July 19, 2007 - 2:10am
For Malaspina’s dragon boat team, it’s all about teamwork and friendship.
22 Malaspina employees took to the seas and competed in the 2007 Save On Foods Dragon Boat Festival (July 6-8), which resulted in a bronze medal in the Jade division and a lot of smiling faces.
“We had a lot of fun,” said Patrick Ng, team captain and professor in the math department at Malaspina. “We joke around a lot, but we practice hard and maintain focus when it’s race time. When things are serious, we all get that look on our face and there’s no more kidding around.”
The Malaspina team (nicknamed the Ancient Mariners) worked hard for their bronze medal, competing in two preliminary races on Saturday (to decide their division and who they would compete against) and two more on Sunday, when the semi-finals and finals took place. This is the fourth medal in five years for team Malaspina, so Ng is very happy with the result.
“It’s always nice to cap off the season with a medal and reward all the hard work people put in,” he said. “Everyone was excited to win – especially the new people. Competing in an event that raises money for breast cancer just makes it that much more special.”
Sunday’s semi-final was one of the closest races the Malaspina team has ever competed in. To make it to the finals, the team had to place first or second in a four team heat. All four teams crossed the finish line at the same time, but the official results had the Ancient Mariners finishing in second, barely ahead of the third and fourth place teams. That result placed them in the final, where they finished third and won the bronze medal.
The team’s success came after a lot of hard work, with two practices a week for seven weeks before the festival. Carol Tisdale, one of the team’s paddlers, says the sport takes a lot more than people would expect.
“I think it takes two seasons to get used to it and for everything to fall into place,” said Tisdale. “It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be. When I first started, I thought it would just be paddling around, but it’s more than that. You really have to put your whole body into it and find the rhythm.”
Team manager Laura Landry says the team’s success comes from the feeling of friendship and positivity that was created.
“It was an amazing group of people,” said Landry. “It was a very social event for everyone, so the feeling of camaraderie was incredible. It’s a great chance to meet people and make friends from all over campus. If you want to have fun and get a lot of exercise, dragon boating is something you should try. We worked incredibly hard and became such a tight team, but we had a lot of fun too. In the end, everybody was crying and hugging and looking forward to next year.”
68 teams registered for the 2007 Dragon Boat Festival, which raised money for a reader for the mammography unit at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Over 12,000 people attended the event, a number that promises to grow every year with the enthusiasm of the participants.
“I have no doubt that I will be back next year,” said Ng. “I’ll keep doing it for a long time, until I’m too old and I can’t paddle anymore.”
The Malaspina Ancient Mariners team members included Patrick Ng (Team Captain), Laura Landry (Team Manager), Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa (Steersperson), Jennifer Calder (Drummer), Bill Bennett, Carol Tisdale, Cheryl Yoner, Doug Corrin, Shelley Corrin (Stroke), Leigh Sifton, Sandy Patrick, Brian Patrick, Susie Caswell (Stroke), Terry Caswell, Bill Hohman, Carol Tyre, Dan Brydges, Jane Parmley, Kathryn Jepson, Lynn Ball, Marilyn Assaf, Owen Peer, Brett Fee, Niki McDonald, Regan Purdy and Archna Acharya. Special thanks to coaches Ian Drown and Andrea Marriot and team mascot Blue Thunder (Brock Fee).
For more information about Malaspina’s dragon boat team, please contact Patrick Ng at 753-3245, local 2311 or ng@viu.ca. For more information about the Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival, please contact the festival organizers at admin@nanaimodragonboat.com
Tags: In the Community
