A women's crew from the VI Paddling Club walked away from the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival on June 23 with a shiny new prize.
"Our boat was a mixed-age group. We had paddlers from their 30s to their 60s," said Tom Arnold, president and head coach of the VI Paddling Club. "Some of our older paddlers get the chance to beat some of the 20-year-olds. It is a big thrill for them."
The Gorging Dragons Red won gold at the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, the biggest North American event. 5,000 racers came from as far away as Australia. The boat of 20 paddlers is divided into three sections, each with its role on the water: the strokes, the engine room, and the rockets.
"Different skills are required everywhere on both the front and the back," Arnold said.
The success can be attributed to its training, and Arnold treats all of his paddlers like high-performance athletes and holds them to a high level.
"We hold them to a high level, and they embrace that."
The Dragons Red participated in the Guts and Glory 2,000-metre race, beating 17 other teams. VI Paddling has docks in Comox Valley, the Gorge in Vic West and Cumberland. They also nabbed gold in standard 500 metre races.
The crew was made up of a "blend" of three different crews, according to Kelly Spilsbury one of the paddlers from the Gorging Dragons Red.
"You have a lot of great competition making this event a really hard one to win," said Spilsbury.
"Canada is one of the top locations in the world," Arnold added. "A lot of people think of it as a fringe sport."
Next, the Dragons Red will attend the Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy, from September 3 to 8.
At the 2022, Club Crew World Championships in Florida, the Gorging Dragons Red recorded 15 medals.
"I know these paddlers are looking to set new records and earn more hardware in Italy which will be the largest Club Crew World Championships to date," said Arnold.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the team with the costs of attending the championships.
