What (you may be asking) do Dragon Boats and beer gardens have in common? Last weekend I had the pleasure of enjoying both at Vancouver’s Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival. Close to 180 teams and 5,000 paddlers descended on Vancouver’s False Creek to participate in this 24 year old festival. There were dozens of food stalls and vendors, including folks from the Vancouver MEC store offering a selection of paddles, PFDs and other watersports gear, and it was a busy and festive atmosphere despite the rainy weather.
This was my first season with a team in Vancouver after moving from Ottawa last January. Almost as soon as I arrived I started seeking out a team to join. I made it a priority because training, playing and racing with a team of 20 like-minded individuals seemed like a great way to meet new people. Add to that a tendency for teams to socialize over Saturday morning breakfasts and evening drinks following our bi-weekly practices and I was looking forward to getting started.
Out here on the west coast, practices started in early March. It was fantastic to be out on the water so early in the season when other areas of the country were still waiting for the ice and snow to melt. Sure we needed to be ready with good rain gear and gloves to keep the chill off, but paddling through a crisp, clear morning in March was a fantastic feeling and reminded me of why I moved to Vancouver in the first place.
During the two-day festival each team competed in four races. For my team, Splash Test Dragons, our first two races felt pretty good. Our times were a bit slower than expected, as we battled tides and drift. On Sunday the weather cleared and everybody’s mood picked up and so did our race times. We won our final two races, including a very close race for the gold medal in our division; which we won by 0.23 of a second. We were ecstatic. I haven’t won a medal since competing in elementary school track and field. I always say I’m not competitive, that I just want to get out and have fun. And yet, this one victory, in a recreational league to-boot, was a reason to celebrate, pose for photos with organizers (wearing our medals), head rowdily to the beer garden, and re-live our victory with cheers and a rousing, off-key version of “We Are The Champions.”
Dragon boat festival season has just begun and there are many festivals scheduled across the country including this weekend in Ottawa and Toronto. Good luck and happy paddling to all dragon boat teams this summer and as my coach would say…Paddles Up!
Filed under: Activities, From Our Staff, Watersports
