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| Silver for the Mixed SA Division; Gold for the Women's! |
But I get ahead of myself.
So, for Hong Kong we had hoped to put together a mixed (i.e. co-ed) team but for a number of reasons and logistics it couldn't be pulled together in time. Instead, the team (dubbed the "all-stars" - which has such a nice ring to it) gelled for the National Championships. Even so, it was a rather hasty effort and we were only able to practice twice as a team. Because of travels and conflicting training schedules, some of the crew really only were able to get in one practice. So, for us to walk off with a silver medal in our division, and beat some premier and U23 teams in the process, was incredible. (We won our first 500mm and 200m heats, but were edged into the 2nd place spot in the finals by the teeniest of a dragon's nose-hair. We placed 3rd in the 2K, but racked up enough points between all races to place second overall. As you know my math skills aren't stellar, so don't ask me to explain the point system please.) Almer was our on-water coach, with Mike and Jon analyzing and strategizing on-land. The speed we moved at was awesome - and having A yelling at and pushing us hard (especially in the 2K, I don't think he let up on us once) was great, we didn't have time to be tired or lose motivation. Everyone had such a great experience that there are plans in the works to not only make the team a permanent fixture next season but to also earn a berth for the 2014 Club Crew World Championships in Italy. Hooray!
Where we were almost "relaxed" with the mixed boat, it was a very different story with the women's. We had a title to defend. A big one. On day one, we raced the 500m. In the initial heat, we placed first by almost two full seconds. We were elated, but knew that nothing had been won yet. What counted was the final. If we didn't place first in the final, we wouldn't be going home with our favorite color bling. Coach gave us pointers, instructed us to warm up well, keep loose in the marshalling area, get our focus on, and nail the shit out of the race. And nail it we did...we crossed that finish line a FULL 3 seconds ahead of the second-place boat. Can you imagine the jumping and yelling??
We enjoyed our win for an hour, then focused on the 2k. This was going to be brutal - though not as bad as Hong Kong. This at least was flat water, though shallow in areas, and sans current. A big improvement! And tough it was.. we had a few challenges, and I think we racked up a 5 second penalty for something (it is a dragon boat demolition derby after all) and placed 3rd. Coach was bullshit. Coach was not pleased with us. At all. "That was NOT your best race," he said. And that was the nicest thing he could muster. I've blocked the rest of his post-race speech, but suffice it to say it was not pretty, we all felt dejected and broken, and I recall leaving the event site mad as hell. Mostly at him. Damn - I worked my ass off in that race, and I know my girls did too. Urgh. Ok, put it aside, and refocus. It was now up to the 200m the next day - it was win or go home in shame.
So day 2 dawned, and we were on freaking fire. Our drummer corralled the burn and we screamed down the course in the initial heat. Excellent work - but again, it's the final that counts. Enjoy it for an hour, Coach said, and then be ready to go again. I've said it before, but we're pretty damn good at doing what we're told. In this case it was to be more aggressive on our start, to really nail the first 5 strokes and get the heck out of the gate, and pull away from the other boats right away. Well shizzle... we did it. We bombed down that course and when we crossed the finish line, there was this palpable pause, as we all glanced left, then right and, seeing that there was CLEARLY nobody there with us, we started screaming like tweens at a Bieber concert. Ok maybe we sounded a little more mature, but you get the idea. "That what you meant?"we asked Coach when we got off the boat. He could only grin. Thank goodness. I for sure didn't want to see cranky coach again. Him I don't like so much.
Oh yeah and in the middle of all of this, as if there wasn't enough excitement going on, there was a film crew taking footage for a dragon boat documentary. And guess who the focus was? But that's a story for another day...
