FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, April 27 / - GWN Dragon Boat introduces the spectacle of dragon boating to the magic of Walt Disney World Resort GWN Dragon Boat is thrilled to announce the launch of the Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival (OIDBF) at Walt Disney World Resort October 18, 2008.

Dragon boat festivals bring together teams of 20 paddlers, a steersperson and a drummer who work in unison to accomplish a common goal. Embraced by social groups and businesses worldwide, the sport of dragon boating builds camaraderie, and a sense of “team” through participation in sport.

The OIDBF brings together North America’s leading dragon boat festival production company with the ideal venue at Village Lake, at Downtown Disney, a shopping, dining and entertainment district of Walt Disney World Resort.

The world’s fastest growing water sport joins other world-class sport-festival events hosted at the number one family vacation destination in the world. “We’re very excited about this race, which will be a world class event for the entire family,” said Christine Canevari a member of the Tampa Bay Dragon Boat Club.

The weekend event will combine the power of the dragon with the magic of Disney. Festivities will include racing, pre and post event celebrations, and music as well as the activities offered by Walt Disney World Resort.

GWN has identified an opportunity to develop a flagship event in Central Florida which can host over 5000 global participants and tens of thousands of spectators. “This is an exciting time for the global sport of dragon boating. We believe that having the event at Walt Disney World Resort will enable us to create an international dragon boat experience second to none” said Mike Kerkmann, President of GWN Dragon Boat and the International Dragon Boat Federation’s Pan Am representative.

This ancient sport has been gaining popularity in North America over the past twenty years, with Florida representing the sport’s fastest growing market. Tampa Bay will host the IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in 2011. GWN Dragon Boat provides equipment and production support to festivals in Miami, Tavares and Tampa Bay and operates highly popular Dragon Boat Spring Training Camps in Tampa Bay and Melbourne, Florida.

Registration for the Central Florida event has already begun and excitement throughout the dragon-boat community is building.
About GWN Dragon Boat

GWN Dragon Boat is North America’s largest full service dragon boat event marketing company producing over 45 festivals annually. Additional activities include training camps, dragon boat equipment sales and corporate events.

For additional information please visit: www.gwndragonboat.com or contact:
Aaron Soroka
Director of Business Development
GWN Dragon Boat
Tel: 416.962.8899
E-Mail: aaron@gwndragonboat.com

Don't miss out on the early bird registration deadline for the Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival! After tomorrow (7/31/08) the savings will be over!!

The team registrations are flying in, so don't miss out on North America's best new dragon boat venue and festival!

The Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival takes place on October 18th in Downtown Disney. These 500m races are right smack in the middle of all of the magic of Disney! Parking is free, and entrance to Downtown Disney is free. Hotels on the park grounds are arranged for this event for either $85/night at All Star Sports, or $120/night at Port Orleans Riverside!!

Special park ticket prices are also available for paddlers and their families! Come and make a vacation out of it!

Individuals are also encouraged to sign up at the top of the www.gwndragonboat.com home page, by clicking on "Join a Team".

Call or email today for your team's Out-of-State or Out-of-Country promo code!

Christine Canevari
Florida Marketing Coordinator
GWN Dragon Boat
813-471-1548
christine@gwndragonboat.com

or call

Carolyn at GWN
416-962-8899
carolyn@gwndragonboat.com

Just out of curiosity's sake, are there photos of this race course?

Google Earth has some great photos of Village Lake and Downtown Disney. We're gonna end our season at Disney this year and I hope we get some competition down there and not just a bunch of lame-ass Florida teams. Ha Ha can you guess I'm from Toronto? Wrong.

Lame Ass Florida Teams???

Gee....I was in the final race in at the Tampa Bay Dragon Boat Races in May and a local, Tampa breed team, TECO beat the hell out of the Canadian Team Chaos....that I've read a lot about in the "preditions" for various canadian races......Lame.....I don't think so! Can't wait for a head to head competition!!!!

Race Lane Team A Division Place Time
42 1 Tampa Blade Runners 4 1:49.54
FINAL 2 TECO Black 3 1:47.91
4:20 PM 3 Team Chaos 2 1:46.85
4 TECO Red 1 1:46.17
5 Red Dragons D.B.R.T. of FL 5 1:49.82

Florida (TECO) Paddler

Is this some pathetic attempt at trash talk. Ok well your Florida team that had been on the water for three months BARELY beat Chaos who had been on the water for a grand total of THREE days.

We excited to be welcoming teams from the US, Canada and Trinidad. Teams have been busy registering and the event will provide an opportunity for teams to race crews they do not usually race against at other local races. There are teams coming from the following states and provinces:

Canada
Ontario
Quebec

USA
Pennsylvania
New York
Vermont
Florida
South Carolina
North Carolina
Georgia
Tennessee

We are looking forward to seeing teams from many more of the dragon boat hot spots throughout North America and overseas.

"TECO beat the hell out of the Canadian Team Chaos.."

Since when is .68 seconds "beating the hell out of.."

And if that is the case then the Canadian team who had been on the water for only three days destroyed the other 60 or so Florida teams there.

Chaos is a C level team up here is the great white north.
Congrats TECO! We'll see you and Micky in a couple of months.

I think it's both unkind and inaccurate to call Chaos a "C" level team.

They have improved greatly this year, and are more of an A/B level threat than a "C" team. Not fast enough to beat the likes of Mayfair, FCRCC, Verdun, etc at the recent National Championships but a very solid contender in Ontario festival racing.

They've made big strides this year. This spring they were barely paddling and were there for their training camp, weren't they? By now they're faster.

ohhh someone from Chaos took the bait (I could see that coming as soon as the C division comment came out)

Don't worry about what people post here on the forum anonymously - let your results speak for themselves.

Chaos has been in the top five or six teams at most of the Canadian races results posted here. That makes them a A/B team.

I think Chaos is an A-level team period. A division in Ottawa and par with Piranhas and Hammerheads at Nationals. (Though they rock both of them at the 2000m)

Lots of pictures of the venue if you type in "downtown disney, fl" in the Google Earth search box.

Gee...how long has Chaos been paddling? 10, 15, 20 years......The Tampa teams are only 3 years old!

Enough about chaos
Who's actually going to this event??

October is still a hurricane season in Florida and season ends in November. What happen if I already brought the air ticket and GWN has to cancel the event because of hurricane. Any refund????

hmm.....no reply from GWN

not from GWN but since when does bad weather decide if you get a refund at a dragon boat festival?
I think its a stupid question.

it's something called travel insurance.

I think the guy/gal meant refund of festival registration which is $1500. Disney entrance ticket went up to 80 per adult.

I think the guy/gal meant refund of festival registration which is $1500. Disney entrance ticket went up to 80 per adult.

Correction, it is 1750

IT SUCKS WHEN THE EVENT IS CANCELLED DUE TO HURRICAN AND YOU CANNOT GET YOUR REGISTRATION MONEY BACK. TWO YEARS AGO, MIAMI HAD TO CANCEL THEIR EVENT DUE TO HURRICANES AND YOU ARE OUT OF LUCK AFTER YOU PAID FOR REGISTRATION.

I can see their point since pretty much all the event expenses still need to be paid.

why the heck GWN organise a festival during a hurricane season and there is another discussion going on it coincide with another local miami festival which was going on the past few years. common sense or solely wants to force local festivals to close shop

What a stupid discussion. October is a fabulous time to paddle in Florida. Lots of sunshine and comfortable temps. As for hurricanes it is mostly the southern coastal areas that are affected. Central Florida including Greater Orlanda might get hit with a much reduced tropical depresssion if anything at all.

What a stupid discussion. October is a fabulous time to paddle in Florida. Lots of sunshine and comfortable temps. As for hurricanes it is mostly the southern coastal areas that are affected. Central Florida including Greater Orlanda might get hit with a much reduced tropical depresssion if anything at all.


Totally wrong observation. Disney had to close their park a number of times especially during the year of Wilma. Hurricane does not care if it is Mickey Mouse or not, central florida also get hit a number of times but Miami was fine.

Sorry.
Based on recorded data from FEMA:
In 150 years, only 59 storms have impacted Orlando.
In 150 years Orlando has not even been close to category 4 or 5 hurricane.
What is more interesting is Orlando's recent history. The city has not been hit by a category 2 or larger hurricane since Hurricane Donna in 1960! Even Hurricane David in 1979, which went up the East Florida coast did not have much of an impact on Orlando. While sustained winds were near 100 mph on the coast, in Orlando, the winds were well below 40 mph.

the above post is definitely not from someone who lives in Florida. Let the floridians tell you what is happening during the past few years.

Hurricane Charley 2004

...Charley then came under the influence of an unseasonably strong mid-tropospheric trough that had dropped from the east-central United States into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane turned north-northeastward and accelerated toward the southwest coast of Florida as it began to intensify rapidly; dropsonde measurements indicate that Charley's central pressure fell from 964 mb to 941 mb in 4.5 hours. By 10 am, the maximum winds had increased to near 125 m.p.h., and three hours later had increased to 145 m.p.h. - category 4 strength. Charley made landfall with maximum winds near 150 m.p.h. on the southwest coast of Florida just north of Captiva Island around 3:45 pm. An hour later, Charley's eye passed over Punta Gorda. The hurricane then crossed central Florida, passing near Kissimmee and Orlando. Charley was still of hurricane intensity around midnight when its center cleared the northeast coast of Florida near Daytona Beach.

Frances 2004

Frances made landfall near Stuart, Florida just after midnight on the 5th with 105 m.p.h. (category 2) maximum winds. Frances gradually weakened as it moved slowly across the Florida Peninsula, and became a tropical storm just before emerging into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico early on September 6.

Jeanne 2004

By the 23rd , high pressure had built in over the northeastern United States and western Atlantic, causing Jeanne to turn westward. Jeanne strengthened and became a major hurricane on the 25th while the center moved over Abaco and then Grand Bahama Island. Early on the 26th , the center of Jeanne's 60-mile-wide eye crossed the Florida coast near Stuart, at virtually the identical spot that Frances had come ashore three weeks earlier. Maximum winds at the time of landfall are estimated to be near 120 m.p.h.

Jeanne weakened as it moved across central Florida, becoming a tropical storm during the afternoon of the 26th near Tampa, and then weakening to a depression a day later over central Georgia. The depression was still accompanied by heavy rain when it moved over the Carolinas, Virginia, and the Delmarva Peninsula on the 28th and 29th before becoming extratropical.


Disney: Whenever there is a hurricane warning, Disney would close so it does not matter whether it is going to be a direct hit or not.

You must understand. When a hurricane is projected to hit Florida the whole state is on alert. The hurricanes projected cone can be hundreds of miles wide. Meaning the eye of the storm can project to hit Miami but the outskirts may run through Orlando just in case. If that is the case Disney must shut down. Would out of state teams really want to board a flight if Orlando has the slightest chance of a race being cancelled?

Bottome line, GWN should hold their race during the non-hurricane season. It is tough for me to tell 22 people they should come down.

It is called travel insurance

Is there something called festival insurance to my whole team? I also heard that the sponsoring hotels are not refunding your money for the first night if you cancel.

Travel insurance covers your entire trip. It has nothing to do with the hotel, it is the insurance provider policy you have to worry about. If you are so concerned about it, spend the $20 and buy the insurance or use your Gold CC to make reservations.

Lets change things a bit on this thread. Who is going to Disney?

wonder why GWN has not respond to festival refund of $1700 in case of hurricane. When buying travel insurance, make sure it covers hurricane or bad weather. The other problem is October is still a raining season. Though no hurricane but in the event of rain and thunder, Disney would close or temporarily shut down all rides. We were there once during heavy rain though no hurricane, the park had to close and we had to leave about 3.00 obviously no refund.

Attention: GWN is now offering festival insurance. For $20 per person you can purchase festival insurance and get your share of the entry fee back if the event is cancelled due to a hurricane.
Call 555-4GWN for details.

11:57AM - have you tried to contact GWN and ask them about "festival insurance" - or are you just waiting for for the answer to fall in your lap?

Ok. You're all nuts. October weather has been great the past 4 years. No reason to expect anything different. Are you that afraid of competing against US teams?

Florida Paddler - you are kidding right?

Are you the same person who claimed that TECO beat the hell out of Team Chaos?

I think it is funny that a our 20th ranked team, who had only been on the water for 3 days, came within a second of stealing your home event, and you claim it as a huge victory.

I Didn't see any Florida teams in Penang. Will we see any in China in 2010??

What you fail to recognize is that Canadian teams have been dragon Boating for 20+ years. Florida only 5.

Does festival insurance covers thunderstorm or heavy rain? Someone from Florida said it is still a raining season. Disney has a policy in the event of thunderstorm, they would close all the rides (i think for fear of being sued)and if persists for more than half an hour, the park would be close. So if our team arrives in disney and there is a thunderstorm and event is cancelled, would our team get a full refund?

How about coming to paddle at the 6th Annual South Florida Dragon Boat festival at Haulover Marina on October 3 and 4 and the last time I talked to the organizer, they are offering free registration for out of town teams. Would try to contact the organizer again to confirm this good news. So don't need to worry about festival insurance.

Haulover Festival's website is www.miamidragonboat.com

Ok. You're all nuts. October weather has been great the past 4 years. No reason to expect anything different. Are you that afraid of competing against US teams?

Florida Paddler - you are kidding right?

Are you the same person who claimed that TECO beat the hell out of Team Chaos?

I think it is funny that a our 20th ranked team, who had only been on the water for 3 days, came within a second of stealing your home event, and you claim it as a huge victory.

I Didn't see any Florida teams in Penang. Will we see any in China in 2010??


Ok. You're all nuts...written possibly by someone connected to Tampa festival because Tampa and GWN are together in this disney festival.

funny how chaos has paddled for 20+ years and TECO only 4'

Haulover course is terrible unless team draws lane 1 or 2.

"funny how chaos has paddled for 20+ years and TECO only 4'"

Who has paddled for 20+ years? I mean if you want to start making things up try to make up something that is remotely believable.

GWN really toots its own horn here.

This will be the most commercial event ever produced.

And your point is?

is GWN that good?

How can anyone be critical of GWNs attempt to bring dragon boating to Disney? It can only help grow things in Florida and internationally to have Disney's brand attached to the sport. Disney Sports is a marketing machine. IDBF should take notice too.

Good looking medals for sure ...

I don't think anyone was bashing GWN, everyone knows they run a great event and associating themselves with Disney is genius. The only complaints were the dates that they were holding the event (hurricane season and coincides with local events). Even with the two minor complaints its no big deal, teams just have to know that the venue may get cancelled due to a Hurricane and teams must decide which event they want to go too.

Are you sure that Disney would promote the sport. My feeling is that GWN has to pay big bucks to rent the place and therefore charging $1750 for registration. On top of it, you need to pay $20 each paddlier for event insurance in case of thunderstorm, heavy rain and hurricane. In addition, are all the boats going to be the same type and weight. In tampa, half of the boats are different from each other.

The person who complained about the lane problem at Haulover - for your information...in 2006, the team that won the open challege cup in the finals were on Lane 5, which was the Ocean Rescue. The organizer did not had the information for 2007 because nobody has ever complained about the lane problem till someone kept writing criticism about Haulover's lane problem in this forum...wondering who is this person???

The only complaints were the dates that they were holding the event (hurricane season and coincides with local events


Does GWN purposely set the date to coincide with local festivals with the intention to expand their empire/corporation and force the locals to close shop.

The locals are their clients moron. Why bite the hand that feeds them.
And the $20 event insurance was surely a joke.
What a bunch of goofballs.

5:04 - Give it up. I'm the one who posted on 4:17 and don't like GWN having their dates so close to local events and in hurricane season but lets be honest. GWN runs a great event and its true what some have said. Let the paddlers decide. The local events especially in Miami need to step it up.

5:00 p.m. - have you ever raced in haulover? There is no lane problem but its known that the two closest lanes to shore have an advantage. You cannot change the course but they made it fair by having the deserving teams get those lanes in the finals. If you don't think so, then if your team gets 1st or 2nd place and they put you in lane 1 or 2 go ahead and tell them you want lane 5.

"There is no lane problem but its known that the two closest lanes to shore have an advantage."

Doesn't this sentence contradict itself?

you are right, my sentence did contradict itself. i was responding to the poster who wrote,

"The person who complained about the lane problem at Haulover - for your information...in 2006, the team that won the open challege cup in the finals were on Lane 5, which was the Ocean Rescue. The organizer did not had the information for 2007 because nobody has ever complained about the lane problem till someone kept writing criticism about Haulover's lane problem in this forum...wondering who is this person???"

his point is that there is no lane advantage because lane 5 won the finals in 2006. but it is well known that lane 1 and 2 has an advantage but there is NO problem now because the deserving teams get those lanes in the qualifying races. Whereas before, the finals the lanes were picked randomly and the fastest team in the qualifying COULD get lanes 3 - 6. Which was unfair because a lesser team in lane 1 or 2 could possible win in the finals.

and yes in 2006 someone from lane 5 did win, so my other point is if he wants to use that data to back up his point. then if his team is good enough to get lanes 1 or 2, then he should volunteer to take lane 3 - 6 and prove his point.

What is the out of town rate for this event?

Was Disney closed during the recent storm Fey though not a hurricane but heavy rain which flooded many places?

The out-of-state rate is $1500, and the out-of-country rate is $1250.

I am the Executive Director of the Tampa Bay International Dragon Boat Festival, and I also am working for GWN to help promote the Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival locally here in Florida. The introduction of the sport to a new market in Florida is helping the sport flourish, and here in Tampa we are extremely excited to have not only another event to race at, but a whole new market of paddlers that can come race here with us in Tampa. I'm sure The Central Florida Dragon Boat Festival, the Miami Hong Kong Festival and the Miami Haulover Festival organizers would all agree with me.

I especially like the comment that "GWN does not bite the hand that feeds them." That is quite true, and what a great effort GWN is making bringing more and more of the sport into our great state. Our state is huge, and to only be able to race at 4 venues in one season (driving distance) is difficult when trying to keep our teams running year round, and to keep people motivated. GWN is growing the sport here. They add stature to the events that they service, and they are bringing more business by adding their own events.

We can only hope that in 5-10 more years we will have a race to be able to go to every weekend during peak season, such as many of you do up there in Toronto. More racing = more experience. Eventually Florida based teams will have the ability to compete amongst teams from Toronto, Philadelphia, Portland and San Diego (sorry if I'm leaving any meccas out).

Growing the sport is a great focus to have instead of complaining about it. The Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival at Walt Disney World IS going to be a great event, and we hope that you don't miss out on it, or any of the other festivals in 2009 in Florida:

Central Florida DB Festival - April 4th
Tampa Bay International DB Races - May 2nd
St. Pete International DB Races - May 16th
Miami Hong Kong DB Festival at Brickell Key - May 23rd

Thanks,
Christine

...I'm sure The Central Florida Dragon Boat Festival, the Miami Hong Kong Festival and the Miami Haulover Festival organizers would all agree with me.... not entirely true.

I am sure the other local organizers would not support you and GWN if you continue to set up date that clashes with their festivals which were set many many months ago and prior to GWN setting the date.

Did Disney close the park when thunderstorm fey came and flooded many areas?

The organizer for the South Florida Dragon Boat Festival/Haulover has changed the date to October 3 and 4. Any team interested to paddle at the festival, please go to www.miamidragonboat.com. From what we have heard, you do not need to worry about paying $20 festival insurance like what GWN is going to change each paddlers in case of hurricane or heavy rain fall. Money back guarantee.

only the waterparks were closed. "The water parks often close because of lightning..."

"It's a combination of the rain and the winds. It's just inclement weather," Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said of Typhoon Lagoon's closure.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-faybiz2208aug22,0,7765370.story?track=rss

only the waterparks were closed. "The water parks often close because of lightning..."

"It's a combination of the rain and the winds. It's just inclement weather," Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said of Typhoon Lagoon's closure.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-faybiz2208aug22,0,7765370.story?track=rss

We can only hope that in 5-10 more years we will have a race to be able to go to every weekend during peak season, such as many of you do up there in Toronto....

Wondering which team or teams are rich enough to race every weekend???? Are there teams that race every weekend in Toronto?????

Tropical Storm Fay August 25 2008, 4:45 PM

only the waterparks were closed. "The water parks often close because of lightning..."

"It's a combination of the rain and the winds. It's just inclement weather," Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said of Typhoon Lagoon's closure.

For sure Disney would close the dragon boat festival since it is a water sports.

Christina's message: we can only hope that in 5-10 more years we will have a race to be able to go to every weekend during peak season, such as many of you do up there in Toronto. More racing = more experience

Sounds like there is some contradiction: how do we paddle every week when Tampa and GWN set up their date the same as other festival organizers in Miami? Not sure if the team would have the energy to race every week also. It is not cost effective to set up race date so close to each other.

I agree with the above poster but the bottom line the Miami events need to improve their own venues. Just comparing to all the Florida races, its tough to compete with Tampa's event. Tampa has the best race site, no lane problems, sponsoring hotels walking distance to race AND to nightlife, and most important, races our on time.

I know some things our out of the control of the miami events but at least have the races be on time!!! Brickell finally did this past year and hopefully Haulover will in October.

As long as Christine has the best race in the state she will throw her weight around because all the other venues can't compete with hers.

Previous thread mentioned Tampa venue stinks when there is heavy rain and no sitting or standing place to watch the race finish. There are boats on both sides of the finish line making it difficult to watch. Tampa still depends on buoy for their starting line. Those of us who race at festivals with buoy starting line knows it could be problem with trying to line four or siz or eight boat exactly on the starting line when there is strong wind etc. Delay sometimes can be unavoidable due to weather and also teams who are late for the first race.

You don't have to race in Tampa, nobody is forcing you.

I've never heard anyone say the Tampa race stinks. Some of your points our valid (not place to watch/sit) but as for the starts, they are fine. The race is in a channel so the wind isn't that big a factor for an experianced steersperson. Its the best race in Florida and its not even close.

Again, Haulover please have your races be on time!

I've never heard anyone say the Tampa race stinks - search this forum under Tampa festival and you would see a discussion regarding it.

We had an experienced steerperson but our start was messed up when we were trying to go forward and backward (commands given by starting officiator) trying to align with the other boats.

I was only comparing Tampa to the other Florida races, not out of state. If you think the wakes/starts are bad in Tampa, then you must have not raced in Tavares, Miami, or Haulover. The open waters in those venues are much rougher with less experienced starters. I'm not even from Tampa but was just responding to the other poster complaining why/how Christine can schedule conflicting dates...its because she runs the best venue and can throw her weight around. Miami needs to get their act together.

As stated in earlier forum, Tampa's race date was revised due to a lot of factors, including a request by the City for the festival date to be moved back due to two other HUGE event conflicts in Tampa that were strapping Tampa's finest. One event was an enormous hispanic parade that is growing bigger each year. Tampa race organizers listened to our City officials.

And no, this is not from Christine...who, by the way has done a bang up job not only in Tampa, but in growing the sport in Florida!

Your community would only be so lucky to have such a sharp, dedicated, responsible party in charge of your program.

tampa paddler - thanks for the info on Tampa. Just curious, do you know why GWN did their disney race in October? If your not in the loop with GWN, thats ok.

Miami received a lot of complaints through this forum, possibly from some paddlers who paddled in Tampa. At least they tried to make a major improvement this year with their start: a floating dock instead of depending on buoy and not constantly have to ask the paddler to paddle forward or backward for alignment. It is well known that GWN and Tampa are into this festivals together and who knows for what purpose. It is no doubt GWN is into this festival to make money. Previsou thread also mentioned perhaps is to drive the local moms and pops (comparison) to close shop. When Tampa was granted the 2011 World/International venue, there were quite a few negative discussions in previous threads about the venue. From what it was written seems like they are not from Florida, just a guess. Miami and Haulover are both non-profit organizations and could not compete with those who has the weight and money to throw around.

thats all fine and dandy but the bottom line is at least the Miami events should run on time, because the paddlers and spectators do not like waiting.

Miami is doing world corcoms next year so what's the problem. Florida is getting lots of attention over the next couple of years.

The Tampa Dragon Boat Institute is non-profit organization that has donated proceed of over $125,000 over the past 5 years to benefit The Florida Aquarium and the Moffit Cancer Center FACTors program.

florida races need to run on time, no one likes waiting in 27c plus weather.

RE:
"The Tampa Dragon Boat Institute is non-profit organization that has donated proceed of over $125,000 over the past 5 years to benefit The Florida Aquarium and the Moffit Cancer Center FACTors program."

With all the money flowing in for this race over the last five years, this statement is something to be embarrassed about, not proud of. It's nice that money goes to charity. But the sport is about money, and the paddlers are tools. That's reality and that makes the dragonboat world go round, but I don't think this is something to boast about. There are plenty of folks that argue that the "proceeds to charity" message is very much a smokescreen for paid junkits, etc. That's another way to retain "non profit" status. Meanwhile, there are other organizations and races that work tirelessly to truly maximize the amount given to charity, especially the sentimental favorite cause, breast cancer.

Not judging where they land on this in Tampa but $25K per year just seems a bit low for a major race that charges quite a bit (didn't they increase rates by 20% this year?)...70 teams...1500 per team....$135K for entry fees alone....wonder what a review of the finances of some of these race events would tell us.....

Hey, at least they donate something. There are many races that donate NOTHING of the profits.

stop bitching about CHAOS they are the BEST of the WORST of the A division... At least they beat out GSK in the first round at GWN... now thats a solid C level crew..GSK farting dragons..

While it is clear that Canada has some of the best Dragon Boat teams in the world there is no need to trash the Florida teams.

The Florida teams have come a long way in a short time. But, we still have a long road ahead of us to be competitive on a national and international level...and we realize this.

I attended the GWN Tampa Camp this year and paddled with Team Chaos. I have to say that they are a great group of paddlers who know how to have a good time (JOEY V!!!!!). TECO Tan Anou acted as their hosts for the Tampa event. Team Chaos were great guests and lots of fun to hang out with.

One of the great things about Dragon Boating is the camaraderie and sportsmanship I have seen at the races I have attended (Long Beach 08, Tavares, Flushing, Tampa, etc.).

I am looking forward to the Orlando race in October. I have lived in FL all my life and I am not worried about inclement weather on October 18th. So, we encourage the Canadian teams to come down and race. It is going to be a great race with great weather.

-kenji

If Mayfair actually makes the trek down to Florida in October I think this would be good for the Florida teams to get a guage of where they need to be at the club crew level in order to compete internationally.

Wondering why all Tampa paddlers tend to sing praises of event which were organized by Tampa organizer and GWN. Tampa organizer benefit financially from these events?????????

Florida teams are trying to figure out how to be competitive nationally now. International is a bit premature for these young programs.

Even charities require money for administrative purposes. it is well known and accepted that about 20% of charitable funds raised by most charities and non profits go towards administration which is mostly staffing needs and general office overhead expenses. The best run charity in Canada uses 6.5% of its revenue for administration purposes and they raise millions. So I don't know what all the bs is about Tampa not giving all its money to good causes. They need some money to grow their programs and grow the sport in Florida which will benefit them and all others in the future which gets more money into good causes at the end of the day so take a pill you detractors of all that is good in Tampa and in Florida.

Previous post - "Wondering why all Tampa paddlers tend to sing praises of event which were organized by Tampa organizer and GWN. Tampa organizer benefit financially from these events?????????"

My response - I don't stand to make a dime nor do I benefit in any way other than having a great time and meeting great people from all over North America.

I love all of the events I go to because I am doing what I love, Dragon Boating. Long Beach was a blast. I had fun in Tavares this year and last. I had a great time in Flushing in '07. I hope to race in Canada in the near future. I have heard the races up there are unreal and a great time.

I hope the Orlando event will be fun for all that attend and the more Canadian teams that come, the better.

-kenji

Kenji,
If you get a chance, the major festivals in Ontario are Pickering, Toronto Island, the Canadian Nationals and of course GWN. Hope to see TECO at a festival someday soon.

Thanks for the info Jammy. I hope to make it up to a Canada race within the next couple of years. I hear they are great and there is LOTS of great competition.

-kenji

Is Montreal no longer considered to be an attractive festival?

Attending both Montreal and GWN this year I can say that Montreal just doesn't have nearly the depth of competition as witnessed this past weekend in Toronto. Both great cities but for pure racing I choose Toronto hands down.

For the Florida teams, Montreal is probably the better venue.
The competition even for this past year will be more than what they experience in Florida. The race course for both spectator and athletes is still the best IMO. The variety of different distances is another element they offer the other events don't offer. The weather during July and city life can't be beat. Their medals have been one of the best for the longest time. One thing they did right in the beginning was invest in having their own festival medals.

OK, so come to Canada and race against 2nd a bunch of 2nd tier teams? Not sure how that's going to make a team like TECO feel. If you're going to travel across the border I would think you'd want to gauge yourself against the deepest competition in that country. Montreal is a nice festival and a decent venue but I say again for pure racing you can't beat the depth of talent in Toronto. And to throw the west coast into this debate. They have a couple of great crews but still not the depth that Ontario has.

Montreal's July race has too many lanes squeezed onto a shallow course. The venue is all Brutalist 1960s concrete with very little shade/green space. The format is silly with two 500m time trials; a 500m final and then a 250m final which, despite only being a single race, is treated like a separate and equal championship. The organization and equipment have been notoriously shoddy over the years. But yes, they have very nice medals, a fun vibe and you can't beat the Montreal nightlife.

For a good time do the July MIDBF race. For serious racing do the Quebec Cup in September.

I don't get this last post. Isn't the Quebec Cup at the same awful concrete venue?
It's just a re-hash of the July festival with even less crews.

Yes its at the same concrete elephant but:

They only run 4 boat heats

Format is sport racing so heats, semis and finals for both 200's(250's) and 500's for open, women and mixed

Have a 2km race using a 250 straight away with 7 turns

Will be filmed by RDS - Canadian (French) Sports TV station - For US paddlers reading this this is the Quebec equivalent of ESPN

Will have : Beasts, Chiros, Hydros, Verdun, 3R, Wongs, BMO Montreal, The Merge, Gung Ho..... slightly deeper field then the MIDBRF

If you are looking for another option in Montreal next year will be the Canadian National Championships that are set to take place in Montreal late summer 2009. As its a club crew qualifying year and just before the National team(s) leave for Prague I would expect some amazing racing at that event. Most if not all the teams listed above + many more from BC, Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, Ontario, NS for sure.

TECO - speak to the paddlers in Orlando who has done the majority of the races. Too many organizers here giving their opinion.

Oh come on... these aren't organizers comments. There are a lot of people who really like the sport regatta format. Most A-level teams are looking do more sport-focused racing and fewer big festivals.

Competition from festival to festival will vary from year to year, but if you want to race up against the best teams out there then probably best to contact these teams and find out which races they might do next year. That way you avoid disapointment.

That said, having a good nightlife and other non-dragon boat oriented things to do afterwards is important too. And both Montreal, and Toronto are good for that.

Toronto!? The place rolls up at 1 am!!

You must be from Montreal, and haven't been to T.O. in a while.

The place rolls up at 2am now.

2 AM??? I'm just waking up from my nap.

Any Canadian teams coming down?

Can GWN publish the current entries?

I heard that Hydro and Pickering are going. DCH from New York, TECO and Tampa Bay from Florida and the team from Trinidad.

you are misinformed.

Be more specific?

I think PDBC is sending a couple of teams.

pdbc is sending a watered down version of their U23 team, and I think they're also sending a team of grandmasters and possibly some other adults.

I think everyone is struggling to get able bodies for this event.
But at least they will get to paddle in hopefully sunny Florida.

Who is currently practicing for Orlando? When and where?

Our crew is done for the season but we have a row of men and women still
wanting to practice. We're ok paying for the fees.

Hopefully it is not raining and thundering during race time

Who is this person constantly wishing the worst possible weather for the racing in Orlando.
What's your problem, friend? Are you anti-Florida? Anti-GWN? Answer me!

Who needs them!

oh yes......Team list posted on GWN site.

For those who are to lazy to check...

Canadian Heat, ON, CAN
Chase Dragons, FL, USA
DCH, NY, USA
Dragon Boat Charleston, SC, USA
Dragonheart Mixed Nuts, VT, USA
Dragonheart Sisters, VT, USA
Excellent Stores Titans, TRIN
Gaylord Palms Resort, FL, USA
GSK Firedragons, PA, USA
GSK Spitzfire, PA, USA
Hawthorne Dragonflies, FL, USA
Honeywell Aquanauts, FL, USA
Hope Afloat USA, PA, USA
HSBC 40 Arms of Fury, FL, USA
HydroBLADES, FL, USA
HydroBLADES Men, FL, USA
IBM Big Blue Dragon II, FL, USA
IBM Big Blue Dragon, FL, USA
Liquid Explosion, ON, CDN
Manayunk Mens 1, PA, USA
Manayunk Mens 2, PA, USA
Manayunk Mixed 1, PA, USA
Manayunk Mixed 2, PA, USA
Manayunk Mixed 3, PA, USA
Manayunk Womens 1, PA, USA
Manayunk Womens 2, PA, USA
Manayunk Womens 3, PA, USA
Orlando Earth Dragons, CDN/USA
Panda Express, FL, USA
Philadelphia Flying Phoenix, PA, USA
Pickering Dragon Boat Club, ON, CDN
Pink Dragon Ladies, FL, USA
Puff, FL, USA
Razor Blades, FL, USA
Red Dragons, FL, USA
SOS Miami, FL, USA
State Farm Kaizen, FL, USA
Tampa Blade Runners A, FL, USA
Tampa Blade Runners B, FL, USA
TECO Black, FL, USA
TECO Red, FL, USA
The Dragon Slayers, FL, USA
The Pulte Pirates, FL, USA
Women In Canoe, NY, USA
WPC, FL, USA
Wun Fun Cru, FL, USA
Your MOM, FL, USA

Who is Liquid Explosion, ON, CDN?

Go Trini!

My guess is that its the Hanalei team. They are the only other team I know that had expressed interest in going.

Trini - is probably the Hammerheads.

11:21 you dont know anything.

Trini is Trini this time, not team Jamacia. what a DA!

I have mostly positive things to say about GWN... however they've badly abused their email list promoting Orlando. I'm happy to get updates now and then but the barrage of email about this event has been excessive.

From that list who do you believe is favored to win?

Manayunk or DCH

the crews from Ontario should be the favorites

The crews from Ontario and DCH will be fighting for first.

The trini team is probably the same one that was at the Island this year.. they seem to be paddling everywhere.

Isn't everyone fighting for first? Haha.

Whoever can bring their full complement of starters will probably do well. So far it looks like Manayunk is the only club that doesn't look like they are leaving anyone behind. So my guess is they should be the favorites. a few crews I know are going are throw togethers.

what about the florida teams, i know they were talking junk before? will they beat our worst canadian team going?

DCH is always a competitive team, Manayunk's chances depend on who they are bringing from the outside as they do not have their own full team. They raced with CSDC in Toronto. I have no idea where they are getting 3 women's teams as they don't even list a women's team on their web site.

TECO & Hydroblades will surprise a few of the visiting teams.

According to DBTV (http://www.thedragonboatchannel.com), TECO are "The Yankees of Dragon Boat."

Aren't the Yankees supposed to win?

The Yanks didnt even make the playoffs...

Seriously, who won?

How much does this event cost? I imagine with flight and hotel it is an expensive weekend.

Whats the entry fee?

Why limit yourself to a weekend? Stay and enjoy a restful week in the swamp. With more chain restaurants and suburban strip malls than you could visit in a month, Orlando is arguably the cultural capital of central Florida.

It's expensive as hell in Orlando!!!

wonders why GWN is still promoting this event. How many canadian teams are going ? 3? so why is this post still on the top. get off the Forum GWN staff.

Let's Go Rays! Let's Go Rays! Let's Go Rays!

13 - 4

Tampa Bay Rays Boston White Sox

All the way from the bottom of the pack to the top of the pack!

Just goes to show what good coaching can do to a team. Joe Maddon turned the Rays around in only 3 years. No yelling, no sarscasm, no bs. No negativity. A model of positive, uplifting behavior that team players have responded to. All the while enjoying life outside of baseball - bicycling and enjoying a glass of merlot -

prospective coaches should take notice. Dragon boat coaches included.

A spectacular day.
nuff said.
Philly teams dominated.
Liquid froze up.

Which Philly teams dominated?

500m A final Manayunk barely beat out the two TECO crews, followed up by DCH and Pickering. Manayunk had most of their masters national crew present.
TECO backed up their talk. DCH and Pickering looked like they were mostly U23
and high school paddlers.

During the 2000m, DCH had the lead for the first 1500m but Manayunk moved up in last 500m to win the 2000m.

TECO rocks!

Manyuck Mixed was not all Philly.....more of a super team of Portland, Canada & Philly.

Liquid placed 4th in the 2000m.....

Liquid Explosion barely beat out Tampa Blade Runners A for A Division Consolation Final.

Three Tampa teams were in the top 7 in Mixed (Teco Black, Teco Red & Tampa Blade Runners A)...all beating out Hydroblades.

Best dressed steer - Robert with Honeywell with his rastafarian/chinaman hat.

"Eventually Florida based teams will have the ability to compete amongst teams from Toronto, Philadelphia, Portland and San Diego (sorry if I'm leaving any meccas out)."

I do not know very much about Portland or San Diego but the best dragonboat crews in North America and probably the world can be found in Toronto and Philly.

who was Liquid?

<<I do not know very much about Portland or San Diego but the best dragonboat crews in North America and probably the world can be found in Toronto and Philly.>>


There no long are any truly local dominant teams in the U.S. Philly no longer has a dominant team of its own. Both the original Philly team and its offshoot, Manayunk, often race with a majority of non-Philly area paddlers. The USA Premier Open team that won the Nations cup in Sydney had no more than 8 Philly guys in the boat.

Isn't the meaning of a national crew to have more than all Philly paddlers?

<<Isn't the meaning of a national crew to have more than all Philly paddlers?>>

Absolutely. But a recent post claimed that the best dragon boat teams in the world may be from Philly, probably as a result of both Philly teams (including Manayunk), on their websites, taking a lot of the credit for any successes that the US national teams have.

An all Philly team won Montreal pretty easily last year. Their B team made the A final too. They can still kick a** on their own.

That "Philly" team in Montreal was not an all-Philly team either. Philly always uses some paddlers who do not live in the Philly area. BTW, there's nothing wrong with them doing so -- but it's just false to assume that Philly teams are the best in the world. It's always a cooperative effort for the Philly teams, to some degree.

So Manayunk won in Orlando? That makes sense because Honey Bear runs a Mickey Mouse organization.

Manayunk won, but it didn't dominate. You would think with the west coast paddlers they brought in they would beat both teco crews by more than the 1-2 seats. Pickering and DCH were really young and were 3 seats behind. The DCH crew is definitely not the EXP crew that raced in Montreal.

The PDBA mix that raced in Montreal in 2007 is still probably a level or two above Manayunk.

<<The PDBA mix that raced in Montreal in 2007 is still probably a level or two above Manayunk.>>

Absolutely. That was proven in Long Beach in July.

You guys loves to make comparisons of crews from race to race when you probably have no clue who was actually on each crew.

The PDBA crew in Montreal 2007 was NOT the same crew that raced in Long Beach. They flew in a lot of their national crew guys and not the usual PDBA club guys.

DCH is a crew consisting of mainly young paddlers to begin with. It probably was more of an advantage for DCH and PDBC to have a lighter crew in Orlando anyways with all that shallow water.

Also, Manayunk does not have a Premier Open team. It's all Grand Masters, Seniors and Juniors. So the team that won in Orlando likely had no one paddling between the ages of 18 and 40.

It was a fun race, even though the course was shallow, every lane was the same in my opinion anyways. Great racing and nice to see the local Florida teams stepping up in the competitive levels. Yes, Manayunk was comprised of paddlers from all over, but so what? A crew is a crew and comes race day, whoever wins is the faster crew. Just show up and race and stop the hating. My crew got beat by them, why?, they were faster, the numbers don't lie.

It was fun, for a race in October, and no hurricanes with almost 85 degree F and sunny.

The course was not shallow, it wasn't deep water, but far from shallow.
The heavy feel of the water was due to other factors not relating to depth.

In regards to the weight of the crews, no disrepect to the other A finalists, but Manayunk looked liked the lightest crew at the final.
Both Pickering and DCH seem to have more youth in their crews then normal, but that didn't make them lighter. Manayunk was more fit and lean.

We know TECO does well in Florida, but when they start showing up North and finish in A finals consistently, only then can start talking about Florida being one of the Meccas of paddling in North America. For now their advantage is to be able to practice year round unimpeded by changes in season.

Watch out Philly! The Tampa Bay Rays are going to kick some butt in the World Series!

What were the "other factors" that made the boats feel heavy?

correction..."other factors" that made the water feel heavy.

Ha. remember the idiot predicting a hurricane at Disney? Turns out it was a near perfect day. I think he was a Haulover fan. How'd Haulover compare to Disney? Why bother even trying to defend.

I don't remember anyone saying a hurricane would hit Orlando, but there is a chance it could. I remember the arguement being that GWN should have the Orlando event during the non hurricane season to best maximize their venue. Also it wouldn't coincide with another local event down in Miami.

I'm from up North and the Orlando weather couldn't have been greater, but I too was a little worried having my team coming down. If GWN does the Orlando event during a non-hurricane season my team will definitly come again...if not...I will have to see as there our other venues my team would like to go without the worry of cancelation.

Good job GWN and Disney.

yeah, no one predicted a hurricane. they were warning that florida is in a hurricane season. i think the only idiot is you.

One of the water taxi drivers said the lake is ten feet deep.

"Yes, Manayunk was comprised of paddlers from all over, but so what? A crew is a crew and comes race day, whoever wins is the faster crew. Just show up and race and stop the hating."

Here it is called Stacking, especially if they have enough of their own club members present as well to compete.

Let's see if this Manayunk team will show up more than 3 times next year in other North America Venues. My guess is no. If they did, they'd be c/d division in at least two of them and only good for one when they can recruit a national type team. TECO used their own paddlers. If TECO shows up to the Island and Montreal next year, TECO would do much better than Manayunk.

Wow you guys are a bunch of whiners. Were there rules saying that everyone had to be part of the same club to compete? No there weren't. Clubs routinely have replacements coming in. Unless you're actually in the club that is replacing their own paddlers then you can never get the full story. There can be many factors that went into the final make up of the crew. Even then, it's purely a coaching decision.

So quit trying to undermine this club's win with your own self-righteous BS. Or are you trying to justify why your team lost?

I guess we wouldn't be seeing Manayunk at the Island, Ottawa, Montreal and Miami next year then.

Manayunk was at the Island this year. Maybe they'll go back next year. How about you, TECO?

Manayunk was there as an open crew with a lot of help from Toronto area paddlers. I wouldn't classify that as being there.

So let me get this straight. Manayunk was there, but they weren't there. OK....

Were they all from Manayunk when they were at the Island dominating?

Manayunk doesn't have a full local squad at this time because it is all Seniors and Juniors. But they seems to find very competent paddlers to fill out their rosters at events. They must be doing something right.

They dominated at the island?

Manayunk's men's team won the Island men's race, if I recall. They're mixed team was in the B final.

<500m A final Manayunk barely beat out the two TECO crews, followed up by DCH and Pickering. Manayunk had most of their masters national crew present.
TECO backed up their talk.>
Manyunk barely beat TECO? The times have been posted: http://www.gwndragonboat.com/default.asp?id=139&l=1


Manayunk won by .70 seconds over the second place TECO team. Not huge, but not "barely". Probabaly 3-4 seats. Third place TECO team was 1.45 seconds behind Manayunk.

So how did TECO back up its talk? They lost to bunch of people who are old enough to be their parents.

In respnse to the age of the two TECO teams, they range from early 20's to 50-somethings. Also, both teams are evenly matched (which explains why Red beat Black in the final race). Also, to answer the question alot of club teams have had, TECO is a corporate team.............interesting how well they compete against the club teams.

Do you think if TECO took it's best 20 paddlers and created an "A" team, would they have been better than Manayunk? Could be.

I'd take the grannies who have been paddling for more than 15-20 years than people with 1-2 years experience.

Being dominant and humble is one thing, barely winning and talking junk is another. especially if most of the best paddlers are not even on the team.

We'll see what happens next year...

Sounds like someone is bitter...

bitter is for lime, just stating the obvious.

TECO didn't win and talked junk. So what does that mean?

IMO Manayunk with their own people averages out to what Manyunk 1 & 2 fared, which would have gotten them to B Division in an Orlando festival attended by water downed travelling crews. Manayunk did win so give them their due. TECO backed up their talk and showed their win over Chaos early this season was no fluke. They didn't lose to any Ontario crews all day.

It'd be interesting to see how next season fares. Does Manayunk race only
twice next year (early and end of DB season, probably due to westie outrigger schedule) or will they have the balls to show up to a July, August and September race? Will TECO ever come up North and race? I think there should be a showdown during the Philly race in June. The soap opera continues.

Holy festering crap! Can you guys cut the yank rivalry bullsh!t already? Man it's annoying. And BORING!

Why is it than any conversation about a team from Philly always degenerates into this pathetic little slap fight.

Haha...."yank rivalry bullsh!t". That's the nature of this forum. OTHERWISE it'd be boring to read. I think there are more posts about East Coast Canadian teams(Mayfair) vs West Coast Canadian teams(False Creek) anyways.

"I think there are more posts about East Coast Canadian teams(Mayfair) vs West Coast Canadian teams(False Creek) anyways."

True, but those are fun.

east vs west is also BS. just people patting themselves in the back. results in the big show will tell all.

I don't know who's talking junk (probably people who weren't there) but personally I think Orlando was a blast and TECO did amazing. For new teams to be that competitive is fantastic and points to a great future. It was a small regatta but they beat a lot of pretty good teams that might have won elsewhere. Decent Toronto teams like Pickering and GSK. There were some excellent Toronto paddlers on Liquid Explosion and they didn't even make it to the A final.

The course was narrow and shallow so that it was tough to break away but the venue, in 'downtown' Disney World was great and GWN did their usual excellent job in organizing.

Congratulations to all the competitors and organizers. It's a great addition to the circuit.

In response to the 1:01pm post; it was GSK teams from Philladelphia that went to Florida and not the GSK team from Toronto.

Damn Manayunk paddler -- can't he differentiate between GSK from his home city and Toronto...Take it easy...just a joke Honey Bear.

Till next year at Orlando. Come on we need 5 more responses to get 200.

5

4

5 -

"Manayunk won by .70 seconds over the second place TECO team. Not huge, but not "barely". Probabaly 3-4 seats. Third place TECO team was 1.45 seconds behind Manayunk."

Sorry to keep this thread going BUT I hate it when people guesstimate lengths.

Buk w/o head tale approx 12.49m ~ 41 feet
W head and tale ~ 13.7m~ 45 feet

When you calculate 500m speed based on time and do the math, the winning margin length of 0.7 sec is about 3-4 feet, which is roughly length of Dragon head attachment plus or minus a foot. So with error margin it couldn't have been more than 1 seat. 1.45 secs from third place equates to about 2 seats.

So the description of "barely" does fit. But a win is win even if it is by a dragon whisker.

Congrats to all who raced in Orlando. See you next year.

If a crew did a 2:05, for 500m that is 4m/s. Therefore 0.7 seconds would be 2.8m (approx. 12 feet), closer to 3 seats.
Just for the record.

yeah, but 2.05 sec versus 2:15 is a slower speed therefore the total length travel is less.

I thought I would keep it simple, but at 2:15, it would be 500/135=3.7m/s, so for 0.7 sec, the distance travelled would be 2.6m, not much difference.
Btw, 2.8m is about 9 feet, please note.

Bottom line. TECO posted the fasted time of the day.

... but it was a pretty slow time!

9 feet is about one seat measured from dragon nose, not 3 seats which is about 15 feet.

"Bottom line. TECO posted the fasted time of the day."

HAHAHA are you serious? Well I hope you're not from TECO. Regardless, here's a clue. Only head to head matters and you didn't win.

<<9 feet is about one seat measured from dragon nose, not 3 seats which is about 15 feet.>>

That's not how you measure "seats" when comparing two boats. You do not measure nose-to-seat. You just compare the seats. For example, if your stroke pair is directly across from the third seat of another boat, you are behind by two seats. So 9 feet is about 3 seats.

<<Sorry to keep this thread going BUT I hate it when people guesstimate lengths.

Buk w/o head tale approx 12.49m ~ 41 feet
W head and tale ~ 13.7m~ 45 feet

When you calculate 500m speed based on time and do the math, the winning margin length of 0.7 sec is about 3-4 feet, which is roughly length of Dragon head attachment plus or minus a foot. So with error margin it couldn't have been more than 1 seat. 1.45 secs from third place equates to about 2 seats.>>

Hey "Orlando paddler", if you're going to get all righteous and come on here and accuse others of making guesses, you'd better have your math down pat first!

500m/135sec= 3.7 m/sec

3.7 m/sec x 0.7 sec = 2.59m = 8.5 feet

ok folks, or Yunks, the point is 8.5 feet, 9 feet, 12 feet, 0.7 secs, whatever, it does not mean winning by a significant margin or described as "dominating" regardless of who you have on your boat.

That's at least a difference you can see for yourself in the boat. You cross the line and that's a margin where the victor knows they won and the losers know they lost.

It's when it gets down to a couple tenths that it's hard to tell.

0.7 seconds isn't domination, but it is a clear victory.

appropos of nothing, just saying.

No one wrote that Manayunk, in particular dominated. One poster said that "Philly teams" dominated, which may be true considering that Philly-area teams (not just Manayunk) won all the Golds.

Another poster claimed that TECO "barely" lost to Manayunk. That's where the 0.7-second discussion started.

Losing by 0.7 seconds isn't "barely" losing, it's "clearly" losing.

Mind you there are some teams that "clearly" losing to them by 0.7 seconds would be a pretty solid achievement.

Now, can we all stop talking about this race?

Oh yeah, off-season, right. Nothing TO talk about these days. ugh.

I thought TECO won.

I would say most crews had a good time and paid respect to each other before and after the races. Several times you can see the teams line up at the racers exit to greet the other crews in their heat.

We did hear some friendly jibing between two teams, but wouldn't consider that as junk spoken.

What happened during the awards and party afterwards who know? Maybe someone overheard the "junk" being tossed around. But to the victors come bragging rights, some crews flaunt it and some are humble about it. To each their own, we all have to live in this DB community and normally what goes around comes back around.

Amazing this thread is still going. For those that were not there... Get a life people! I was at the Orlando race and there were some stuff that was mentioned happened but most of this thread is so BS! The events at this regetta was no different than any of the other events that I have been too over the past decade.

"I was at the Orlando race and there were some stuff that was mentioned happened but most of this thread is so BS! The events at this regetta was no different than any of the other events that I have been too over the past decade."

Hmm, happens at every event you go to, maybe you are the problem?

my teachers always said I was a problem, maybe it is me come to think about it!!

This thread got so long because TECO didn't know whether to make excuses or congratulate themselves, so they did both.

Division A Consolation
Tampa Bay Blade Runners 2 2:20.66
Hydroblades 3 2:20.77
Liquid Explosion 1 2.20.11
GSK Firedragons 4 2:21.51
The Dragon Slayers 5 2:22.19

Division A
Pickering Dragon Boat Club 5 2:18.88
DCH Racing 4 2:18.20
TECO Tan Anou Black 3 2:17.35
Manayunk Mixed 1 1 2:15.90
TECO Tan Anou Red 2 2:16.60

We are a new team and proud to give everyone hell here in Florida and the Nationals since our inception in January.

We will be coming to Canada and prove that here in Florida will come up with good team albeit our "newness"

Liquid, HydroBLADES, TECO (Red and Black) and Dragon Slayers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQB1D-uJxdw

Don't quit your day job.

Hey Hydrobladers.....

the Tampa Blade Runners beat you...again! And without a full boat of experienced paddlers!

WDF! These Florida crews sure talk alot of Sh_t!

There's always next year Hydro. Keep practicing.

Wow this is too funny. Without posting excuses on here let me just say that this year was great and I look forward to the Ft Lauderdale race on Nov. 22. With that said, I don't think we talk any sh*t, we just let our progress talk for us in the form of whispers on other teams. we are trying to keep the sport honest by requiring our members to be ERDBA certified paddlers.

It was said in an earlier post that we are 10 months old so yes in fact it should be expected that teams that have been together for many years will beat us and for those who have praised us for doing well in such a short period of time, I thank you for giving us credit when it is due. We love this sport and want to see it grow here in Florida where we have an opportunity to practice year round.