle of the boat are
Stephen Mirowski (left) and Gerard Graal (right).  Stephen joined us in
2006, after moving from Thunder Bay where he had paddled 1 or 2
seasons.  Gerard joined us in 2005 along with his wife Keng.  You can
really see the rotation that Stephen has, and how he emphasizes a
vertical paddle, while keeping his top arm lower so he can see over his
arm.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53803790@N00/3428724916/

see you next Tuesday…

Join a dragon boat team that specializes in multicultural and community activities:
Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team

Emilie grabs the flag at the 2007 Vancouver Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race. – photo VFK

Hope you can join us for a wonderful
season of dragon boat paddling.  2008 was an AWESOME year
for the
Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.

This team balances paddling with fun social and cultural events, with an emphasis on multiculturalism.

The team has won medals in Vancouver, Victoria, Portland OR, and Vernon.
We have also raced at Harrison, Kent WA, and Cultus Lake.

And… the team has been featured on local, national and international television such as:
Global TV, CBC TV, ZDF Germany, France 3.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team practices 




Sundays 11am – 1pm


Tuesdays begin March 17 St. Patrick’s Day
at 6:00 sharp to 7:45 pm



All practices are from Dragon Zone, at Creekside Park

Southeast corner of False Creek

look for Green trailer building

South of Science World – just above aqua bus ferries.



Parking – park on the street. Try Quebec or 2nd Ave.

pay parking available at Science World – no parking on city lot anymore.



Price for Spring paddling is $105 each, and will cover boat rental, coaching, and paddling until November.

Other races cost additional.

Price for Summer paddling is aproximately $120 each, and
will cover boat rental, coaching, plus registration for one summer
race.  Additional summer races are aproximately $30-$80 each.

We will definitely race the following, as we have for many years…

May 2       Lotus Sports Club “Bill Alley Memorial Dragon Boat Regatta” (Burnaby)
June 7        Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat regatta
June 20-21 Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival – Vancouver
July 25/26 GreaterVernon Dragon Boat Festival (Kalamalka Lake, Vernon BC)
Sept 5/6    Vancouver
International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race (Vancouver)
UBC Day of the Long Boats
Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta

other races to consider – depending on interest
April 25    200m Dash – Deep Cove, North Vancouver
July 11th    Kent-Seattle
Dragon Boat Races (Lake Meridien, Kent WA),
July 19       Richmond Dragon Boat Festival – UBC Boathouse, Richmond,
Aug 14/15  15th Annual Victoria Dragon Boat Festival – Inner Harbour, Victoria, BC, Canada

2008 highlights include:

FEB: We started the 2008 season by having our first practice filmed for a Global TV news story about the Best in BC as part of a news
series highlighting what makes BC world class.  We represented cultural
diversity!
https://www.gunghaggis.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/28/3551687.html

MARCH:  we put some Chinese dragons and lions into the Celtic Fest’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
In the first three years of the St. Patrick’s Day parade, we have put a
Taiwanese dragon boat into the parade,

APR: We hosted Vancouver’s Tartan Day Celebration with a proclamation reading by the deputy mayor Raymond Louie

MAY: We won the team spirit award at the Lotus Sports Club Bill Alley regatta.

JUNE: We improved to Rec C at the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Race. 

JULY/AUG : We raced in finals in Vernon and the Vancouver Taiwanese dragon boat races.

OCT: And… we placed both boats in the A Final of the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta.

Our highlights from 2007 included winning a gold medal in B division at
the 3rd annual Greater Vernon Dragon Boat Festival, held on Kalamalka
Lake.  This is one of our favorite races, and we plan to be returning
to “lake of many colours.”


In 2007, we raced 7 dragon boat races + 2 voyageur canoe races.  We were filmed for German Public Television ZDF for the program “Toronto to Vancouver by Train” http://wstreaming.zdf.de/zdf/veryhigh/071219_toronto_vancouver.asx

a) We became the poster faces for Kilts Night at Doolin’s Irish Pub, every 1st Thursday each month.
b) We raced at the Lotus Sports Club dragon boat regatta at Burnaby’s Barnet Marine Park
c) UBC Day of the Long Boat – 8 voyageur canoes bumping into each other
d) Two Gung Haggis teams at the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe regatta – our beginner/fun team beat our advanced paddlers!

Will we have 1 or 2 teams?
One
team is now confirmed for the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival – but if
enough new people come on board, we can expand to two teams –
Recreation and Beginner.

We
have a lot of people returning + some experienced paddlers, and we have lots of
interest from wanna-be paddlers.

Please
invite friends to come out to try dragon boating over the next two
weeks, before the boat starts going TOO FAST!

contact me by e-mail:    gunghaggisdragon at g mail dot com
home phone: 604 -987- 7124

Cheers, Todd Wong

www.gunghaggis.com/blog/GungHaggisdragonboatteaminformation


Pictures from 2005
1)
Drummer Todd with Flag Grabber Ed on The Eh? Team at Taiwanese Dragon
Boat Race, featured in a 2007 scholastic textbook – “Literacy in Action”
2) Todd with Dave Samis, at Sea Vancouver Festival for dragon head carving tent

Dragon boat practices for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy team have now started.

Here is the Gung Haggis dragon boat team at last year's Lotus Sports Club Bill Alley dragon boat regatta last May '08.

We
braved the February waters of False Creek last weekend on Feb 22nd,  for a wonderful practice to
shake out the winter blahs.  It was good to see friends and new
recruits.

Our recruiting agent/paddler Raphael Fang has written this invitation to paddle:

We practice at Dragon Zone, just south of Science World

Sundays 11am

Tuesday 6pm, (starting March 10th)

New team management:
Tzhe Lam has stepped into management to allow Coach Todd to focus more on coaching.  Thank you Tzhe!

New team format:
pay to join “The Club” for paddling sessions 2 X week
then “add on” races you want to attend.

Contact Tzhe at gunghaggisdragon@gmail.com
Contact Todd at 778-846-7090

Check out team website and stories:
http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/GungHaggisdragonboatteaminformation

Most dragon boat teams have long hung up their paddles, but the Gung Haggis team has their last evening practice prior to the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival canoe Regatta this Thanksgiving weekend.

It's been a long dragon boat paddling season.  We started on Feb 17th Sunday afternoon, when a Global TV camera came out to film us for a “Best of BC” segment about cultural diversity.  Somehow paddling in dragon boats with kilts and celebrating our Chinese traditions in Canada qualifies.

First Practice: Gung Haggis dragon boat team team hits the water with a Global TV cameraman filming them to celebrate BC's cultural diversity

Global “Best of BC” review: Gung Haggis dragon boat team is part of World Class BC on Global News show Feb 26

Our last race of the season is the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta.  There are no prizes, but lots of fun and lots of pride and bragging rights.  For tonight's practice we ran two boats: veterans and new/casual paddlers.  We ran the boats side by side and did some race pieces with turns.  It was lots of fun.  I think there were 10 on the veterans boat and 16 on the fun/casual boat, and the boats stayed pretty close together.

The weather is getting cold in the evenings.  Joe wears his thermal undies to keep layered for our last evening dragon boat practice of the year.- photo Dave Samis

The sun is setting earlier and silhouettes coach Todd Wong – photo Dave Samis

-photo Dave Samis

We raft the boats together for a rest, and coach Todd gives instructions on how to avoid a collision.  Next he tells us that we are going to race to ahead to the pier in front, 1st team goes into the mini-bay and does a loop under and around the bicycle bridge, then out.