Sun Dragons
Tuesday 9 - 10:30am & Thursday 9 - 10:30am
Fort Langley SunDragons were born in April 2007. We are an all women’s team with a wide range of ages. We started with 4 experienced paddlers and the rest of us were just wide-eyed innocents that had never set foot in a dragon boat before.
Armed with more enthusiasm than experience we blasted onto the scene as a team to be reckoned with, especially once we stopped clanking paddles and got into time with each other!
In our first season we won medals at various regattas as well as awards for best costume and team spirit. We became a sisterhood not only on the water but off the water as well.
We just finished our third season with a gold medal in the Platinum B division. Next year we’re aiming for Div A!
During last season we entered several regattas and our first memorable one of the year was one of our annual favourites – the False Creek Women’s Regatta – we gave those “other” Pussycat Dolls a run for their money – check us out – and you decide who the real pussycats are!
We finished the day in 16th place overall. In our 3 races we came in 1st, then 2nd and 2nd again!! Now we all know #2 tries harder, so need I say more?
Next in our quest for dragon boat domination came Whistler. This was a new venue for us as we hadn’t entered the regatta in its inaugural year in 2008. We had no idea what we had missed the year before! What a beautiful place to hold a dragon boat regatta. The view, the weather and the park setting all served to make this one of the funnest weekends our team has experienced. We placed 2nd, 1st and then 3rd in our three races and ended the weekend walking away with third in the Division A championship. Now when you shorten that you actually find out the truth of the matter which is we were the DIV A champions!! “Diva” get it?
Well onwards and upwards we went! Harrison was the next stop on our trek. Placing 1st in the first two races put us up against some of the best teams at the regatta. We paddled hard and came in third in the Division A championship. Please read the paragraph above to refresh your memory on what the actual title is that we won……………
The final stop for the season was Kelowna. Kelowna can be the best regatta in the world or it can be the worst – it all depends on Mother Nature and her sidekick “The Wind”. Our first season we encountered this wonderful “Wind” and we almost changed our names to the Pirate Dragons!! The waves were crashing around us and into us and over us, it was out of this world and soooooooo exciting! This time out, Mother had mellowed somewhat so we didn’t lose our tent or the ability to line up for the start of the race. The weather was gorgeous and we stayed at condos right on the water, a mere 5 minute walk to the venue.
We placed 3rd, 4th and then 5th and oh what a finish to the weekend and the season, we came in first for our last race and walked away with the Platinum B Division medal. If the bright green shirts aren’t a giveaway, I’ll help you in picking us out – we are boat #4!
There is nothing like the family you find when you join dragon boating, you make friends that will be with you through thick and thin, on and off the water.
If you are at all curious as to what this sport is about and have time during the day to practice give us a call and try us out, we’d love to have you!