Canada Premier Women dominated the 500m

‎I know that this post is delayed, but for what it's worth.....

Our 500m‎ races were fantastic. Wonderful. Powerful yet not panicked. Oh - and Premier Women came out on top or the podium - by a rather large margin of about 1 second!! 

Our first heat was exactly how a heat should be. Fast enough to get you top position in the final, but not so fast that you risk burning out. My nerves were on fire because I knew that after the 200m performance we had the day before(for which I still can't stop smiling)‎ - we had to prove that our win was not an accident - that we were meant to be on top. 

Needless to say, the heat was great and seeded us against China and US as our main competitors in the final. We had a very strong start and apparently we lead the race out of the starting gate and then turned on the power for our finish. Our caller kept saying "China is making their move, I need you now" and the boat responded right away with pure force of will striving to get us to the end of the race. With every stroke, our caller would yell "give me another seat" and the boat would respond. It was fantastic. 

In the end I believe we finished 1/2 a boat length ahead, which is huge in the main distance of a Premier boat at the ‎world championships. Our coach was ecstatic, as was the entire team. It's probably one of the best races I have had in my life, and I'm absolutely honored to have been a part of this National team experience in Hungary. 

Right now, I am in Budapest taking in the sites and the atmosphere. This city is quickly becoming one of my favorite in the world - more on that to come.

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In case you are interested in a little read, myself and two of my teammates were featured in a two page article in the Ottawa Citizen : http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/sports/story.html?id=ad94ad56-6fa3-47e7-b383-9b47641656a8

Canada Premier Women made history

The Canadian Premier Women made history today, beating team China for the first time in the 200m sprint distance!!

This adds another gold medal to the coffers - which places us with two gold and one bronze overall. Today has been a fantastic day!

In addition, teams are starting to get penalties for wash riding (after the 1000m fiascos, something had to be done - too bad it wasn't called during our race!!). 

So, this had been an incredible day of racing again. We managed to get our stroke rate up around 110 strokes per minute in the preliminary heat - it was fast but spinny so we decided to take it down for the final - which really benefited us in the end. It felt great, the boat felt awesome and everyone felt connected. We didn't know who won and had to wait for the replay to know for sure, but once we saw with proof that gold was ours, the boat erupted in celebration. There is really no other way to describe it. 

You see, the 200m has always been a dream to win - and we finally did it!

Tomorrow is the last day of racing where we will focus on the 500m distance. I will update later tomorrow or Monday with our standings. 

Go Canada!!!! 

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

Adventures in 1000m racing

Yesterday we raced the 1000m sprints. 

In our heat, our strategy was to come in first so that we could go directly to the finals, but not to exhaust ourselves doing it. We made that plan work and ended up seeding in the preferred lane for the final race - which might have been a detriment to our outcome. 

We started off the final race ahead by a half boat length and maintained that lead for what spectators say was 3/4 of the course - however, for anyone who is familiar with racing in a man made basin, sometimes what will happen is the crews who are beside and behind you can get on your wave (almost like surfing), which means they will expend less energy keeping up with you, giving them a surge at the end of the race. This is precisely what happened. 

Canadian Premier Women received the bronze medal, behind Thailand and China. The spread between first and third place was 0.15 seconds. Not even a paddle stroke. Our coach firmly believes that we carried the two other crews (who were on either side of us) down the course. Whatever the reason, I can say that our race plan was executed perfectly, and it wasn't for lack of trying or for lack of effort that we weren't on the top of the podium. 

Coming off the water was emotional. To have worked so hard, knowing you couldn't have done anything differently to affect the outcome (ie: paddle harder, sit up straighter, respond to calls for more power, etc.), that was what hurt the most. But - we have to keep in mind that at the world level, this is what we ask for. The best competition in the world - this is what we got yesterday. 

From my perspective, our team was humbled. This is a good thing. When you are used to winning all the time, sometimes you need to come second (or third) to remind you of the hunger, drive and sheer ballsy-ness it takes to win first place. 

Canadian Premier Women will be back for the 200m on Saturday - there is no doubt about that. 

The race was streamed live (as all the races have been so far), the commentators saying that ours was one of the closest races of the day, and at one point, the commentator was heard to say "look at those Canadian women, they are looking exceptionally strong this year. Muscles like that don't just happen by accident". Later, when we were on the podium receiving our medals, the organizers told us that they hit 80,000 spectators on the live coverage - and that over 60% were from Canada. 

Hearing that, and knowing that our friends and family in Canada are behind us is pretty fantastic. I know the Canadian media has shunned our efforts to engage, and so I know how much it takes for those of you at home to sign on and follow our races - we sincerely appreciate it!! We really do. Knowing th at I have loved ones back home that are watching, cheering and crying along with me is the best feeling in the world. 

Be sure to tune in on Saturday - I'm aiming for tears of joy and hoping to beat China for the first time in the 200m. 

Canadian teams cleaned up on the first day of racing (2000m course)

The opening ceremonies were a great time this year - I missed them in Tampa and always regretted it, so I decided to attend this year. There was a parade of athletes through the streets of Szeged - locals and supporters alike lined the streets and were cheering us on (kind of a really cool feeling!). There were even some local children who were waving mini Canadian flags... :)

At the opening ceremonies, there was a guest appearance from the Red Bull stunt pilot who entertained us with a 10-15 minute air show - I left shortly after and missed the concert and the opening speeches. On our way out Krysta and I were pulled aside by some athletes from the Polish team and were asked to pose for a pic.

Some Galley Girls representing in Szeged

Galley Girl contingent (minus Emilie) in Szeged at the opening ceremonies

Team Canada - walking proud

Posing with our competitors

The first day of racing has come and gone and Canadian teams have been very well represented on the podium so far.

12 gold medals, 5  silver medals and 1 bronze medal - that is almost 1 medal per race - a fantastic first start to what will hopefully be a consistent week of racing from all Canadian teams.

Canadian Premier Women (the team that I paddle with) won our race by a whopping 9 second margin - so start our collection off with this year. We were not racing at the Szeged Olympic paddling facility, rather the Tisza river - where we could benefit from the current in one direction which helped us to attain top speeds of over 20 km/h. It doesn't seem fast - but in a dragonboat, that's pretty fast (especially for a long distance race).

The Chinese are historically a very strong team, and we were concerned that we might not be able to compete against them, but we fared very well in the end.

Today we are racing the 1000m sprints. If we win our heat, we will go straight to the grand final. If we don't we will have to go to a reperchage (sp?) where the fastest teams will go to the grand final. Wish us luck!!

Race Schedule for Canadian Premier Women

 The following is the race schedule for Canadian Premier Women (my team), however, there are lots of talented Canadian teams competing this year. Be sure to check the Hungarian event website for live video feed of the races:

http://www.hungary2013.dragonboat.hu/

There have been some.recent changed to the schedule that have been published on thr.main site - I'm hopeful that the times are still the same. 

Wednesday July 24 (2000m)

Race # 18 @ 16h30

Last boat to start.

Thursday July 25 (1000m)

Race # 59 @ 15h10 (heat)

Race#67 @ 16h30 (semi final)

Race # 75 @ 17h50 (grand final)

Saturday July 27 (200m)

Race # 197 @ 14h40 (heat)

Race # 215 @ 16h15 (semi final)

Race # 240 @ 18h20 (grand final)

Sunday July 28 (500m)

RAce # 260 @ 11h40 (heat)

Race # 280 @ 14h30 (semi final)

Race # 298 @ 17h00 (grand final)

Szeged and a paddlers dream course

It's been a few days since my last update...

On Sunday July 21 (my mothers birthday - happy birthday mom!), the women paddled a 2km exhibition race (with turns every 500m) on the Tisza river in Szeged. This was a chance not only to check out the race course for the world championships, but to work out the inevitable kinks caused by travel, adaption to a new routine and boatmates. The race went well - we were in a heat with mens crews and we didn't come last !! Plus, we had an unofficial sub 9 minute time (8:40 ish), which is a great time for a 2km race. The officiating wasn't exactly on par with what we are used to, however, so we aren't quite sure how we finished relative to the other teams, and how quickly we finished. But... we finished.

That afternoon we ended up at the racecourse where we will be competing for the rest of the week. The course is BEAUTIFUL!!! It's got a great set up for paddlers, spectators, racers, everyone!! It really is a dream course, and I'm counting myself very lucky that I have had the opportunity to paddle on it!

Below is a picture of the course.

Below is a picture of the athletes area - where a bunch of athletes are warming up.

Today, we had two practices where we focused on our starts and our sprint pieces. Each practice gets better and better and the boat is really starting to come together. Krysta and I walked around the city a bit during our lunch break, but I have a feeling we won't be exploring much of Szeged because we are really trying to focus on practice and racing.

Our hotel - I haven't spoken to that yet. The hotel is owned by a man who used to live in Canada, and he is very happy and excited to be hosting Canadians at his hotel. He held a team dinner for us last night in his courtyard - the dinner was fantastic and very well received. The owner and his staff have been really incredible to us - providing a home away from home to the premier womens, mens and mixed crews. The hotel itself is in a rather interesting building featuring castle turrets and the like. In general, the architecture here is really quite interesting - a blend of pre-communist Autrich-Hongrie and communist style buildings - side by side. Ornate flanked by bland - really neat to see. 

That's all for now - I will post our race dates/times as I get more info.

First day of practice under our belts and litres upon litres of sparkling water

Womens premier had our first two practices today and the boat is feeling good already. We had an early morning and late afternoon practice totaling about 10 kms. Nothing too strenuous as we were using the time in the boat to flush out the jet lag, but the boat is feeling good already!

We explored the hotel surroundings a bit, but the highlight of the off time for the day involved many bottles of water. Krysta and I went grocery shopping to find veggies, fruit and meats. At the same time, we stocked up on bottled water (very unsure of whether we will be physically ok to drink the tap water). We each got a case of six two-litre bottles and brought them back to our hotel. We went to open the bottles to add our electrolyte mixes for thé afternoon practice, and it turns out we bought fizzy water. We now have a total of 24 L of heavily carbonated water lying around that we can't seem to pass off to anyone. 

I tried to use one of the carbonated waters in practice, but it exploded on me, so, no-go. It's too bad this wasn't Ottawa, because my husband would take it off our hands in an instant!! 

Anyway - more to come tomorrow. We are racing an exhibition 2km race tomorrow and then a practice at night at the race course. I'm very much looking forward to racing at the course. Apparently they have paddling starting gates that corral you in, within your lane, and then drop when the horn is blared. Different than we are used to, but should be good!

In other news, because of the weather that Ottawa has been experiencing, some of our teammates from the Galley Girls have gotten stuck in transit. Here is hoping they get here safe with all of their gear!

24 hours later and we've made it to Hungary

Ottawa - Toronto - Paris - Munich - Budapest - Szeged.

We are tired, but we are here. It's been a long haul - 24 hours of travelling all said, but we are in Hungary.

Prior to leaving, I had to print off a list of ingredients and foods that I can't eat in Hungarian - and I'm happy to say that it has helped me already. Krysta and I went for dinner tonight on the recommendation from the hotel staff who read the list and told us where we could go to get food. Super happy that I printed off the list - one thing though vegetables are pretty hard to come by - should get interesting as the weeks progress!

Well, I've been up for 36 hours so I'm going to bed. We have two practices tomorrow with the National Team - will update later with pictures and content.

Preparing for a trip across the pond...

So... it's been awhile. That tends to be a trend with me and this blog :)

This time, my next big adventure will bring me to Szeged, Hungary for the 2013 World Dragonboat Championships - I'm one of the lucky 24 who, through inhumane amounts of training, sweat, tears, torn muscles and rehab, has been selected to represent Canada on the Women's Premier National Dragonboat Team.

The final roster was released in May, 2013 and I cried when I saw my name on the list. This will be my second opportunity to represent the country that I love in the sport that I love - and I only hope that I can do both justice! The team has been put together with a group of women from Vancouver to Montreal (and parts in between) - we have had the opportunity to paddle a spring training camp together, and we intend on arriving earlier to adjust to the time, temperature and our boat colleagues. You see - blending 20 people in a boat can be a struggle, let alone when you're dealing with technique from 10 different teams (and a time/humidity change to boot).

At my last world championships in 2011, Canadian Premier did very well, with the following results:
- 2000m, 1000m, 500m, Gold
- 200m, Silver
- 500m small boat, Gold

It was a fantastic experience, however, this time around we will be the hunted (for lack of a better euphemism). Not only are other teams trying to beat us, but, you see - paddling in Hungary and in Hungarian culture is a big deal. European teams will often throw together crews of ex-Olympic paddlers - which means we will be competing against the best of the best - not to mention all the other talent worldwide that exists for this sport. For example, the Chinese teams are paid to train dragonboat, year round. And, if they bring home the gold, it's been rumored that the Chinese government will pay competitors the equivalent of one year's salary per medal.

In any case, I'm doing the final prep and getting ready to leave tomorrow. I arrive in Szeged around 7pm (Hungarian time) on Friday July 19 - expect plenty of posts from there forward.

In the meantime, have a look around the competition website - rumor has it that the competition will be broadcast live.

http://www.hungary2013.dragonboat.hu/