Labour Day weekend is the marker for many things. It means that school is starting, or that the Bombers are coming to town. Labour Day weekend reminds us that fall is coming; but it can also share with us one last glimmer of summertime! At COR, Labour Day weekend is Dragon Boat season. A weekend where months of practice culminates and give us one final payoff!
This year we were graced with calm waters and sun. A kindness we are not often afforded by the spirit of the Dragon Boats. This opened the door for competitors to be at their best. Especially our crew who were participating in our seventh consecutive festival under the team name ‘Rock You to the COR.’
Our first race had us finishing second in our heat achieving a time of 2 minutes and 33 seconds. It was a solid first race and it made way for a second heat race time of 2:34. A third race was guaranteed to all teams, but not all teams were solidified a birth in the C-Final the way Rock You to the COR did! With close to a three hour break between race 2 and the C final under our belt, we readied ourselves for the final sprint of the day. A race for all the marbles and bragging rights told round water coolers for weeks to come. Dragon Boat glory!
We paddled out long and loose like Coach Brad taught us so many times before. Bobbing and stroking to the familiar beat of a drum. Breathing in and out rhythmically we transformed into a well-oiled machine. The voices from the crowd disappeared and all that was left was our team. Our team versus two other boats.
“Leave it all out on the water; Nothing left in the Tanks!” rings out in the silence. One last message for the team as we approach the starting line. We buried our paddles in Wascana Lake for what seemed like forever, and then a mega phone muffled out the word, ‘GO!’
For two and a half minutes time stood still.
Sport and physical activity brings something out in us. For the most part it finds the best parts of our heart and shares it’s passion with the world. Sometimes it asks that we dig a little deeper and often it exposes the true grit that exists in every ounce of our hard work. To start the season some of us started out as strangers, most of us were colleagues and friends, but today we were C-side champions.
All Day, All Night, Dragon Boat.
Click here for CBC News Coverage of the 2016 Dragon Boat Festival
Mentoring in
