Rusty Dragons Adventures

Attention paddlers in Toronto, across Ontario and Canada, and friends in the USA. Our regular 8 crews are filling fast (1 at capacity, 4 nearly), but I wanted to bring to attention our composite team opportunities with the Motley Crew.

They are open to anyone anywhere who want an extra race on the side that doesn't conflict with your home team's schedule. I will be coaching each team as we have some fun with some extra races at some unique events.

We already did Puerto Rico, so remaining opportunities are Wildwood (Sat May 23), GWN Toronto Island (weekend of June 13-14), and Christie Lake (Sept 19, in Hamilton).

Check the Motley Crew page for details and registration buttons for each. Motley Crew always does well as experience comes together with smiles. Last year we won the Christie Lake figure eight race, and were 4th in "A" division 2000m race (just 8 seconds from 3rd).
Have fun with us and sign up!

https://www.rustydragons.ca/teams/motley-crew

The Rusty Dragons have a Mixed gender and Women's team racing again at the 2026 Puerto Rico Dragon Boat Festival. This is a nice two-day small-boat racing event running Jan31 to Feb01 run by Impact Dragon Boat (Jomarie, Carlos, and many others) . We have 17 people going, coming from Toronto, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Boston, Chattanooga, Charlotte, and Vermont.

Our Barracudas team started their indoor winter training program earlier this week. It consists of 2 hours at the Afterburn Fitness paddle pool and gym on Mondays (7:00 to 9:35 PM), followed by 2 hours at the Higher Ground gym on Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. There are still a few spots available for non-Barracudas, or those who want to try out with the team. It's a great way to stay active over the winter and ensure you'll hit the water "running" in May. See our website for details, or contact Barracudas captains at [email protected]. The sessions are coached by Bethany Yam (head coach) and Sammi Wai. (Note: These are pictures from a previous year)

Our club had their end-of-season celebration party this past Saturday at the local Legion (Woodbine Heights - Branch 22). About 20 coaches and captains were thanked, and we reviewed the results of our end-of-season survey. We had a nice slideshow of great pictures and video clips from the season (thanks to friend Imam at Bengali Immigration and Employment Services for loaning me a TV and portable stand). Thanks also to Debbie for bringing a large Costco cake (decorated with "Rusty Dragons 2025"), and to all members who brought snacks. And a special thank you to Jessica Bailey, who ran an 18-drum drum circle at the end. Lots of fun, and now we roll up our sleeves to plan for the summer of 2026. All teams will open registration between January 15 and February 15.

Who wants to race with our Motley Crew composite crew who will race at Christie Lake on Sat Sept 28 (aka "Jackie and Ramsay's Amazing Races")? This team is for anyone in North America (and beyond) who wants to join the team as an individual. The cost is $80 CAD / $60 USD. This includes a $5 donation to our Mixed Ability (Special Olympics) team. Six races (2x200m,1xFigure8, 1xBackItDown, 1xSurpriseRace, and 1x2000m). The team is half-full already as we just started recruiting - don't delay! First-come-first-served to 22 paddlers. Carpooling and other details will be shared with members in advance of race day.

The Rusty Dragons had a great time racing in Stratford on Saturday with 4 teams competing as part of 30 mixed teams competing at the event (along with 9 women's teams and 5 breast cancer teams). Our participating teams were Flying Dragons (coach Terence Yu), Liberty Waves (coach Jonathan Navarro), and We Will Rock You and Water Wizards (coach Catherine MacInnes). We hit the city with 80 athletes (not all of whom are pictured), many supporters and some 4-legged buddies. All teams had great races and a great way to end their season. While medals are sometimes arbitrary and depend on who showed up and how you are seeded, we did win 3 gold medals and all were for hard-fought exciting very close races. Congrats to the Water Wizards for winning their B Consolation Final. The Liberty Waves team had an exceptional day, reflecting their two years of ramping up their training and wanting more. The Liberty Waves team ranked 4th overall after the first round, putting us squarely into the 8-team "A" division. As a result, we got in an extra 100m sprint race (for the top 4 teams only) and an additional 2000m race (for the top 8 teams). The team WON that 100m race against 3 stronger teams!! After that, they won their 500m "A" Consolation final in another tight race. Congrats to everyone who coached, raced, supported, drove car-pool vehicles, made pot-luck food, etc. Bring on the final month of the season, winter training, and planning for 2025 where we expect to have 11 full-time teams and 2-4 half-season teams.

We are looking for a few more dragon boat paddlers to race with us in Stratford this coming weekend (Sat Sept 14). We have 4 teams competing, with some great coaches: Catherine MacInnes, Jonathan Navarro, Terence Yu, and me backing it all up. Msg me or call 647-971-7332 if interested.

The Rusty Dragons run "Corporate Day / Team Building" dragon boat outings for companies or groups (from 10 to 40 people). Recent outings were done for Internations, the City of Toronto, CNIB, Eppleworth Adult Centre, Salesforce, Arc'teryx, Hypha Worker Co-op, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, CIBC, the City of Vaughan, UHN, etc. There is still time to arrange something for your group this year. Contact [email protected] for more details.

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