The dragon boat season will shortly be upon us and we at Great White North wanted to touch base with you as early as possible with some updates and changes for 2006.



GWN Outer Harbour Practice Club Site:



We have come to the decision that as of February 15th, 2006, Great White North Communications will cease full-season operations and general involvement at the GWN club site (Unwin Avenue) for the 2006 season. Unfortunately, this includes the GWN 3000m Endurance Challenge and GWN Summer Sizzler Race League.



Many of you are aware that there are alternative training sites operating in the Greater Toronto Area. We would like to recommend the following operators using quality BuK boats:



Pickering Dragon Boat Club

Balmy Beach Canoe Club

Urban Canoe Club

Richmond Hill Canoe Club

Mississauga Canoe Club



You will find contact information for these clubs attached, or you may go to our website at www.dragon-boat.com/bookpractices.htm . We value your commitment over the years and apologize for any inconvenience this closure may cause you.

If your team wishes to continue to train in BuK Dragon Boats,
GWN is pleased to suggest the following clubs

Pickering Dragon Boat Club
Location: Frenchman’s Bay East Shore Marina, Pickering, Ontario
Website: www.pdbc.ca/
E-Mail: practice@pdbc.ca

Balmy Beach Canoe Club
Location: Ashbridges Bay – Coxwell Ave. & Lakeshore Blvd. E., Toronto, Ontario
Website: www.balmybeachcanoe.com/dragon.htm
E-Mail: bbccdragonboat@balmybeachcanoe.com

Urban Canoe Club
Location: Marilyn Bell Park, Toronto, Ontario (west of Ontario Place)
E-Mail: steveblackburn@rogers.com

Richmond Hill Canoe Club
Location: Lake Wilcox, 13090 Bayview Ave., Richmond Hill, Ontario
Website: http://www.rhcc.ca/
E-Mail: dragonboat@rhcc.on.ca

Mississauga Canoe Club
Location: 31 Front St. N., Mississauga, Ontario
Website: www.mississaugacanoeclub.ca/
E-Mail: mccdragonboat@mississaugacanoeclub.ca

1) Does this mean that the 4 practices that are included with GWN registration will no longer be offered? Or will there be an alternative practice site offered?

2) Does this in turn mean that the pricing for the GWN regatta will be reduced to reflect no practices?

Good Joke!

I think it's time for the moderators to come back.

I initially thought this to be a cruel joke but I received this email directly from the GWN office. So now its a cruel reality. Rob Chang where are you!!!???

In the email from GWN they mentioned they will be opening up the practice site in August so the free practices will most likely remain but be required to take place in August or early September


"Practices for the 12th Annual GWN Challenge will continue to take place at the Outer Harbour site (Unwin Avenue) beginning in August. As always, teams can book their practice and coaching sessions for the Challenge with Great White North upon receipt of your paid GWN Challenge registration."

but additional practices will be $90 a pop..ouch.

Does anyone find this kind of strange?

I mean, whats going on? I thought they ran tons of practices and had coaches etc.

Anyone know anything more?

Talk to anyone who runs a practice site. Believe it or not, these things lose money.

I KNEW GWN was only in it for the $$$$$$$$$$$$!

OMG a business in it for the money.. what is this world coming to? Next thing you are going to tell me that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is only in it for the money as well.

My world is spinning rigt now.

Of course they're in it for the money (never in doubt), but does it make sense in the long run to shut down the practice centre. How will this affect registration at their money making events, like the GWN Challenge?

If renting boats is a money losing proposition, but races MAKE money, what GWN is saying is basically "let everyone else lose money running a practice site, I'm going to skim the cream off the top at my regatta."

This year TCBA is likely facing a backlash for their actions of last summer. Word on the street is that TIDBRF registrations are going to take a big hit. It may take a while for the GWN site cancellation to sink in, but by abandoning teams that have traditionally paddled out of their site they could face a similar backlash themselves.

We'll see.

(what I'm dead certain we WILL see is a lot of GWN boosters somehow trying to whitewash this thing. In 5...4...3...2.....)

how happy is sharifa right now with her about to launch her new club

This has probably got something to do with the huge power plant they're probably going to build right where the club is. You can bet construction will start soon. I'm sure the site was never meant to be permanent.

That practice site was probably doing okay, but not well enough to justify the amount of work it took to run.

GWN's business is changing and they likely decided to focus on boat building and event management. They run events all over the continent and I heard they may have sold as many as 40-45 boats last year -- and those things sell for about the same price as a KIA (aieeeeeee!)

Teams now have a lot of training options so a GWN site isn't as important as it used to be. And they're a business so I don't fault them for the decision. But I do think they could've communicated it better and been more forthcoming about the reasons. Many teams have been with them for years and, as stakeholders of sorts, might have been more understanding if they'd been consulted before the decision came down the pipe in a mass email. This was done in dumb way.

But if it opens the door for more not-for-profit clubs or paddling cooperatives (the way most established sports are organized) then paddlers should benefit in the long run.

How do you know they didn't communicate with certain teams like their sponsored teams. I'll bet they did.

Possibly GWN is joining the WEBSA group to get some stake at the new course along the breakwall before TCBA gets their dirty hands on most of it!

Hope they get setup fast! Time and space along the great wall will be limited.

West End Beaches Stakeholders Association (WEBSA)

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2005/agendas/committees/edp/edp051109/it016.pdf

Happy rumouring folks

I heard WEBSA is the rogue arm of PETA

WEBSA's not that big of a deal. TCBA doesn't even show up for those meetings.

Funny that GWN should be interested in setting shop along the new waterway system in the west end, considering that they and their 'loyal' follower were looking for any way of new breakwall development. Personally, I am happy with their less involvement in dragonboating - they have been a negative influence.

As for Sharifa - whether you like her or not, she was instrumental in getting the world club crew championship to Toronto. Even if you were not going to participating in the event, you at least have the opportunity to see how we would do against some of the other countries

GWN a negative influence? What drugs are you on? Seriously.

Seems GWN knew ahead of time about the power plant announcment.