Tender Loving Claire

24 days until take off....🔥🔥🔥

30 days to go before racing begins at the 2026 15th IDBF Club Crew World Championships in Hualien. More than 5,500 athletes and supporters from 21 nations are preparing for race week. How is your crew approaching its final phase of readiness?

So excited to have been selected for two of the crews heading to Club Crew World Championships in Taiwan this year.

Only 8 weeks to go! The hard work continues. I can’t wait to race alongside an amazing group of teammates on the world stage.

Let the countdown begin.......🤩🤩🤩

In about 8 short weeks, our crews will be headed to Hualien, Taiwan for the 15th IDBF Club Crew World Championships. We’re looking forward to joining other strong Canadian clubs at this exciting event.

Happy Canada Day all! ❤️🇨🇦💪🏼

1,841 km. Five locations. One incredible volunteer.

While most of us were celebrating an amazing weekend of racing, on of our amazing volunteers, Keith, was busy behind the scenes making it all possible.

From Wednesday - Friday, he hauled dragon boats between Comox Lake, Comox Marina, Nanaimo, Victoria, and Sooke. Then, after the festival wrapped up, he turned around and completed two more trips over the weekend to return boats to their home clubs. Even on Father’s Day!

That’s 1,841 kilometres of towing, countless hours on the road, and an enormous commitment to our paddling community.

Thank you, Keith. We simply couldn’t do it without people like you.

But this story also highlights a challenge facing dragon boating on Vancouver Island.

Transporting boats across the island for festivals and regattas is expensive, time-consuming, and relies heavily on a small number of dedicated volunteers. While we are grateful for their commitment, it’s not a sustainable long-term solution.

That’s why VI Paddling has a vision: a dedicated fleet of race-ready boats that live on trailers and travel directly to festivals throughout the island. This would reduce transportation demands, improve access to events, and make hosting races more efficient for everyone.

We have an exciting opportunity this summer for some possible funding, but we need matching funds to make this vision a reality.

Could you help?

We are looking for sponsors who want to support the growth of paddlesports on Vancouver Island while gaining exposure at festivals, regattas, and community events. Sponsorship opportunities include:

🚣 Logo placement on race boats
🚛 Branding on boat trailers seen across Vancouver Island
🏆 Recognition at festivals and regattas
🌊 Association with one of the fastest-growing paddlesport communities in BC

If you know a business, organization, or community partner that might be interested in supporting this project, please reach out.

Together, we can create a more sustainable future for dragon boating on Vancouver Island.

14 weeks until Club Crew World Championships. Today was a good day to work on our grrrrr with these gorgeous gals ❤️

Looking to learn to paddle dragon boat in Victoria, but don't know where to get started? We've teamed up with VI Paddling on their Learn to Paddle program! Starting May 25, and running once a week on Mondays at 5:30 PM, you'll get a chance to meet new friends and learn to paddle. Then, you'll get to hit the start line and race with your new team at the 2026 Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival presented by Fairway Market in the Inner Harbour on June 20! ☀️

📅 Practices: Monday May 25; June 1, 8, and 15 at 5:30pm. (Gorge Waterway at Craigflower Road and Styles Street)
🏁 Race Day: Saturday, June 20 (Inner Harbour)
🛒 Registration Fee: $155

The program includes all coaching, paddling equipment, and race registration fee. No experience required. All genders welcome, ages 16+. Registration is now open at: https://www.wellnessliving.com/catalog/vi_paddling-inv6je

The Festival is organized with the support of Canada Dry Canada, Fairway Markets, The Coca-Cola Company Canada, City of Victoria - Local Government, VI Paddling, and Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.

Was time for an update 🤩