Very Cool Website!

This website is really cool for those of you who like to read about sport science:
http://per4m.squarespace.com/

super dorky but effective hand protection from the cold

When I was paddling in Calgary, the rowing coach would scold us whenever he thought we were allowing our hands or knees to get too cold. He would say we were going to feel it when we were older. I believed him, he was old afterall, and aimed to keep my joints as warm as possible. Nonetheless, my hands now tell me that he was, indeed, right.

With this in mind, I’m going to share with you my solution for OC paddling in the cold. It looks dorky, the boys will feel they are too cool to wear this, but, believe me, it’s not so cool to be old, like me, and have sore hands all the time either. So, this is what I do:

1) Wear those light synthetic wool gloves that you can put together into a tiny ball. You know the ones that look all small and then your hand stretches them out?
2) Wear rubber gloves (kitchen) gloves over top.

Why this works is that:
1) your inside gloves only get wet with sweat, which is warm
2) the rubber gloves keep out the water and maintain a grippy surface to your hands
3) your fingers don’t feel like they’re working against resistance to bend – like they have to with neoprene. They can grip normally.
4) wind is blocked

For dragon boat, though, I would suggest pogies which are available at MEC. http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442095359&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302885971&bmUID=1259959606158. These don’t work for switching sides in OC though.


There you have it! Be non-dorky at your own risk!

2010 Olympics are Coming Soon! Visiting Eric Hamber High School

There is a lot about the 2010 Olympics that is going to be a hassle for us Vancouverites and scandal always abounds at the administrative level of the Olympics but, as an Olympian, I can’t help but think having the Olympics here is a great thing. Most of the choices I made in my life from 15 to 34 were dictated by my adulation of the Olympic ideal and now kids here will have the chance to have this event lend a positive influence to their lives.

I led some workshops yesterday at Eric Hamber Secondary School. They have a dragon boat team and the paddlers there helped me out. We talked about goals and my Olympic and dragon boat experiences. One of their paddlers, Anthony, talked about his experiences at the dragon boat Worlds this summer. It was much more fun than I thought it was going to be! The kids were great. Speaking to them reminded me of some games that I played at my Olympics plus some others:

1. Name that flag. Flags are everywhere. Every balcony in the Olympic village will have the occupants’ flag hanging outside. Learn your flags and geography by identifying all the flags. Plotting to steal Olympic flags is always fun but carrying through is not often fruitful.

2. Guess the sport. Olympians are seen as physique ideals but the reality is that, in true form, we are a bit odd looking. Looking around the Olympic Village in Athens and guessing the athlete’s sport was fun and usually not that hard. Volleyball players are tall and skinny, rowers are tall but not as skinny, swimmers have broad bony shoulders, track sprinters have insanely large calves and thighs with skinny looking knees in comparison, distance runners are so light they look like they should blow away, sailors look like normal people. Kayakers have pencil thin legs and massive upper bodies – but of course I knew them.

3. Pretend you’re Dutch and visit Heineken House. This is the Dutch party-central location which I believe will be located near the speed skating oval in Richmond. If anything like in Athens, it is definitely worth trying to sneak in. In Athens I could get in with my athlete accreditation but my sisters dressed in orange (one an orange cooking apron I’d somehow ended up with my previous night there). It worked! If anyone wants to borrow my apron, let me know!

4. Pin trading/giving: I’m not a big trader but lots of people are. Having some Canadian pins in your pocket is an awesome way to start a conversation.

5. Meet people. Olympians love to meet the locals. Olympians' parents, even more so! Be friendly and you will make a lasting impression on their Olympic experience as well as your own.

6. Challenge yourself to put aside your normal activities and stressors and soak in the experience – after all, you may not really have much of a choice so you may as well enjoy it!!

That’s my plan for the 2010 Olympics! The Games made me what I am and now it’s the turn of other athletes and youngsters. Thanks to the kids at Eric Hamber for making me excited again!

World Outrigger Sprint Trials and Nationals

Last weekend was a big one for Canadian outrigger sprinting with trials for 2010 Worlds on Saturday and our inaugural National Championships on Sunday. As the National Coach, my job is to select the teams. One main challenge was to set up trials in a way that gave the most head-to-head racing and clear information to establish a ranking. This is complicated by all the age-classes, winds and tides. I feel that I obtained good information to fairly select the teams, which I have now done. This isn't the kind of coaching role where I actually have lots of hands-on time with the paddlers - it is more of a facilitator position in which my long-time paddling and team selection background is utilized to select teams and then I will coach some pre-event clinics and provide event assistance as requested. Some paddlers will use me more than others depending on their wishes. Now I wait to see who accepts their positions and shuffle the crews to fill declined spots. I am hoping lots of people will go as our depth of talent is great. A trip to New Caledonia is far and expensive but racing in Polynesia in a sport dominated by that region is a chance of a lifetime - a chance to step it up against the best.

On an Kamini-as-a-paddler note, I am really excited for the quality of my V-6 crews (open and masters). The crews were selected on OC-1 racing and our depth is really strong - I wish we could have teams of 8!! I also have V-1 entries in Open and Masters so will now have to put in a serious winter of learning to paddle without a rudder.....perhaps I will have to learn to paddle with my head up :)



Results for both events can be found at: http://www.canadianoutrigger.com/results.cfm



Pictures are at: http://lethalweaponphoto.com/Dragonboat

On-line Video Site

I just learned of the site vimeo.com. High quality video gets posted on there, not like the fuzzy stuff on YouTube. It takes a while to load but there is some great outrigger footage on there.

Molokai Crossing

The race is done and I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. This may be as much from getting on a plane and flying all night as from the race, but I’m sure some is from the race. The bruises anyway! It was a fun time! My team mates were great. It was a real thrill to paddle with them, especially Mindy. Before the race, we had one real practice and one back and forth in a little bay paddle trying different combinations and seat orders. So, as expected, we got better and better throughout the race. We didn’t have a great start but then we got a really good groove and reeled in NAC Lanikila and Outrigger Canoe Club. That was fun. Then, we chose and different line then those two crews and we never saw them again. It’s a funny race in that for hours two to five it’s not uncommon to see no one. It’s like racing ghosts. Then, at the end of the race when you’re running along Waikiki, boats emerge from nowhere. The route we chose is usually the more common route, but not yesterday. It depends on the tide and wind condition which way is the fastest to go. The route we took goes in close to Oahu and then runs down the shore. Typical is that you have to paddle through so really messy, yucky, water but then you get to surf all the way down once you get alongside Oahu. Well, the yucky water was there, but we didn’t exactly fly down the next section – it was a little messier than we expected it to be. Unfortunately, the two teams that we had got up to earlier in the race and then diverted from both beat us handily by the finish line – whether that’s route choice or crew strength is hard to know. We ended up 9th. Our team name was Team Facebook as that's how Mindy touched base with most of the team. Full results can be found at:

http://www.ocpaddler.com/forum/2009/na_wahine_updates_results.
Just scroll down through all the chat and one entry is results.

Gotta go join facebook...maybe

Back for a week and I'm off again! DBing in the UK and Na Wahine O Ke Kai

I think I'm doing something right! I was home from Europe for a week when I got on a plane and went to Hawaii, which is where I am now!!

After racing in Prague I went to Italy for a while and then the UK to see family and my good friends Cam and Siobhan. Misplaced Calgarians, these two have been instrumental in developing outrigger paddling in the UK. Cam is coach, steers, paddler, manager, and everyone’s go to guy in his club on the Thames in London. His outrigger paddlers decided they would enter a dragon boat regatta a couple hours outside of London in Kent. Some had paddled dragon boat, some not, but all approached it with a healthy dose of respect, especially after Cam made the gang do an OC-6 workout of 4 min pieces all on one side to prepare for the races! Ha!

The regatta was a corporate fundraising regatta. There was 60 teams of 16-20 who had never, or barely, paddled before and where pitted against each other throughout the day for 250 m races. The reason the outrigger paddlers decided to do the race was that the organizer put out a plea for “elite teams”, as they call teams who know what they are doing, as the Chinese were going to bring some teams and they needed some competition. Unfortunately, the Chinese organizer got sick and they didn’t come, but seven elite teams came to duke it out. Well, coming from Prague and the Canadian way of doing regattas to here was an adjustment!! First, crews had to bring their own dragon boat!! The corporate races had a fleet from the organizers but they were not available for the elite teams. As outrigger paddlers, we did not have a boat, so a club called the BA Dragons generously let us use theirs. Second, the crew could be 16-20 paddlers of any sex. Teams raced each other regardless of crew make-up. The only part for me that could have gotten really frustrating, but no one seemed to care, was that there was no race schedule or draw. The organizer would, come over and tell us to go out after the next race and race so-and-so and off we’d go. So, if you got hungry or needed to momentarily leave for another pressing reason, you felt you may risk missing your race! So we raced some races and then got a berth in the final, which was basically everyone jammed into a course that only really fit 3 boats. As we didn’t have a boat, The BA Dragons let us use theirs instead of racing themselves because they figured we’d do better. Who does that!! So amazing! Not surprisingly, there was a collision in the final which added to the uniqueness oif the event as the race organizers ended up using some Einsteinian equation to calculate who placed where. We placed 3rd. Not bad for a bunch of OC paddlers! They gave out 16 medals.

Which brings me to Hawaii where I am racing Na Wahine O Ke Kai on Sunday. This is an outrigger canoe race across the Kaiwi Channel from the island of Molokai to Oahu. I met some of my team mates yesterday! The team has been put together by steering legend Mindy Clark from California. The paddlers on the crew are from Australia, Hawaii, California and Canada. A very accomplished group of individuals and an honour to be part of. We’ll see how it comes together!

Day 4 and 5: Mixed and Open 500m

Well, it's all over, except the hangover. I'll have to update this at another time as it is 3:00 am and I am waiting to go to the airport. The mixed 500m was amazing! We won! The men won the b-final today which put them in 7th...a great day with lots of fight.

I learned a lot during the week and watched my paddlers do the same. I am, however, now looking forward to a holiday!!

Day 2 and 3: Open 1000m and Mixed and Open 200m

As a coach and paddler, this is certainly a full-on few days! I have cried 5 times already, 2 for happiness, 2 for distress and one for a touching paddler attitude.

The progression for the races to get to the final is: top two from heats to Semi, all others to one of 2 Reps. Top 2 from each Rep plus next 2 fastest to Semi = 2 Semi's of 6. Top 2 from each Semi plus next 2 fastest to Final. Other crews are put into a minor final.

Day 2:
On Thursday the open (men's) crew raced the 1000m. We had to go through the rep which meant 4 races for the guys which is a lot of 1000's. On the rep (2nd round) we didn't need as strong a crew so I stroked so Eugene could rest. The plan all worked great and the guys got lane 1 for the semi, a lane that has shown to be significantly faster than the other lanes, in all distances. From there, they made the final which is a great feat for a new team with the level of competition here! Every race got better and better and they raced to a 5th place in the final showing that, lane 1 in the semi or not, they deserved to be there! Finals are 6 crews.

Day 3:
Yesterday was the 200m day. Mixed in the morning, Open in the afternoon. Mixed was going well. Our heat was flat paddling but we came back with a great race in the rep. We were in a good position to expect a final position if we could execute our race in the semi where we had to be top 2 or the next 2 fastest times from the 2 semis. We were second 60 m into the race when our drum starting moving forward and back. As the stroke, the drum looked like it was going to fall on us. Our, now proven agile, drummer was grabbing at it with one hand and drumming with the other and somehow staying in the boat. There is a time penalty for not drumming. But the drum rolled so now it's sideways and I'm looking into the bottom of the drum and it's rolling around. Vivian is deperately trying to hold on to it and stay in the boat, and we're still going full speed. At one point, she's out over the left side of the boat and I think she going to fall off. I tried to paddle my best and the crew certainly kept the rhythm but Jeff and I were compromised due to worrying for Vivian and our own safety and having to be prepared for having a drum or drummer under our paddle or into our shoulders at any time. Our result was 1/2 sec out of the final, which from my perpective can be entirely accounted for with what will now been known as the incident with the drum. It was devastating. We raced the minor final with an extra woman and as much heart as we could muster and came 4th.

Then the Open team dried my tears by racing 3 fabulous rounds, with no rep needed, to earn a 5th place spot in the final. They're all heart those guys!! Along with a good dose of fitness and a beautifully blended technique.

Today: Mixed 500m where we are going to get this monkey off our backs!!

Day 1: 2000m

Our results today were 8th in premier open and 4th in premier mixed. After a solid race by the open crew, we are able to bring some learnings to work on into tomorrow's 1000m event. We decided before the mixed results came out that we had an amazing race. Although the disapointment is deep at a 4th, as defending Champs, a lot of tactics and positioning comes into the 2000m, especially with the format of running starts used here and the easy sinkabililty of the type of boat used. Several crews sunk and the situation was such that, unless you got a lead on a brilliant turn or were a much faster crew, the ability to overtake was severely hampered by the huge amount of water you would take in to do so (to get past the wash). I would like to go into more detail but I'm exhausted. We are taking the outlook that 2000m results have very little relation to rankings in straight controlled sprint races. If anything, we're even more pumped up than before!

Update from Prague: Tomorrow it all starts!!!

I have been planning specifically for this regatta for 15 months and it's starting tomorrow! It's hard to believe. Last spring we put our push into preparing for trials, then, with our win at trials, the 13 month process of preparing started: unifying FCRCC women and men under one banner of FCRCC High Performance DB Program, setting a selection criteria and creating the hype, momentum and, hence, training numbers that has created our current mixed team. With the open (men's) team, the process was similar adding in a training camp with our Eastern guys coming out to Vancouver to get the whole team together and provide a starting framework for their season goals.

Final training here has been great. A couple things to be said for jet lag and a different type of boat than we've used before is that you really do feel better and better in the build to race day. We came 6 days ago to take care of the jet lag (9 hour time change from Vancouver) so each day we feel more "right". The boats are Swift boats. They are much like BUK's with slightly more banked sides (boat slants in from gunwhale, rather than straight down), lower gunwhales and a little more rocky. Now that we have them figured out, I really, really like them. Perhaps the chance of swamping in the 2000m is larger though for heavy crews. We'll see tomorrow when we race the 2000m!

The regatta is five days long with:
Wednesday: Open and Mixed 2000m
Thursday: Open 1000m
Friday: Open and Mixed 200m
Saturday: Mixed 500m
Sunday: Open 500m

I have been able to take a peak at the Canadian Senior teams too and they look incredible!!! I expect the same from the youngsters and grand masters but I haven't seen them. There have been lots of phenomenal teams out practicing so it's gonna be a tough fight!

Thanks for following our adventure!

Kamini

World's countdown: T-4

We had our first of four practice days today. There weren't a lot of teams paddling today but as I sit here in the hotel lobby the Iranian team is checking in. This worlds has many countries we have not seen before, Iran being one of them. I've put the 2000m draw for all the categories belwo so you can check out all the countries. Personally, I'm excited there is a team from India!!

Typically, the first practice after a big plane trip is flat and sluggy, but not today! I am really pleased with both the mixed and the open (men's) practices. The mixed team is all FCRCC paddlers, the open team is a Canada-wide team of 15 FCRCC paddlers plus the drummer and steers, 5 Mayfair (Toronto) paddlers, 1 Beast (Halifax), 2 from Montreal, 1 from Toronto's Canadian Seniors (although too young) and a wandering fella who has no fixed address and paddles with Scotia Rouge. As a result, the challenge with the men is gelling them quickly. They have all come fit and ready to go so the practice surmounted my expectations and now I, as coach, will be able to sleep well tonight.

Our FCRCC paddlers racing on the Canadian Senior women's team arrive tonight.

For anyone who wants to follow the races, they are apparently aiming to show them online at:
http://idbfworldchamps.com/
Race draws and results will be posted on this site too.

If you're looking for your friend, an approximate seat order for mixed follows. Open is still in the works.

Lefts:
1. Kamini Jain
2. Leah Nagano
3. Eugene Chong
4. Erin Lim
5. Ed Low
6. Jimmy Jay
7. Maleska Young
8. Chris Grunow
9. Rob Magus
10. Brad Morrison
11. John Siderfin
12. Kimberley Amundson

Rights:
1. Jeff Chen
2. Inna Shektman
3. Erica McArthur
4. Chris Scully
5. Catherine Trask
6. Ron Santos
7. Phil Chan
8. Moe Saboune
9. Graham Smith
10. Kevin Fung
11. Sheila Kuyper
12. Leanne Zrum
13. Rebecca Chan


We're still awaiting the complete race draw. We just have seen the 2000m start order. Our favorite race!!! Draw is below. The two teams I coach are in red, although I am excited for the races of all the Canadian Teams!!


Race 1 - JUNIOR & SENIOR A & GRAND DRAGONS WOMEN 2000m
Start time: 13:00
Boats: A.B.C(4)
Format: Crews will start at 12 second intervals, Junior crews first, then Senior A and then GDs

Start Order Competition Class
1 Jnr Australia Aus
2 Jnr Singapore Sng
3 Jnr China Chn
4 Jnr Canada Can
5 Jnr Czech rep. Cze
1 Snr A Italy Ita
2 Snr A USA Usa
3 Snr A Australia Aus
4 Snr A Hungary Hun
5 Snr A Czech rep. Cze
6 Snr A Canada Can
7 Snr A Germany Ger
1 GDs USA Usa
2 GDs Australia Aus
3 GDs Canada Can
4 GDs Czech rep. Cze

Race 2 - SENIOR A & GRAND DRAGONS OPEN 2000m
Start time: 13:45
Boats: A.B.C + 2
Format: Crews will start at 12 second intervals, Senior A crews first.

Start Order Competition Class
1 GD Australia Aus
2 GD Ukraine Ukr
3 GD USA Usa
4 GD Russia Rus
5 GD Poland Pol
6 GD Czech rep. Cze
7 GD Germany Ger
8 GD Canada Can
1 Snr A Japan Jpn
2 Snr A Slovak rep. Slo
3 Snr A Ukraine Ukr
4 Snr A Australia Aus
5 Snr A Great Britain Gbr
6 Snr A Hungary Hun
7 Snr A USA Usa
8 Snr A Germany Ger
9 Snr A Poland Pol
10 Snr A Russia Rus
11 Snr A Canada Can
12 Snr A Czech rep. Cze

Race 3 - JUNIORS & U23s OPEN 2000m
Start time: 14:30
Boats: C(4).A.B.
Format: Crews will start at 12 second intervals, U23s first. Jnr B last.

Start Order Competition Class
1 U23 Canada Can
2 U23 Poland Pol
3 U23 Slovak rep. Slo
1 Jnr A Australia 2 Aus 2
2 Jnr A Singapore Sng
3 Jnr A New Zealand Nzl
4 Jnr A Ukraine Ukr
5 Jnr A Great Britain Gbr
6 Jnr A Australia Aus
7 Jnr A Poland Pol
8 Jnr A Slovak rep. Slo
9 Jnr A China Chn
10 Jnr A Czech rep. Cze
11 Jnr A Russia Rus
12 Jnr A Canada Can
13 Jnr A Germany Ger
1 Jnr B USA Usa

Race 4 - PREMIER WOMEN 2000m
Start time: 15:15
Boats: A.B.
Format: Crews start at 12 second intervals.

Start Order Competition Class
1 PW South Africa Rsa
2 PW Iran Irn
3 PW Australia Aus
4 PW Macau Mac
5 PW Hungary Hun
6 PW USA Usa
7 PW Czech rep. Cze
8 PW Germany Ger
9 PW China Chn
10 PW Great Britain Gbr
11 PW Canada Can
12 PW Russia Rus

Race 5 - PREMIER OPEN 2000m
Start time: 16:00
Boats: A.B.C(5)
Format: Crews start at 12 second intervals

Start Order Competition Class
1 PO South Africa Rsa
2 PO India Ind
3 PO Singapore Sng
4 PO Iran Ira
5 PO Bulgaria Bul
6 PO Australia Aus
7 PO Poland Pol
8 PO Macau Mac
9 PO Philippines Phl
10 PO Great Britain Gbr
11 PO China Chn
12 PO Canada Can
13 PO Hungary Hun
14 PO Czech rep. Cze
15 PO Germany Ger
16 PO Russia Rus
17 PO USA Usa
18 PO Slovak rep. Slo

Race 6 - JUNIORS & U23s MIXED 2000m
Start time: 16:45
Boats: A.B.C(5)
Format: Crews start at 12 second intervals, U23s first.

Start Order Competition Class
1 U23 Hungary Hun
2 U23 Poland Pol
3 U23 Slovak rep. Slo
4 U23 Canada Can
1 Jnr A Australia 2 Aus 2
2 Jnr A Singapore 2 Sng 2
3 Jnr A Canada 2 Can 2
4 Jnr A Australia 1 Aus 1
5 Jnr A Slovak rep. Slo
6 Jnr A Singapore 1 Sng 1
7 Jnr A Great Britain Gbr
8 Jnr A USA Usa
9 Jnr A China Chn
10 Jnr A Canada 1 Can 1
11 Jnr A Poland Pol
12 Jnr A Czech rep. Cze
13 Jnr A Germany Ger

Race 7 - SENIOR A & GRAND DRAGONS MIXED 2000m
Start time: 17:30
Boats: A.B(2).C.
Format: Crews start at 12 second intervals, Senior A crews first.

Start Order Competition Class
1 Snr A USA Usa
2 Snr A Great Britain Gbr
3 Snr A Australia Aus
4 Snr A Czech rep. Cze
5 Snr A Poland Pol
6 Snr A Hungary Hun
7 Snr A Germany Ger
8 Snr A Canada Can
1 GD Italy Ita
2 GD Australia Aus
3 GD USA Usa
4 GD Czech rep. Cze
5 GD Canada Can
6 GD Germany Ger

Race 8 - PREMIER MIXED 2000m
Start time: 18:10
Boats: B.A.C(3)
Format: Crews start at 12 second intervals.

Start Order Competition Class
1 PM South Africa Rsa
2 PM Hong Kong Hkg
3 PM Norway Nor
4 PM Italy Ita
5 PM Australia Aus
6 PM Ukraine Ukr
7 PM USA Usa
8 PM China Chn
9 PM Poland Pol
10 PM Macau Mac
11 PM Hungary Hun
12 PM Czech rep. Cze
13 PM Germany Ger
14 PM Canada Can
15 PM Russia Rus

FCRCC Team Canada Get's Ready for Worlds!

It is a stressful time of the season: early enough to make some little changes that may make as faster, too late for any big changes, too early to rest, tired all the time...

However, the team stays upbeat and optimistic as we go into our final 4 weeks before our big trip to Prague for the World Championships! We have 32 athletes from the FCRCC High Performance Dragon Boat Program competing in Prague within 5 categories: premier mixed, premier open,senior women, senior open and U-23. In addition, FCRCC has five junior paddlers from Eric Hamber High Shcool's team that are going to race in the junior division. These great kids have been coming out to train with the program to help them, and us, prepare.

Our primary focus is the Premier Mixed category as the entire team is from FCRCC. Many of us have spent the last 4 or more years paddling together and are relishing this opportunity to see how we can stack up against the best in the World. In 2007, in this same event, we won a gold in the 2000m, silver in the 500m and 4th in the 200m and are hoping to better these results. All we can do is prepare ourselves the best way we know how and that's what we're doing.

Keep posted for updates and results as our journey continues. Next stop, Harrison DB festival. Then, on to Prague on August 19!!

FCRCC Sprint Outrigger Teams

The FCRCC Sprint Outrigger Teams have been enjoying much success in the CORA Cup Distance Outrigger Circuit this season, with both the men and the women leading in the current points standings. These teams were created to provide an avenue for members of the FCRCC High Performance Dragon Boat Team to train and race outrigger, as a secondary focus to dragon boat. Most team members are racing at the Dragon Boat World Championships which is their priority by necessity. The teams have been fortunate to be bolstered by some non-dragon boating wily OC-6 veterans, who, for their own reasons, are not able to commit to the frequent practices of the club's successful distance outrigger program. Or, in other cases, are committed to the upcoming 2010 World Outrigger Sprints, to which these teams will shift their focus after the completion of the dragon boat season.

Members of these teams are grateful for the opportunity to race through the distance season as it is a definite benefit to our team's fitness and camaraderie moving into the sprint events: dragon boat and outrigger.

I frequently have paddlers at outrigger clinics sheepishly tell me they started in dragon boating as if this is a bad thing. To all of you, paddling is paddling. Love it and it will love you back.

Kamini

Sudden Impact Prepares for Nationals

Sudden Impact Black of Cultus Lake, Chiliwack, is preparing to race at the Canadian Dragon Boat Championships in Montreal in August. I coach the team for one of their practices every week and I am very happy with how they are progressing and how hard they are working in this final stretch. As any dragon boat team organizer would know, it is very difficult to get a full team to commit to this type of endeavor which includes not only the trip and the training, but also competing as a full team in two qualifying events during the season, but they have managed to pull it together.

The team is a combination of veterans and new-comers who's chemistry and enthusiasm has earned them solid results in the B.C. race circuit this season. They are noted for a very strong start and we're working on a finish to go with it.

Next, Harrison and then, the big show! SI will be the only B.C. team at the event and we expect it will be a great experience as the team and other local teams move toward Nationals in B.C. next summer!

Kamini