I know there is another tread on here about the A final, but I just wanted to say a few general comments about the venue and the event. I was impressed with how smoothly things went and how nice the venue as a whole was for racing. I was a little worried when I saw they only had one set of boats going, but was amazed at how smoothly things seemed to run. The event was even on time (give or take 5 minutes). How many races, even the smaller ones, manage that? Loading and unloading went quickly, and if a team was missing a drummer, steersman or paddler, the event staff seemed to have one ready for you by the time you reached your boat.

The lanes were all well spaced out and I didn't find any real bias. Of course the river is well dredged and deep, so that helps a lot. Winners seemed pretty evenly spaced out of lanes 1, 2 and 3 in the finals (Premier Women won from Lane 1). They weren't using lane 4 for the finals, but my team won out of Lane 4 in the semi-final, as did several other teams, so you can't say the outside lanes were slower.

The hardware was decent - I know a lot of the lower level teams (and first time teams) felt really proud and were appreciative to get anything for their effort. And the Open Division Winners Plaque was a nice touch. Plus I appreciate the fact that MCC actually bothered to have a photographer taking offical team pictures with the awards.

The news report on tv last night was also very cool.

I've only two small areas for improvement next year. Times were a little slow to be posted early on (it got better later in the day). And I would have loved to see a few more of the top level teams out for the event. It's cheap, and fun, so why weren't more teams there? Free entry into next year's race would be great. Hopefully next year.

Thanks to MCC for a great day! At least, from my point of view.

"It's cheap, and fun, so why weren't more teams there?"

Other regattas of similar quality are cheaper. This one cost $750 if I'm not mistaken. Milton was $500, Stoufville was $550.

The problem is that there are lots of regattas for teams to enter, so competition gets spread around.

The price is pretty comparable to Stouffville & Milton when you include the cost of the park entrance fee which was $5 per person in Stouffville (22 x $5 = another $110 per team minimum).

This was only their second year, but with a club full of volunteers (who happen to be paddlers), the event went pretty smoothly.

There was free parking available in the area (Port Credit Library, on street, GO Station)

Close to amenities (Starbucks, GO station)

Knowledgeable PA announcers.

$2 Ice Cappachinos and slushies on site.

4 x 200m races adds a different dimension.

TCBA Simon River boats.

Excellant docking (Don Rowing Club & MCC)

Hats off to MCC for adding yet another event to the GTA mix. We are lucky to have so many choices.

You're still off by $100 with your comparison. I understand that you're trying to promote your event for next year, and that's fine. But I don't really agree with your logic.

Stouffville had 4 races as well but 2 of those were 500m. Those races helped to prepare a crew for next weekend at the Island.

I was at both MCC & Stouffville, and must say that while the MCC race was fun for a change, I enjoyed Stouffville more. However, Milton is a different story. I went last year, and I'd definitely recommend the MCC event instead of Milton.

Do you work for Mcc

I don't think the original poster is from MCC but thanks for promoting the event. Our website is gomissygo.ca or mississaugacanoeclub.ca. Part of the regiatration money goes to the Credit Valley Hospital, I think it's the cancer centre. Sorry, but when they put up the results, they forgot to leave the fundraising info and I don't have it at hand...

And no,I am not a Missy paddler either!

Anything that Missy does is always top notch,has been for years.Can be kind of annoying ,but they really know what they are doing, and have a great executive and tons of volunteers.

This event sounds like its worth checking out!200m races before the Island ARE still good preparation,imo.Helps the starts and finishes...hahaha

To clear things up: I'm not associated with MCC or any of the other major players (GWN, Toronto, etc). I have paddled for years and have been all over Canada and the US for dragon boat events. I'm not paddling this year, just coaching, but I have paddled with A division teams in the past, although never the National team

I just thought it was a good event. Had I been at Stouffville than I might have raved about that event too. It sounds like it was a great event. I've paddled Milton and not found it that great, even if it is cheaper. For my team, $750 for a well run event is reasonable.

And I wasn't the the one who responded to the second post - that was someone else, as I always use my middle name (Lynn) when I comment. But I'm glad someone else though the day went well too. Everyone seemed to be having a really good time. And I'll definately add Stouffville to my teams list of regattas for next year.