2008 Chinese New Year’s Races
16 February 2008
Race Report from the coachesSaturday was a very big day for the PD’s at the CNY DB races.
It was an intense day of the best sort of racing there is. CNY brings with it a certain sense of ???(insert intelligent sounding and appropriate word). Maybe it is the presence of Chinese culture that is the heart of DB, maybe it is the shorter distance, maybe it is the crowds, maybe it is the after party. I dunno. But it is one of the most exciting races on the DB calendar for good reason.
We are extremely happy with our results of 1st in the women’s, 1st in the mixed and 2nd in the men’s. It was very satisfying to achieve those great results. I hope each and every paddler reflects on their hard work and improvements that they have made and realises that they have contributed personally to our team’s success. Especially the newer paddlers who must have been paddling like experienced paddlers for us to do so well. Please know how much difference you make to our club’s success both on and off the water!
It was also a sobering day as the competition was so strong. We could not take anything for granted and had to dig deep to put our best races on the water to have a chance against the other teams who seem to be getting stronger and more numerous each year. The slightest mistake or lack of commitment to every stroke could have seen us off the podium. That’s CNY racing for you.
As hard as we tried to win that men’s final, it was good to see the City Dragons boys get up. They have been working hard and proved they were the fastest. Our men’s crew nailed every part of that race and had nothing left in the tank. So no regrets to come 2nd amongst those teams in that final – it was a great result for us.
The mixed B crew gave a very good account of themselves but just missed out on the finals, despite not being far from the fastest teams.
The results from our 4 crews are very encouraging and we won’t put any extra pressure on ourselves as we continue to enjoy our training in the lead up to the state titles. We know we can go fast, we know we can go long, now we are going to train ourselves to go fast for long (???)
Thanks to Anne and Darren for the fine steering, leadership and motivation.
We were all pretty chuffed with our new uniforms and looked ‘uniform’ as a club whilst wearing them. Well done to Todd and others involved in making it happen.
Sat night was ball-bouncingly good fun. The hot PD cheer leaders won the best costume award. Much merriment was had with our brothers and sisters from ACCA, Mavs, Tsunami, DSA, Hunter Dragons etc etc. Did I forget anyone? And we actually won a drinking boat race (???). I will call the Gold Coast Dragons. They are never gonna believe it. Cheers, The coaches ———————————————————————————————————————–
I’d like to congratulate Belinda, Daniel, Craig and Michael who all raced their first races at Chinese New Year and to all those paddlers who have only done a couple of races so far. All of you showed that you have true PD spirit and the makings of fine paddlers of the future. You raced amazingly against crews packed full of experienced paddlers and showed them what you are made of – well done!
A big welcome to Matt who joins us from the Gaelic Dragons in Hong Kong and who raced for the first time in our fabulous new orange race gear.
Also a huge thank you to Nicola who helped so much in organsing this race, party tickets and fees etc.
A few quick highlights:
– Chicks crew by almost a second – sheesh thats quick!
– The boys racing a fantastic race in their final – totally fighting above their weight & experience and finishing 2nd to a very good crew from City Dragons
– Partying afterwards with all the other clubs – all commented it was a great idea & so we will continue to be involved in organising it again next year.
– But most of all… the many congratulations and well wishes from the other crews, their captains and coaches. It is truly a pleasure to race well, win medals and trophys with your team mates, but the true honour & success is being respected and congratulated at the same time by those who raced along side us.
All and all a magic day for the Pacific Dragons, one that will go down in history as one of the best. Thanks to each and everyone of you for contributing to the day.
Whats next? Get yourself ready for State Titles and the holy grail of PD Dragon Boating – World Club Crews in Penang!
Juls |