2008 Vancouver Island Dragon Boat Championships / Gorge Fun Fest

The VI Dragon Boat Championships

The Vancouver Island Dragon Boat Championships ("The Gorge Fun Fest") is a premier summer dragon boat festival that takes place annually in August in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

The high resolution photographs displayed here are available for download from my online collection.

The lovely lady? She's the Drummer for the awesome Nusa'Lon Dragons.

Nusa'Lon Dragons drabon boat drummer

Kenneth McVay Photography by Kenneth McVay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://islandroamer.smugmug.com.

The 2008 Gorge Funfest

August 9, 2008

The event is hosted by the Gorge Rowing & Paddling Centre.

This event has enjoyed tremendous success and received rave reviews from participating crews and the media. It is their hope to continue building a premier summer event for paddlers and spectators alike.

Each year over 50 dragon boat teams participate in a memorable day of racing and celebration."(Go Rowing & Paddling Association of Canada)

There are nearly 400 photos in this set, so grab a cool one, open a bag of chips, and relax while they flow over you.

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The Colors of Dragonboating

I never seem to have enough time to capture images of all those t-shirts and flags the teams bring to their sport, but here are a few you might enjoy.

If it's racing excitement you're looking for, you'll find it here. (Slide show opens in separate window.)

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Dragonboat Racing

-- You Have to BE There...

Dragonboat racing brings the most amazing people I've ever met together in one place for perhaps 2 or 3 days, or, sometimes, just a few hours.

The problem with photographing dragonboat festivals is that dragonboating isn't really about who wins or loses, it's about the people... at least that's the way I see it.

So you won't find all the teams identified, or the paddlers, and you won't see any slide shows of start to finish races.

To be honest with you, the only way you can really appreciate what this sport is all about is to attend a festival and see for yourself.

A video camera would certainly help, but there's nothing - and I mean nothing that will reveal the heart and soul of dragonboat racing like being there.

These photographs are an attempt to capture the colour and drama of the sport. I apologise for being unable to bring you the NOISE!

Enjoy.

dragonboat race, dragon boat

PS: How DO you describe the primordal sound of hundreds of paddles being pounded on the dock to honour our memories?

TD Canada Trust Draggin Tails

TD Canada Trust Draggin Tails slide show.

Paddle Spectacular Vancouver Island - The Wild Coast

A Kayaking, Hiking and Recreation Guide for BC's South Coast and East Vancouver Island

Frommer's Vancouver & Victoria 2008: with coverage of Whistler, by John Kimantas.

The Scurvy Dawgs

These folks were memorable, not only for the fun they had and the noise they generated, but for the entertainment they provided when they all jumped into the water towards the end of the day. (Did I mention they were LOUD, and really, really NUTS?)

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2007 World Championship Race

Incredible World Record Shattering Display of Dragonboat Power

2007 Dragonboat World Champs - 500m Finals

2007 Dragonboat World Championships Sydney, Australia Premier Opens 500m Finals

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Portraits of our Canadian Navy

NAVY Dragon Anchors Team

I feel I've done our Navy dragonboaters a great disservice, because they're so darned good at what they do, and I've taken so few pictures.

Don't let the paucity of images fool you - the Dragon Anchors won top prize in Nanaimo's SaveOn Dragonboat Festival just two weeks prior to a repeat performance here at the Gorge Fun Fest.

This is one of Canada's fastest and most successful dragonboat teams.

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Nusa'Lon Dragons

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Excalibur

Victoria, British Columbia

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The Carnation Ceremony

dragon boat breast cancer carnation ceremony

"We are family..."

We are Family...

The event featured a Breast Cancer Challenge Race, where Breast Cancer Survivors competed exclusively against each other to demonstrate that there is life after breast cancer.

After the Challenge Race there was a Pink Carnation Ceremony to remember those in treatment and those no longer with us.

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Pacific Northwest Dragon Boating

Gorge Rowing & Paddling Centre

The VIDBC is located at the Gorge Rowing & Paddling Centre - 2940 Jutland Road, Victoria, BC.

GO Rowing & Paddling Association of Canada (GO)

GO Rowing & Paddling Association of Canada (GO) is a non-profit Amateur Athletic Association, and registered charity, dedicated to sharing the benefits of sport with Canadians of all ages and athletic abilities. Concentrating on rowing & paddling sports, GO strives to encourage participation, personal challenge and the pursuit of excellence from the grass-roots to the Olympic podium. GO broadens access to sport by offering programs that encourage broad participation, by producing dynamic community events and by developing new and expanded facilities.

Abreast of Life - Nanaimo

Abreast of Life is a breast cancer survivors' team that formed 11 years ago in Central Vancouver Island.

They practice on the beautiful waters of Nanoose Bay twice a week, always accompanied by their marine companions - seals, salmon, hundreds of friendly jellyfish, and the occasional pod of orcas or dolphins.

They just returned from a Festival in Halifax where they celebrated "Bosom Buddies" 10th Anniversary of being a survivor team.

They broke all their team's racing records and had the distinction of travelling the furthest - representing sea to sea attendance.

They are strongly supported by their Sponsor; Peoples' Drug Mart in Parksville. This allows them to attend various Festivals where they promote awareness of life, love, and laughter after breast cancer.

"Pink is our colour for Victory! Pink is for my sisters ...my sisters and me!"

Angels Abreast - Nanaimo

It took a little over a year for the Angels to form the Society and put together their dragon boat team. Their first meeting was in Sept. 2000 and their first competition was at the Gorge in Victoria in August 2001. And they came second in their first race!

Dragon Divas - Cowichan Valley

The Essential Vancouver Island Outdoor Recreation Guide.

Hope Afloat - Comox

Hope Afloat Canada is a dragon boat team comprised of all breast cancer survivors. Our team was formed in 2001 and we are now entering our 7th dragon boating season. Our current membership consists of 29 women who range in age from early 40s to 80 years old! We are of varying fitness levels. There is no age limit for joining our team, becoming fit and having fun!

Island Breaststrokers - Victoria

Island Breaststrokers of Victoria, British Columbia started paddling in 1997, the second breast cancer team in the world to make dragon boating their passion. For the past 12 years we have followed our quest for a high quality of life after breast cancer. We are committed to paddling hard, to promoting public awareness of breast cancer and stressing the need for early detection. We are proud to be models of a healthy approach to life; demonstrating that regular physical exercise plays a critical role in the return of women with breast cancer to an unrestricted, active lifestyle.

River Spirit - Campbell River

"As breast cancer survivors, we are a group of women in Campbell River who, through their non-profit society, wish to raise breast cancer awareness. Our society is the Campbell River Dragonboat Society and our team is River Spirit. We support people who are living with this disease to live full and active lives through paddling and provide an emotional network of hope for each other, our friends, and our community."

Full Throttle - Nanaimo

Boys and Girls Club of Nanaimo's Youth Dragonboat Team

dragon boat

Nanaimo Dragonboat Festival Society

The Nanaimo Dragonboat Festival Society is a non-profit, volunteer driven organization with a mandate to plan, organize, and manage an annual Dragonboat race and festivities on Nanaimo's waterfront. The goal of this Society is to raise funds to assist in the fight against breast cancer in the local community.

Nusa'Lon Dragons - Nanaimo

To refer to the Nusa'Lon Dragons as a "Woman's competitive team" is to do these feisty females an enormous disservice :-)

dragon boat, nusa'lon dragons

Xtreme Reach - Victoria

"Xtreme Reach is a competitive dragon boat team that, since its beginnings in 2004, has rapidly earned the status as one of the top competitive teams on the West Coast. Our team-mates range from members with years of dragon boating experience to those relatively new to the sport."

Now if we could only figure out how to whup the darned Navy!

Waters Edge Sports Performance

Water's Edge Sport Performance Inc. (Water's Edge), is a Vancouver based company that delivers a variety of services and products to the paddle sport community in the Pacific Northwest including clinics, corporate team building events, experiential corporate team development, coaching education, outrigger and dragon boat camps and dragon boat festival event management.

I have experienced the high value and outstanding professionalism offered by Waters Edge, and cannot recommend them often enough or loud enough. 'Nuff said!

Dog Paddlers - Victoria

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