Below is from ICF web site. First is sort of sad, using an Olympic athlete to legitimize a world club crew championship that didn't even have enough teams to hold heats. Second one with ICF President should blow a fatal hole in the hopes of anyone that the ICF would use one ounce of energy to try and make dragon boat an Olympic event.


Monday, 13 July 2009

2009 ICF Club Crew Dragon Boat World Championships
During the recent successful ICF Club Crew Dragon Boat World Championships we had the chance to interview a few major players in our sport. Below you will find some exerts of those interviews:

Interview with Gyorgy Kozman, Hungarian Olympic athlete:
We know that you have been very successful in the Olympics as a Canoeing athlete, but now you have turned to Dragon Boat and have become the World Champion. Why did you made the decision to change from Canoe Sprint to Dragon Boat?

G. Kozman: This is not my first time to compete in Dragon Boat. I already competed 2 years ago in Taiwan in the 2006 World Championships when I was 21 years old. Since then I have received 7 Champion titles in Dragon Boat.

Could you share with us the next goal that you want to achieve after the World Dragon Boat Championships in Ulsan?

G. Kozman: I havent decided yet what I will do for the future in Canoeing. I just finished the Olympic Games with a bronze medal in 2008, and after that I am thinking now its time to take it easy. I am hesitating about competing in Canoe Sprint next year. Im not sure if I want to return or not. At the moment, it will be difficult to return because its difficult to restart and to obtain the high level of performance needed to be competitive which requires a lot of training. Ive been in Canoeing for 20 years; since I was nine years old. So after 20 years, you know, its good to do something else in the future.

So will you continue in Canoe Sprint or Dragon Boat?

G. Kozman: Definitely I will continue with Dragon Boat this is for sure. However, Canoe Sprint this is still an open question, maybe I will decide at the end of the year to restart again or decide against it. However, I will definitely still compete in Budapest next year.

Interview with Jose Perurena, the ICF President

Could you tell me how you see the development of the ICF in the future?

Mr. Perurena: Well, the development programme that we have is split in two directions. One direction is to continue to develop in many countries our Olympic disciplines. We need to organise teams in as many as 50 countries in Canoe Slalom and 70 countries in Canoe Sprint at World Championships. We are also considering changes to our Olympic format in the next few years.

What do you think is the place of Dragon Boat among the other Non-Olympic Canoeing disciplines such as Whitewater Canoeing, Canoe Polo, Canoe Freestyle and Canoe Sailing?

Mr. Perurena: Unfortunately, in the Olympic Games there is a limit on the maximum number of athletes for each sport, so its very difficult to introduce other sports. In Dragon Boat there are 25 athletes in one boat; therefore, we would need 330 athletes in all. That makes it very difficult to enter a new discipline into the Olympic Games with this number of athletes.

Again. Who cares about ICF?

I'm guessing this would be more appropriate on a sprint forum of some sort.

I guarantee you there were more quality teams at the local Toronto event this weekend than anything the ICF has put on for DB yet.

Oh, and if you want to try and prove me wrong, please reread line one above.