Notes Of Importance

First off our competitive team in a way disbanded. Since Dragon Boating is an Athletic team that requires all or most of the members to be present, we cannot have such a team. I always thought the the competitive team was for those who wished to have more of an intense workout, and wished to be competitive amongst our rivals. The attendance in each weeks has dwindled, which leaves us to mix competitive and rec together. Though I am fine with that, I am just worried about how this happens weekly now. There is a competitive boat for competitive practice, meaning a boat that is one, a team that works hard to improve, not a team that slacks off and goes to races and is done with it. David has set a goal for us, to do the body drop the whole time, but we're not practicing for it, people just come and go whenever they please and it doesn't feel like a team anymore.

Also on Wednesdays, the attendance is quite poor. I don't know what to say about that. Most of what we call "rec" doesn't show up and most of competitive doesn't show up. There's always the usual dedicated members of our team that shows up on Wednesday, but that's about it. Usually there's less than 15 people and it ends up being some strange workout. The competitive members aren't doing much to be "competitive" and we're just stuck. We're just mixed in with other new members and I don't even know what it is.

We need to have good attendance for a good team. Like David was saying, we wanted to do the body drop the whole time, but that takes quite a lot of effort and work to achieve. And we should say that we do realize that people have a lot of homework, but balancing that is key. Attendance is crucial, as this is a team, and a team needs its members to show up and be consistent. Without the members, we can't have a practice that improves us, physically, and mentally.

Keep It Strong, Fishtix

Fishtix is in a little of a crisis right now. We need new strokers for our team! We need two dedicated paddlers who are ready to take on the challenge and become a stroker for the team. Please contact David Jiang or any of your respective presidents for more information. On another note, the team shirts will be arriving for people who did not receive them at the Treasure Island race. Sorry for the inconvenience and the delay, but they are worth the wait. Lake Merced is six months away and intense practices will not start until February, so for now we will continue working on our endurance, technique, and of course timing.

Who Are We? Fishtix!

Now that we are in the off season of dragonboating, we have a lot of opportunities to experiment. So, we are offering any Recreational team members a chance to join the Competitive team and to race with us when April comes at the Lake Merced High School races. For anyone interested, please contact your respective president. Also, since it is the off season, we do not need to have an extra practice day. This means no more Friday practices for the competitive team, but it also does not mean we should slack off. For the competitive team, we are going to work on our endurance, which needs some major work. So in an effort to supplement what we are working on at practice, David recommends us to jog, bike, whatever to increase our aerobic activity. Finally, dragonboat requires dedication and for those who have been skipping practice, you are hurting the team. So everyone here is asking you to be more consistent in practice attendance so we can all, as a team grow.

Super Update on Practices and the TI Race.

The coaches and drummers would like to congratulate both Recreational and Competitive teams for their stellar performances at the Treasure Island race.

We had a 48 member turn out and everyone was hyped up and excited to get out on the water. Both the competitive team and recreational team shaved almost 40 seconds off their best practice time in their first race. In the semi-final heat, the competitive team won and beat out the rest of the competition with an impressive time of 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Both teams had huge improvements in their 500 meter race pieces. Although we did great, we still need polishing up. So the presidents of each branch and the coaches are having meetings to discuss potential changes to make us into a better team. We still showed huge potential at the race and that we could have beaten a lot of the other teams if we kept our timing and endurance.

On a final note, Coach David would like to know which of you on the RECREATIONAL team would like to join the Competitive Team. If you would, please contact your respective presidents. He would also like to know which of you who would like to/are already on the Competitive Team would be able to continue practicing on Fridays from 4:00 pm-5:30 pm. We are also reverting back the the bi-weekly practice schedule so that David can fit it into his schedule. Keep it strong, Fishtix.