Anyone concerned about Pickering? 2 weeks before the race and nothing is up on their website. I've heard nothing from race organizers so far. Who's going and has anyone heard from Scott and company?

Any news?

Hopefully they don't take the money and run.

Have paid, but have not received waivers or parking passes.

We signed our waivers earlier this week. But I would really love to see a race schedule.

You signed waivers? Did these from from a communication from PDBC? We haven't heard a peep - not email, no mail outs, nothing. Has anyone actually has contact with Pickering?

I emailed them last week and they said something will be posted soon! The race is next weekend and everyone I have spoken to not heard a word from Pickering!

The website for the regatta has been updated since I last checked. Time stamps show the last update occurred sometime today.

Huzzah!

Who's Alliance DBC?

Small field this year!

Looks like some tight racing in Sports this year. Gonna be fun to see the fight to make top 6 (unless you're Mayfair, then it's pretty much a given).

The race schedule is posted on the pdbc web site now.

Alliance - Seniors

link? I don't see it.

http://www.pdbc.ca/challenge/assets/race_progression_v06.pdf

So which university does PDBC U23 TEAM CANADA race for exactly?

Doesn't seem fair.

I would be pretty upset if I was a university crew and lost to a supposed national team that doesn't have any affiliation to a university.

Sketchy and with a DBC name violation.

It happens all the time. Paddlers from multiple universities form a merged team and race under the guise of a single university team.

Deal with it.

U23 is PDBC's under 23 team obviously, and not university teams combined...

Wow, one boat in the Recreational Open.

They are racing exhibition, but yes it does take away one lane from the University Final.

Some of the university teams themselves have contributed bodies to the U23 team so it will be interesting to see how roster arrangements work out. However the name violation or whatever you want to call it I think is a fair comment - Team Canada should not be associated with any club name.

"It happens all the time. Paddlers from multiple universities form a merged team and race under the guise of a single university team.

Deal with it."

That's why they check IDs now.

Are they just Fairport rebadged?


What happened to RTF? Disband? Focus more on their mixed teams now? I'd guess that if those fellows score a spot at the Nationals, they'd have a high chance of getting more medals at the worlds.

Fondue is now Fondon't. They are no more.

Isn't Fondant that special icing that goes on top of a cake?

No predictions from the forum's faithful?

I predict that the Mayfair Predators will win Sport.

I predict G&G will win Rec.

REC

1. G&G
2. COLLINGWOOD
3. BLADES
4. MOJO
5. SAINTS


SPORT

1. MAYFAIR
2. HYDRO
3. VERDUN
4. SENIORS
5. HANALEI

Alliance ~ Seniors & Hanalei

after watching the GWN 3000 race

1.Mayfair
2.Senior
3.Big Fish
4.Hydro

LOL...Big Fish overrated.

Mark my words, its a sign the Hydros have dropped. Not Fish stepping up. Verdun will beat them, as will others.

lol verdun.....

1 Mayfair
2 Alliance CSDC
3 Verdun
4 Hydros
5 Hanalei
6 Big Fish

1 G&G
2 Saints
3 Blades
4 GSK
5 Collingwood
6 Wahoos

1 Alliance DBC Open
2 Mahjongg Montreal
3 PDBC Team Canada U23
4 Shaka
5 Heat
6 PDBC Team Canada Junior

1 Premier National Womens Team
2 Alliance Dragon Boat Club Women
3 Outer Harbour Premier Women
4 PDBC Team Canada U23
5 Heat
6 PDBC Team Canada Junior

Watch out for Verdun on the starting line, very sneaky...

At least nobody has to race Verdun in a 2k. That could cause some big time damage (Qc Cup 2008).

A Rec Division

1: G&G
2: PDBC Premier
3: Blades
4: GSK Fire Dragons
5: Mogos
6: St. Joe's Saints

A Rec Division (consolation)
1: Collingwood
2: Wave Cutters
3: Shockwave
4: Wong's Imperial Dragons
5: Wahoos
6: FUHNatics

Before making predictions....some of th e top teams have
been drawn on the inside lanes.

Inside lines are good. There is a bit of a sandbar in Lane 1 about 300 or 350 metres into the race, but the bias isn't that bad. It's not as if Lane 6 always wins every race. If you look at results from years past you'll find that. The club does their best every year to make the course better. Last year they moved the course further out into the bay into deeper water. So I wouldn't change predictions at all based on interior lane assignments.

The water in the bay is 6 feet higher than normal. Lanes will be fair.

Sport Division:

A Final:
1) Mayfair
2) CSDC
3) Verdun
4) Hydrophobic
5) Hanalei
6) Hammerheads

A Consolation:
1) Scotia
2) PDBC Heat
3) Big Fish
4) New College
5) PDBC Team Canada U23
6) Phoenix ETS

___________________________

Rec Division:

A Final:
1) G&G
2) PDBC Premier
3) Collingwood
4) Mojos
5) The Blades
6) GSK

A Consolation:
1) The Saints
2) Wahoos
3) BMO
4) Wave Cutters
5) Shockwave
6) Durham Razorbacks

1. Mayfair Predators - Swan song year before some of the guys turn 60 :P
2. CSDC - Will provide Mayfair with an honest challenge
3. Verdun - Non-critical out of town trip perhaps means CSDC has the edge
4. Hanalei - I have a hunch they will start off slow in Pickering and get faster as the year goes
5. Team Canada U23 - If this boat has the Fairport kids in it (they did win the race-off right?) then I'm surprised if they finish much lower
6. Big Fish - Relatively faster vs. the competition this year

7. Hydrophobic Dragons - Prove me wrong and place higher dudes!
8. UofT New College - Top university racers are slower than U23 Nats but faster than the rest of the university clubs
9. Hammerheads - New beating Hammerheads should be a surprise to no one; I believe its happened before
10. Scotia Momentum - A bit of a darkhorse; not sure what's new without the Rouge/Spitfire split but with some Rouge I doubt they would place much lower
11. Heat A - Going for Macau and holding ground
12. Phoenix ETS - Fireball - They don't tend to perform as well as regattas where Verdun is also present

13. University College - Not the same UC as we all once knew; significantly behind New College
14. Victoria College - Just guessing based on the times they post
15. PDBC Team Canada Junior - Could place higher than the 2 university teams above; but I'm comfortable with them at 15
16. Komodo Dragons - Experienced coaches keep this team in the B division mix
17. St. Robert Omega - Expect big things from this Junior Crew after its Malaysia experience
18. Heat B - It's a bit of a wash from here down

19. PDBC U23 - The leftover PDBC kids that didn't make the national team
20. St Robert Alpha - Based on Milton results
21. PDBC Master - The best paddlers are with the Heat crews
22. PDBC Junior - see #19

Verdun's only got about 60% of their crew, you can probably knock them into the B.

What's the other 40%? Filler because not everyone can make it? Or newbies due to retirement?

Gatineau Gino wrote: "1. Mayfair Predators - Swan song year before some of the guys turn 60 :P"

The age of the Predators is greatly exagerated. There are a couple of guys in their 50's, but much of the team is in their 30's, and pretty fit and experienced.

Really! 60% of their crew...

I'm surprised because I'm a Verdun's paddler and I didn't know that...

I was joking, hence the :P

I know you're joking, but it does reinforce a sense that most of the Predators truly are grand master age. They have a pretty good mix of older experienced paddlers and younger, very fit paddlers.

Looks like they updated the race progression list and added more teams.

My Top 12

1. Mayfair Predators - I agree with poster 3:08pm & 3:32pm they have a good mix of young/older fit, experienced paddlers that will us all how its done (again).

2. CSDC All that hard work will pay off. These guy and gals are fit, experienced and full of drive, but still a touch behind Mayfair.

3. Hydrophobic Dragons Endurance 3000 was a warm up. They will do well in PickeringI believe they were late getting on the water this year.

4. Team Canada U23 - Fairport kids will be strong

5. Verdun - This is warm-up event for them (they could go 4th or higher)

*6-8 will be very close

6. Big Fish - All that training is finally coming through. Looks like for once, not a rebuilding year for this team.

7. Scotia Momentum Little info about this secluded crew. Change in name and personnel? Nevertheless, the Bay is home turf so count on a good showing (they could sneak into 6th)

8. UofT New College - They were decent in Milton, but competition is tougher Pickering.

**Drops off a little from here on down

9. Hammerheads They can still sprint

10. Heat A..... Hard working team.making a run for Macau?

11. Hanalei - I have a hunch they will start off slow in Pickering and get faster as the year goes....I agree, but starting off slow does not mean A final. I like them here.

12. Phoenix ETS - Fireball - They don't tend to perform as well as regattas where Verdun is also present - sure

I don't think that Scotia will be as good as years past. They've lost a lot of good paddlers and haven't been able to find the talent to replace them.

I was shocked that pdbc U23 was ranked pretty low in some early predictions. They should be good, most of those kids have paddled for many years and have shown in the past for Fairport and PDBC that they can paddle well in tough races. I wouldn't be shocked if they get in the A Final.

I'm saying B div for those U23 kids, but based on last year's trials Fairport > Pickering

Fairport lost alot of their paddlers that paddled last year for them during qualifiers. It should be interesting how they are this weekend

1st - Mayfair Predators These guys will walk away with it once again

2nd - CSDC Theres nothing to suggest this team is any worse off than last year. Seeing as some other teams have slowed down, 2nd is firmly in their grasps

3rd - Verdun Depends on whom this team brings. If they are in full force, third is theirs

4th - Hydrophobic Dragons - Poor showing at the 3000 means something is up. Sure they might have been warming up but that was only a week ago and most teams got a chance to warm up as well

5th - Big Fish Lots of change with this team and its finally paying off. Pumped up from their 3000 results.

6th - Team Canada U23 The ceiling on this team is their under 23 age restriction. After loosing some paddlers, they remain untested but will undoubtedly do well

7th - UofT New College These kids will have benefited most from the Milton experience as some of their crew is new due to university turnover.

8th - Heat A Strong showing last year. I have reason to suspect they will do even better.

9th - Scotia - If last year is any indication, this team will continue to be a shadow of its former glory

10th - Hanalei Honestly dont know much about them.

11th - Hammerheads I dont know what happened to these guys in the last few years. They can still sprint, but expect them to finish the 2km sometime Sunday morning.

12th No longer coached by Weenie and its showing. Will have benefited from Milton like New College I have a feeling theyll squeeze into the final 12

Hanalei waaay too low. Could be a medalist

U23 Canada will be ahead of BF and the rest for sure.

Curious why everyone is thinking that Hanalei will be slow. They did quite well last year and I have not heard that they had a big turnover. Anyone have any actual facts on why they will "start off slow"?

they will be ahead of hydros this year

Hanalei has been working hard with the "Alliance" Any idea if they're going to compete for Open Seniors or just Open?

By medals you mean badges right?

Haha - Hammerheads...sometime Sunday morning. Wonder if they have to keep the beer tent open until they finish.

Sport
1. Mayfair still dominate
2. Seniors Can you call a team this fast old farts. I think the battle will be for the bronze patch. Ahhmm. Snowball.
3. Hydro Dont think they will peak until the Island or after.
4. Verdun Great start.
5. PDBC Jrs These kids are good.
6. Hanalei I think we always count them out and they happen to show up on race day.
Big fish, PDBC U23, Heat and Hammerheads could all crack top six if any of these teams screw up in the semi.

Rec.
1. G&G
2. Collingwood
3. Mojos
4. The Blades
5. The Saints
6. GSK

The 250 2km will be the best thing since sliced bread

1. Mayfair - Duh. Still dominant.
2. CSDC - Any team that doubles as a national team will always stay this high.
3. Verdun - The typical post-CCWC turnover might affect this crew. But Quebec has so few good teams I'm betting there are plenty of replacements eager to step up.
4. Hanalei - Word has it this team has been getting better personnel over the offeseason. Perhaps faster than last year.
5. Team Canada U23 - This is the same team that was in the top 15 last year but rebranded. With an additional year of training under their belts, they are going to be very very good.
6. Hydrophobic Dragons - Put up a stinker at 3K last week. When an amazing team has a bad day, they still stay ahead of the pack (just not as close to other amazing teams). When a team that was considered amazing loses to teams that are clearly inferior, they aren't as good anymore.

7. Big Fish - Right where they should be
8. Scotia - No longer part of the elite. But this crew is coming in a little more stacked then many think.
9. New College - The product of recruiting only the biggest and the fittest. Too bad about their technique though.
10. PDBC Team Canada Jr. - Anoher national team
11. Heat A - CCWC crew last year. Should be decent.
12. Hammerheads - Big Bob is gone. So is the heart of this team.

13. University College - Still good.
14. PDBC U23 - Leftovers clearly not as good.
15. Phoenix ETS - The rivalry continues.

The crystal ball doesn't care past here. Sorry.

Hydro's will be back strong for all distances. They will smoke the 2km

Hanalei gained some strong paddlers, but also lost some strong paddlers. New coach, new technique = slow start and get faster throughout the season.

Hammerheads I expect will fair quite well this weekend.

Scotia - definate dark horse. They looked good going across the bay

Big Fish will continue with another impressive showing.

Sport Division:

A Final:
1) Mayfair (still the team to beat)
2) CSDC (the best of the rest and wont be as far as some might think)
3) Verdun (say what you want but theyre always making it close)
4) PDBC Team Canada U23 (experienced and young: watch out)
5) Hydrophobic (a little slower than 08 but should make this final)
6) Hanalei (they seem to always find a way to surprise and might again, especially if theres a wave to ride in the semis or final lane 2 in first race and slow start might hurt them)

A Consolation:
1) Hammerheads (building on 08 they should win a close consolation finish)
2) Scotia (will make it interesting in consolation final but fall just short)
3) Big Fish (giving them respect and the benefit of the doubt but they will need to be faster than in 08 to place third in strong consolation final)
4) PDBC Heat (might move up if Big Fish and Scotia take them for granted in that final)
5) New College (depends who shows up as they were very inconsistent in Milton but won when it mattered)
6) Phoenix ETS (third best university team but faster than the Waterdragons)

___________________________

Rec Division:

A Final:
1) G&G (would make sport final shouldnt be even close if they use their A team)
2) Collingwood (will edge the rest in what will be a very close race between 2nd and 6th)
3) Mojos (will be close for the silver but feel theyll fall a little short they have the deepest lane in their first race)
4) The Blades (always strong but lane 1 might hurt them in first heat)
5) GSK (could move up as high as 2nd or as low as Consolation depending on how they handle their race 1 lane)
6) The Saints (first race will tell a lot as they are stuck in lane 1 and have Collingwood, BMO, and Shockwave in their heat)

A Consolation:
1) BMO (dark horse: finished close to The Blades in Stratford '08 but looked slower in Milton, however they have lane 5 & Collingwood right beside them in their first race)
2) Wahoos (if Milton is any indication might even finish higher and squeak into A final)
3) Wave Cutters (another team always in the mix and wouldnt surprise anyone if they finish higher)
4) Shockwave (not as fast in 08 as previous years so unless theres been a huge change I wouldnt expect them to finish any higher)
5) Durham Razorbacks (a hunch: I dont know much about them but they looked decent in practice)
6) TD/CT (they got faster and faster as the day went on in Milton still will need to cut more time if they plan to make top 12)

the entire A div of rec should be in sport div.

Anyone know if sport division you have to wear a pfd?

@ 10:41pm - No.

@ 9:53pm - Agreed. However, I think some of them are in Rec division because of $$$ (DBC fees ain't cheap and not worth it if you aren't doing any other DBC sanctioned races - ie: the Nationals).

I just know your Last minute predictions might be wrong.

A few teams in the Sport Division will be bumped to the Rec as they were not members of DBC and had no intentions to qualify for the worlds etc.. So the predictions may look a lot different tomorrow.

Mayfair just won the 500 by open water. Seniors were 2nd.

Same result for the 200, but not open water.

2 km to come... May be 3 turns instead of planned 7 turns.

Horaay...the National Team Won.

Mayfair should stop being so good and give the whiner above a chance to win.

The wind played havoc with times all day...what was up with that !!
Some good racing though, some teams had a harder time coping than others.
2K Race.....sweet.

Beer tent=best part of the day!

Horaay...the National Team Won ?????


I thought they were out west ?

Results?

From what I recall...

A Final Sport Mixed
1. Mayfair
2. Canadian Seniors
3. Hydro
4. Scotia
5. Heat
6. Hammers

A Final Rec Mixed
1. G&G
-Sorry didn't catch the rest of this one...

what were the results of the women's race?

I believe the World Champion National Women's Team won.

From what I remember, some could be a bit off.

Sport A Champ 500m
1. Mayfair - 1:59.xx
2. CSDC - 2:04.xx
3. Hydros - 2:05.xx
4. Scotia - 2:08.xx
5. Heat - 2:09.xx ???
6. Hammerheads - 2:10.xx ???

Sport A Consol 500m
1. Verdun - 2:04.xx
2. Big Fish - 2:05.xx
3. PDBC Junior I - 2:10.xx
4. Hanalei - 2:10.xx
5. Phoenix ETS - 2:10.xx
6. PDBC Junior II - 2:10.xx
--------------------------------
Sport A Champ 200m
1. Mayfair - 0:47.xx
2. CSDC - 0:48.xx
3. Hydros - 0:49.xx
4. Scotia - 0:51.xx ???
5. Heat -
6. Hammerheads -

Sport A Consol 200m
1. Verdun - 0:48.xx
2. Big Fish - 0:50.xx
3. Hanalei
4. PDBC Junior II
5. Phoenix ETS
6. PDBC Junior I
--------------------------------
Sport A 2km
1. Mayfair
2. CSDC
3. Verdun
4. Heat
5. Hydros
6. Big Fish
- I couldn't remember 7 to 12 too well.
7. PDBC Junior I
8. Scotia
9. Hanalei
10.Phoenix ETS
11. Hammerheads
12. PDBC Junior II
--------------------------------
Recreation A Champ 500m
1. G&G - 2:05.xx
2. Mojos - 2:08.xx
3. Blades - 2:09.xx
4. Collingwood
5. GSK
6. Saints

Please feel free to correct any inaccuracies until the official results are released.

The lane situation makes it difficult to get the best 6 boats in a final.

Actually the lane situation wasn't bad this year. Kudos to Scott for making it better.

Better, but still a big factor. The PDBC Junior I boat went from a 2:04 in lane 5 (with a little Mayfair bus ride) in the Semis to 2:10 out of lane 1 even with a strong tailwind in the finals. Lane 2 was only marginally better.

i wonder why we all value the competitiveness of pickering, when it really isn't a fair race...

the lane bias is always present, making it impossible to compare two similar teams.

what was the average time difference between the same crew racing in lanes 1-2, and 5-6

looking at the results above it looks like Verdun and Big Fish belong in the A finals. Each drew lanes 1-2 in their heats.

Then again, hard to say they were better then the crews who finished 3-4-5-6 considering that those crews were racing inside lanes.

Maybe going forward Pickering could add angles to their course? They easily have enough data over 10+ years of racing to see the difference between lanes 1 and 6.

If that difference was 4 seconds, then make lane 1 12-15 meters shorter.

Still far from perfect, but a possible solution for the future.

Mayfair was once again incredible...no other team came close to them!! They were practically in the lead after 5 strokes in every race. Their next target is a 3-peat (or 4 or 5?) at the Island.

Did Rip The Fondue rename themselves for this race? I thought they disbanded? Pretty decent time... at least they beat Hydro's time this race...

congrats to all the teams that placed, it looks like it was an amazing event and lots of fast teams. thanks for posting the information. Is Mayfair CA's national team or at least made up of many of the national team's paddlers?

Mayfair has the luxury of many National team members, which helps
with their crew make-up, but that still means training hard. You get
nothing for free - G&G have proved that over the years by putting crews
together with an all-star crew and not wining.

As far as the roster, all the owmen are on a National Crew. The guys - not
sure, but I suspect at least half of them.

Results are up, that was fast!
http://www.pdbc.ca/challenge/assets/race-results-2009.pdf

You guys have the Mayfair thing backwards:

It is not that the National paddlers are on the Mayfair team, but rather the Mayfair paddlers are on the National team. The variance in that statement may be subtle, but it means that the Mayfair team isn't currently put together by grabbing a mismatch of National paddlers. Rather, paddlers on Mayfair competed and were good enough to get on the National team.

Most of the men and women on Mayfair have made it onto the 2009 Premier Women, Senior Women, Premier Men and Senior Men teams.

Rex - you have that completely wrong !!
Name the Mayfair paddlers that were on the crew - before they made the
National Crew, and then name the paddlers that came to Mayfair already on
any National Crew.

Well said Rex!

Anon @ 11:05 AM
i know all the premier age men were on mayfair before they got on the premier national mens team. same can be said for many of the premier women. the only exceptions i can think of are 1 or 2 senior men. but they still practice and paddle consistently with mayfair and are just as part of the mayfair team culture as any other members.

Mayfair is great because they have excellent members, management and coaching. It takes the right program and management to attract and keep intense "racers" committed, especially national level paddlers. The fact that they have managed to do that for so many yrs is a testament to how they operate.

For those who complain and criticize who Mayfair has on their team, why not focus that energy on just making your team better. The bar is high and that's great for Dragon Boat in Canada.

"in the know"
you're not really that much in the know are you.

It's a truth about dragon boat racing that success begets success. People want to win, and the easiest way to do that is to join a winner. Few winning teams are built from scratch.

One of the advantages Mayfair has is a history of success. They're a great crew and they win a lot of races, so people want to join them and be a part of that. Nothing wrong there.

They still have to work hard to stay on top, but at least they're starting with a talent pool that is deep, deep, deep.

Right now they have no peers in the GTA. The Seniors are about as close you can come within the bona fide Club Crew setting. Maybe a throw-together from G&G or Ottawa's Events Alive could also come close. After that, you're looking at FCRCC or the Dragonbeasts for anyone approaching (or exceeding) their level.

anonymous @ 11:58 AM
i am very much in the know.
why dont you enlighten us and list those that were on the national team before they were on mayfair? current active paddlers only please. only R.W. and J.S. come to mind if at all.

Try CH, RW, GM, SF, VH, JS....etc. Current or previous National Members.
All the others came to Mayfair to help secure they're National Place.

Granted - this crew trains exceptionally well and has been proven many times
by their races against G&G that talent alone doesn't secure wins.

Like any team sport, you can have superstars but if they can't work at their best, they won't win. Jim F is the key and glue that makes it all come together.

Enough about Mayfair...back to Pickering results...what did everyone think about the performance of the other crews?

anonymous @ 11:58 AM
i am very much in the know.
why dont you enlighten us and list those that were on the national team before they were on mayfair? current active paddlers only please. only R.W. and J.S. come to mind if at all.

Big Fish...the fishes are back.
Why is G&G in Rec ?
The Heat did well.
Hammerheads made the final.

But, what happened to both A Sport and Consilation.
Was it really that good in Lanes 5,6.
All the times from Lanes 1, 2 were 2:10.
Does our good friend providing the analysis for the season in
terms of times take that difference into account.

-Mayfair dominated as usual.
-CSDC where they should be.
-Hydros are fast but I would argue just a touch slower compared to last year. I also noticed they had 18 paddlers for the 2k. Did they field 18 all day? If so, awesome job.
-Heat looks good.
-Scotia around right where they should be.
-U23 Nationals were overhyped. Got spanked in the finals and the 2k.
-Verdun looked out of place at the A consolations. Very fast 200m, 500m, and 2k times.
-Hammerheads had a great semi-final race which put them in A finals but looked out of place for the remainder of the day. They did not finish last in the 2k as some predicted.
-Big Fish is back in the A-pack with solid 200m, 500m, and 2k results.
-Hanalei went slower this year. No longer a sure-shot A-final team.
-New got beat out by ETS for the Sport A division and University Cup. A dose of reality is good for them.

Some teams really suprised me at Pickering.

Those who exceeded my expectations:

Scotia Momentum - with the loss of funding/sponsorship from Scotia meaning the loss of many longtime Scotia/Scotia Beach/Scotia Rouge etc. paddlers I think many of us did not have great expectations from this crew at all. Kudos to Scotia and Kevin for keeping you right in the thick of A, next up working on your 2K.

QDBC/PDBC Heat - whats with these old fogies paddling so freakin fast? First it was CSDC and now Heat? I guess I'll just have to wait a while before I get old, grey and smokin' fast. I guess Penang really tuned you guys up and Pat and co. has you guys gunnin for a spot for Macau.

Hammerheads - After loosing Big Bob and some additional boys over the past little while many believed that Hammers would have a difficult time of it this season. Looks like that wrong. Adrian has you guys humming. Lets see if you can keep it up fro Toronto Island. Still need to work on that 2k though.

Those who underperformed:

Verdun - Picked by many for a top 4 finish, trying to paddle out of Lane 1 in the heats sure proved a challenge above and beyond our friends from Montreal. Another great 2k coming 2nd.

Hanalei - Probably the team that surprised me the most - many were predicting a top 3/4 finish wow did the bottom ever fall off of you guys! I hear turnover and a new coach have affected them but that still doesn't explain a drop all the way to the bottom of A consolation. Good luck on the Island (your gunna need it), maybe Hollins was worth keeping?

All those people thinking U23 was going to do good were wrong. The team has been destroyed and is now a mess. This team had huge potential until Fairport joined PDBC and politics prevailed and the team went to the ****ter. Hopefully they rebound during/next year and show how dominant the U23 category can be!

I think those that predicted Hanalei in top 3 or 4 didn't know the team at all. Anyone that knows the team, knew that they were going to be a little slow at Pickering. Losing that many bodies, it takes a long time to get new paddlers in sync with the old ones - and they only practice twice a week, so it's going to take even longer.

Sport Div Despite predictions of Hydros imploding, Big Fish dominating, U23 surprising everyone, not a great deal has changed.

Notables:

Scotia After last years defeat, this team returns from its deathbed and surprises us.

Hammerheads Despite yearly predictions of failure, this crew continues to be a threat when it comes to the 500

Hydrophobic Dragons A victim of their own success. We were secretly wishing this was the year but its not, so now well rag on you from the sidelines.




University Div - If you follow this division at all, you'll know it was an interesting year

Notables:

Phoenix ETS - Fireball After a couple years of coming to Pickering and getting beat, they bring it, and bring it all. Good looking crew that is apparently WELL supported (see truck and trailer parked on grass)

New College Always brings a fit crew, but not as fit as in previous years. Shows U23 their place but gets dominated by Phoenix ETS

Victoria College Paddling Club Some great times during the day, but suffers from performance anxiety when it really matters (and a penalty). If I were New College, Id be worried about this crew for the Island.

What was the deal with that Phoenix ETS truck???? What did they have in that tralier? It was huge.

poutine.


to feed their pot bellys.

they had one or two OC2s in there.

Oh Anon June 8 2009, 3:43 PM

With the Vic comment it is so obvious who you are. Good luck at the island.

OF COURSE! Anyone who doesnt post strictly negative comments about teams MUST be self-promoting.

I never say anything about the crews I paddle with or coach on this forum. So when someone carries over their feelings about me to the teams that I am associated with, that's what I consider a hit below the belt. If I could prove to you that I wasn't the person who wrote that - I would. But I can't because the owner of this forum chooses to allow IPs to go unpublished and anonymous posters to say whatever crap they want in the name of "free speech".

To the poster above - thanks for the props but it wasn't performance anxiety. I steered our prelim, a guy who had never steered until a month ago steered our Uni Cup race. We finished in the ghost lane but as anyone steering knew the cross wind was blowing us out into the bay. Inexperienced coxes had trouble. That's all it was.

We have a very good relationship with the folks from New - we've practiced together and formed joint crews together in the past. The same can be said about UC with whom we hold an annual erg regatta and I would never count them out.

I would do nothing to ruin that relationship by posting **** on the forum. I can talk **** with the captains and coaches of both of New/UC by just picking up the phone and calling them.

So to the ******* above sitting at home with nothing better to do, kiss my ass.

Take it easy.

Jason you are a whinning baby, you must grow up

What was G&G doing in the recreational division? I just wanted to hear anyones thoughts on this.

Looks to me like a cheap shot at placing first!

If teams don't want to join Dragonboat Canada, they race in the recreation division. G&G has no plans to do Nationals, so this makes perfect sense.