Vancouver Island Paddling Society’s high-performance dragon boat racing team, the Gorging Dragons, medalled in nine of their 12 events at the 2018 Club Crew World Championship in Szeged, Hungary recently.
The world championships was held July 16-22 and it hosted more than 140 crews, which equates to over 6,000 participants from over 30 nations.
The Olympic Centre of Szeged staged the 200- and 500-metre events on a 40-hectare racing site. The 2,000 metre event — staggered starts with multiple teams and thrilling buoy turns every 500 metres — was raced on the fast-flowing Tisza River in the centre of Szeged in the final days of the competition.
The Vancouver Island-based Gorging Dragons, led by head coach Tom Arnold, qualified at the Canadian National Dragon Boat Championships last year to enter four crews in standard (20-paddler) dragon boats — Senior B Women (age 50+), Senior C Women (age 60+), Senior C Open (age 60+, Men/Women), and Senior C Mixed (age 60+, 10 men + 10 women) — in the world championships.
There was a strong field of international competitors against whom the Gorging Dragons won medals in multiple distances:
Senior B Women — Gold 500 metre; Bronze 200 metre; Bronze 2000 metre
Senior C Women — Silver 500 metre; Bronze 200 metre
Senior C Mixed — Silver 2,000 metre; Bronze - 500 metre
Senior C Open — Bronze - 500 metre; Bronze - 2,000 metre
“What’s so impressive about this result is the people behind it,” Arnold said.
“They are parents and grandparents who discovered an activity that they loved, worked hard to get better, and have become world-class athletes in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. They inspire me every day, and remind me that almost anything is possible through hard work… at any age.”
Arnold was appointed in April this year as Team Canada program director for the Senior B National dragon boat team, marking the first time that an Island coach has been given such a position.
A decorated paddler himself, Arnold is looking to continue Canada’s strong showing on the world stage, and centralize the Senior B program here on the island, bringing some of the best paddlers from across the country to Victoria.
— Submitted by Miriam MacPhail,
VI Paddling Society