I was lurking on the dragonboat forum out west. And their resident idiot (PaddleBoy) said that he and the False Creek guys are going to the Worlds this year.

I thought Missy won the right to go to Australia?

The False Creek guys are going.

at least they can identify their idiots out west.

out here it is one anony idiot after another.

The crew that won (Derek's crew) wasn't able to coordinate their participation, mainly because of the cost of the trip and the lack of sponsorship. They've withdrawn from the open and mixed races, and False Creek has been invited to take over the entry.

False Creek is send their open and mixed premier teams

That sucks. I'd bet that many countries will not be sending their best crews because of the high cost of travelling to Sydney. If the Aussies can put together strong crews, they'll be very competitive.

Sydney will not be a true test of talent. It will be a test of wealth of fundraising prowess. Having the Worlds in a place where 90% of the participating teams will be handicapped by costs was an idiotic decision by the IDBF.

I wouldn't consider False Creek much slower by any means .From what I have seen they appear to be stronger now then when they were at the Club Crews and for that matter the NTT's . And at the NTT's they did not lose by all that much.Some made it sound like they got slaughtered but from what I saw it was far from that .

Good Luck False Creek !!

What's happening with the rest of Team Canada? Are the women still intact?
What about the Senior entries?

the women who won the NTTs are still going as the premier women

The senior open crew is going as well I believe

There are 2 entries per country for senior races (this will be the last time). The crew that won the men's race off (Farintosh's Outer Harbour crew) is going. I don't think the crew that came 2nd (Mac's Senior National Program) is going, particularly now that Mac has left the team. All of the senior women's and mixed crews are intact.

you do not know ****.. they are going

the first person is correct.. the men are not going but the mixed and women are

I retract my rude statement... sorry

i heard that false creek was sending both open and mixed?

Yes they are sending both their premier open and mixed

"The crew that won (Derek's crew) wasn't able to coordinate their participation, mainly because of the cost of the trip and the lack of sponsorship. They've withdrawn from the open and mixed races, and False Creek has been invited to take over the entry."

I can't believe it this is allowed?

Why not? False Creek came (a close)second in the race off, so if the first place team withdraws, they are the next choice. Given their performance at the club crews, I'd say they are a pretty good choice.

What I find really annoying is the " If you don't pay for me to go I'm not going " attitude from teams that qualify . If I were given the chance to go I would fork out whatever it cost out of my own pocket just to have the opportunity , Lack of sponsorship is such a lame ass excuse .They knew where it was and they qualified and if sponsorship fails then pay the money yourself or don't waste other teams time qualifing and then not going . What that does is leaves us scrambling to find someone to replace that team with short notice and sometimes after deadlines.

Trying to find sponsorship at the last minute is next to impossible for teams that are asked to replace them so I imagine the False Creek crew is probably for the most part paying their own way

If i was some top tier paddler that didn't the extra funds to be able to go to Aus, but was told that sponsorship would take care of it, i'd have gone to race with that crew in the NTTs too. and then if sponsorship fell through and all of a sudden i had no means to get there, of course i'm going to not go anymore. thats a hefty chunk of change out of the pockets of paddlers to go and compete there.
so don't go slapping that "if you don't pay, i won't go" crap on them. it might apply to some, who knows, but i'm sure you can't use a blanket statement like that for the whole crew.

I would sell whatever it took to go and damn well find a way .Lack of sponsorship would never have prevented me from having that opportunity.Where there is a will there is always a way it's just you need to take a look around you and maybe sacrifice a little .Sorry ,to me it was a lame ass excuse

It's too bad that the Prem men's entry from T.O. isn't going, because they showed they were the better team. So no matter how you slice it, we are no longer sending our best entry.

As for the lameness of the excuse, this is a REALLY expensive trip. It's hard to think of another destination that would be more expensive to get to. I don't know what the sponsorship situation is/was, but for lack of a sponsor most of the guys in this group couldn't afford to pay out-of-pocket, so they're not going and the "excuse" is not lame. What do you want them to do, sell their cars (those that actually have one)? Get loans? Sell internal organs?

Not likely, and not fair to expect.

But one thing I will say on the other side of this argument is that this group has been burning bridges for years now, and it's no surprise that no one jumped up to help them out. Then again, I don't remember them asking for help either. Did anyone see any fundraising attempts from the men? Any parties, clinics, auctions, car washes, etc? Maybe all that stuff would have been a drop in the bucket and not worth doing without a headline sponsor, but it's too bad that they didn't even appear to try.

Doesn't matter I guess. It's done. Go False Creek.

great post above, and two great points.

The toronto teams haven't made a lot of friends outside their circle. On a personal level, individuals get along, but as a collective the toronto groups are well reputed. whatever your personal thoughts, it is what it is.

Their is a culture of entitlement within this group. Too much hand holding in the past. G&G contributes to that a bit. Reality check boys! Start fundraising now for Moscow 2009. Or at least put a management team and a business plan in place.

I agree....I don't see the point if they enter again for Moscow because we all know in the end they more than likely will not go

Don't mix up groups. If Tutty had been involved, there would have been a crew to go. The athletes respect him and would have signed on.

Most countries will have a hard time getting their best paddlers to Sydney because of the cost of the trip. The European countries are just as far from Sydney as Canada/US. Perhaps the Asain teams will have an advantage because it should cost less to fly to Sydeny from Asia. If the Aussies can put together some strong squads, they will more more competitive than ever.

I think a solution to ensure that best teams go to the Worlds or Clubs crews etc is to create a general fund.

It could be set up like this
Money raised by our Dragon Boat Canada membership fees, use some festivals as partial fundraisers for the National team program.

Until we build up a decent fund teams would be allowed in year 1 to draw %30 from the principal etc etc

Typically an elite paddler spends many hours training and it is pretty hard to find the time to fundraise in addition to taking care of the rest of your life. Most of the "Western" teams will be affected to some degree. The Aussies will be tough on their home court, look for them to do well.

I haven't been on this forum for ages and can't believe I am on it now, let alone posting but you're driving me to this. With regards to your comment:

"...Then again, I don't remember them asking for help either. Did anyone see any fundraising attempts from the men? Any parties, clinics, auctions, car washes, etc? Maybe all that stuff would have been a drop in the bucket and not worth doing without a headline sponsor, but it's too bad that they didn't even appear to try."

Derek and me actually did run clinics all winter at MCC (for the second consecutive year). They were very well attended. We had a number of guys from the premier men and a couple of the premier women participating. The women are using their share of the proceeds towards their trip to the worlds. Unfortunately the clinic couldn't fun the entire trip for 20 guys. Some of the bodies we were relying on had to bail for a variety of reasons, funding certainly being one. The guys who helped with the clinic have put their share of the funds raised to other paddling efforts (training camps, trips etc) and some of us are using the proceeds to go to Molokai like last year. Sorry to disappoint you by not being able to following through, and while I appreciate the commitment of some of the posters here who would give their left arm to participate, some of us, myself included, aren't interested in just participating. After doing it for a long time and doing well when we weren't able to assemble the type of crew we were hoping to we decided to bail and focus on other things. For me, outrigger. Our decision, perfectly acceptable. Great to give False Creek a chance. After last year they deserve it. Good luck to them.

I had no idea your clinics were fundraisers, I thought that was just a job. And from where the money is going in the end, your trip to Hawaii, it looks like it was just a job. Otherwise, wouldn't the money stay with the National Team program?

The point is that your team has not engaged the dragon boat community for years now. If you had, maybe some of us corporate paddlers, the fat butt "wanna-be's" that are so frequently derided in this forum could have helped out by finding sponsorship.

This is where the insular nature of this team becomes a failing. This is why an open door casting call for team tryouts could have helped. Not just for the one or two paddlers you might not find otherwise, but for the connection it would build to the rest of the community and the opportunities for sponsorship that would come with it. And not just tryouts, but other events like those mentionned before. Some of them may not raise much money, but they increase visibility and build relationships.

I don't mean to be insulting, Larry. Some of us really appreciate the work the team has done in the past and the way it has brought pride to our country. But the connection with the rest of the dragon boat community has been neglected and I think that we're starting to see the effects of this.

Respectfully,

Anonymous

Re: July 12 2007, 8:35 AM

I hate it when people find the need to base an opinion on something they know little or nothing about, and then share it with others to paint an unfair, untrue picture of the guys on that team.

Anonymous, unless you can tell me you know the guys from the men's team on a personal level or you're on the DBC committee and were involved with decisions being made with the team, what gives you the right to share your one sided opinion based on lack of information.

Another note. Larry responded to your email honestly and respectfully. I respect a guy who tells it the way it is and is man enough to put his name to it. Thanks Larry, you have done great things for this sport and I wish you luck with your new focus (outrigger). I have no doubt you will do well.


You look like an idiot responding back to Larry's email with,
"Respectfully,
Anonymous" Anonymous???

Get the facts or get a life.

Thank, "anon."

you don't look like much of an idiot either.

That was habit. I meant to put my name.

Anonymous...I paddle out of Sunnyside every Wednesday evening.
Feel free to share your name with us and come down to Sunnyside on Wednesday evenings. We can have a drink and discuss this topic.

If any on this forum would like to help support the Women's Premier team that is going to Australia, please click on this link...

http://nationaldragonboat.com/

and then click on the "Make a Donation" button in the centre of the page. The National Dragonboat Club is happy to host this link to PayPal for the ladies. Best of luck down under, we know you'll all do your best!

joel

Anonymous,

I have a job. I am a teacher. Full time, too, for the last 12 years. Derek has a job as well, also a full time one with nothing to do with paddling. Running the clinics was not our "job" as you suggest but rather something we did to fund our effort for Australia and provide some of the others in the crew with a chance to fund their trips as well. We could have just done it alone but we chose to include a number of other members of the men's and women's teams as well.

In any event, when it became clear that the collective will (for a variety of reasons, personal to each individual) wasn't there and we bailed on Australia we had to put the money to a paddling iniative (rather than buy furniture, electronics, clothes, etc). That was part of our agreement with the MCC to gain access to the facility for the clinics. It's a little hypocritical of you to expect us to donate our personal share of that money to the National Team and not put it towards another great paddling initiative we are involved with like the Molokai Hoe. After all, how much have you personally contributed?

Thanks, Rick, for the support. It's appreciated. And thanks, Joel, for reminding everyone that the women (mostly from this area) are still going to Australia and could use all the help they can get. These girls are great. Remember they won everything they entered last time.

Peace out.

Hey Rick
based on some of the lines of your post, I am hoping that you will back it up by supporting one of the current teams going to Australia (by the way, all excellent crews and they are going to do great both on the water and off)

I believe that the womens premier team have set up a procedure where people can donate online (great job girls)
If not them specifically, perhaps you could donate through DBC?

As far as all other matters go, they are of no importance.

I agree that the teams going will do well and perform at their best. I'm not familiar with the Vancouver team but I'm sure that they will act and represent our country with class.

Unfortunately I don't have alot of money to through around but I will be donating what I can via the new link on the Dragon Boat website for the women...every bit helps I guess.

Good luck Canada!

The Vancouver team is great and will represent Canada well. They were a force to contend with at last years race-off.

As I am sure you can imagine, a trip to Australia is a costly undertaking. I might venure that something is the low $4k+ range would needed to cover all event and travel costs (flight, accommodation, entry, spending money, and food) for each paddler... So how does an athlete awarded the honour and privilege of representing their country pay the bill.

1 - Pay everything yourself. I don't care who you are, but I think for most paddlers would consider that a serious chunk of change.

2 - So add some fundraising. I suggest that it's a lot to add to an already crowded plate: training, other paddling, work, family, life .....

3 - So what about corporate partner(s)? The reality is corporate sponsorship money has dried up, possibly for good. New corporate reporting laws - Sarbanes-Oxley - , the age of CEO/CFO leadership, the next winter Olympics being here in Canada, and the fact that dragon boating is considered to be a third or fourth tier sport makes this avenue unlikely.

So ...... This leaves the paddling community to bear responsibility for some portion. That means you and me. No, we may not on the team, but those people who are are representing us, our country, and our sport. Their success will be ours. It will mean the growth of the sport and its community. If you have the means, break out the piggy bank and give a few bucks to help the ladies going to Australia this year. You want Canada to do well beyond Australia, volunteer ideas for securing regular funding by contacting DBC. It is one thing to say we should send the best, its another to do something about it.

I'll take my usual advice now and shut up and paddle .....

...what about the open team? and the masters? and the juniors? and the grand dragons? and the mixed? If you're really wanting to help out, help out everyone involved.

post their links and/or info.

I like how people think it is so easy to go out and get sponsorship. Its hard enough to get sponsorship dollars in this day and age for events in Canada, let alone on the other side of the world (I know as I personally reviewed their application for funding this year and had to turn them down despite believing in their cause). The women's team have always worked hard to raise money but truth be told they have always funded the majority of their costs and no one was heard them whining.

Good luck ladies!

If you wanted to send some type of funding to help out the FCRCC crews you can e-mail the club at admin@fcrcc.com and put in the header " Support for Australia " and you will get a response back .........I know we could sure use the help as well .

All of us are personally footing the bill on our own and the cost is going to be in the $3-4000 range for each crew member by the end of it and I guess part of the problem for us is the fact we recieved the entry so late .At this point it will be extremely hard to pick up any sponsorship ,more than likely , but it won't stop us from trying . I can tell you that we are all extremely excited to be heading "down under" and would pay whatever the cost just to have this chance to give it our best shot ...for most of us it's a dream come true as would be for any other paddler .

I guess we have the following;
4 Junior Crews
3 Premier Crews
5 Senior Crews
5-6 Grandmaster Crews

408 athletes plus @ $4,000.
$1,600,000 plus to send a Canadain contingent over there.

Last year in August all these crews won the right to represent
Canada this year.

Don't take the gamble that sponsorship money will be available.
That is simply a bonus, you should have planned ahead.
If you can't afford to go because you have other priorities
then don't bleat.

You're all special....no really, truly.
Guess every athlete bleats out there to send them for free if
they have the Maple Leaf on their back.

Larry, you can afford to go to Molokai but not Australia ?
Why not simply join forces with FCRCC instead and form the
National Team everyone talks about.

I think the point is that at this point after doing it a number of times if we can't have a crew like the ones we've had in the past (Philly or Shanghai) the I would rather not go and let someone else have a chance. Slam me if you want to. I wish False Creek all the best. I think I am pretty much done with dragon boat anyway. Outrigger is something that presents new challenges and grabs my fancy a lot more these days. Oh yeah, the Molokai trip is substantially cheaper as well.