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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[Lulu]

As a paddler who went through the drama in Seattle this past weekend, here are my comments (for what they're worth).

Totally appreciated the efforts of the volunteers who pushed through to make sure that this event happened, and am completely in support of the spirit of the festival...however:

- were told by another team that the last race on Sat was for "fun" after waiting 5 hours with no contact from anyone associated with the event that things had changed and were, apparently, the only heat of the delayed heats to go for the full 500 m after several heats were run at 350m
 - coaches and managers meeting on both Sat and Sun happened while we were on the water and no efforts were made to noftify us of changes in the grid nor was there an effort to communicate to us afterward
- raced against the mens team from Wasabi and were told that our second place finish would count as a first place finish only to find out later that we would need to race again "for fun" and would move on regardless.... needless to say that we were a little relaxed in that heat
- had difficulty in hearing the starts called and was a little concerned that we did not indeed have alignment at the starts
- concerned over other team encroaching upon our lane without support of race officials to call the other team out, seemed of little interest to the officials on the water


All and all I appreciate the efforts of the volunteers of this event and certainly understand the complexity of managing such a gong show, however would truly have appreciated better communication from those directly affiliated with the event and (perhaps) willingness to accept input from those of us that were offering with the intent to rectify the situation.  Harrison 2 yrs ago all over again,  I hope that we can learn from this experience and turn it around.

[bluequad]

As a Canadian visitor,

I can honestly say that our 3 plus hour trek was worth it,  but not from a racing standpoint...bit of a gong show for certain.
Practice yes. There were waves, uncertain starts, lane crossovers, you name it ...it happened. It was hard to take seriously. adding to that a 5 hour wait  only to learn that someone had a bus to catch...please,that was just silly.

On a positive note, as weird as the festival was, there was still a pretty good vibe.
The volunteers were great, especially on the docks.
The Thai food was delish.
the water was rather nice. Didn't smell like poo..like some place I know.
It was nice and sunny.
With a nice breeze
The beer was good plus there was "happy hour", good luck having that in Canada.

So thanks to our Seattle hosts, I know they will learn from this, and as our Canadian paddlers will attest to,  we've had our fair share of embarrassments...can you say "Harrison"

[coach]

One more thing, everyone had to show ID to get into the beer garden.

That caught a lot of people off-guard, a lot of paddlers don't bring ID down to the site, so they couldn't get in, even if they were 60. The gatekeepers at the entrance said it was a requirement for the festival to get a license, that everyone had to have ID on them. So unfortunately a lot of people couldn't even get in. They learned and brought ID on Sunday.

Organizers, it would have been good to put that in your FAQs or in the race package so people are aware to bring ID.

[Sundragons]

Alright my club will think twice before heading to Seattle. However, we've had some good times at the Port of Commencement in Tacoma. Kent is also another good race; too bad Seattle can't uphold the tradition of good old Washington dragon boat racing.

Glad you got to meet the Wasabi team, those guys give us hell back in Portland and practically all the races we go to.

See you in Portland the 12th/13th.