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/
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