The Killer Guppies Dragon Boat Team

I can’t believe it has been a while since I’ve posted. And I can’t believe the Long Beach View Sonic Race is this weekend. Just think, premiere California teams a few out of towners are gathering this weekend to bring it. I’m super nervous, but we’ve come a long way.

The greatest thing about this race, not only is it a family race, but spectators can actually stand on the beach and watch the boats race. You can actually see the waves caused by the boats as they crash into your feet while you are on the beach. How crazy is that?!?!

If you’ve never seen a dragon boat race, you should come. The excitement is so close, you can almost feel the beat drum as each boat inch their way to the finish line. There will also be food vendors, arts and crafts and small shows throughout the day.

See you at Mother’s Beach!!

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Hi Tempe Crew and Guppies,

I hope you all had a good time, especially newbie’s John S, Gwen, Chris S, Sala and Diane. Tempe Crew, thank you all for making the long trek to Tempe and for making our season opener race possible.

I know we all rose to the occasion, but if it was not for the help of San Diego, we would not be in the Division A semi-finals. We were very fortunate that we just made it into Division A. Many thanks to San Diego’s Crew. Please read other comments about the detailed race results as they have posted on Yahoo groups.

We had solid representation from LA. Lard had two full crews, Space Dragon had two full crews, DPW had two full crews, USC had two full crews, and our team, Killer Guppies, had ¾ crew with 5 newbie’s on the crew roster. What happened to the other ¼? Did we not want to come out and represent our team? What happened to team pride and spirit, did that change with the economy too?

I know we did well last year and as I have said, it’s harder to stay on top when you are one of the top teams in Long Beach. The upcoming teams are always trying to reach the top spot too. Once you are on top, it is harder to maintain the top spot. To stay on top, we must continue to do what made us successful. The hard work and dedication does not stop, it increases.

We had a late start this season compared to Lard and Space Dragons; they started their season practices as early as December not late February. Clearly, their early season practice schedule and aggressive recruitment campaign had paid off as the early results clearly indicated in Tempe. Space Dragons were in the last race of the day and we were not.

Guppies, I ask you all, what do you want to do? Be a recreational team again? Continue to stay competitive? What are you willing to do? What is your commitment? Will I come to all mandatory practices? How are we going to recruit more paddlers, where and how? If everyone can recruit one person, then our team membership will be double.

On May 2, 2009 Saturday, I would like to have a team meeting to discuss these matters and concerns if we want to continue our success from last year.

Thanks
Coach Gary

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HOLY COW!! It’s racing season and what a great way to kick off the season with the Guppies’ first race THIS WEEKEND!! They will be heading to Tempe AZ to participate in the 6th Arizona Dragon Boat Festival in Tempe, AZ.

The Guppies have been practicing really hard, even paddling in the rain and crazy wind last weekend. So send good vibes their way.

Also if you are racing in Tempe this weekend, don’t forget to sign the waiver and give it to Steve before Friday at 11pm. Your first race is at 8am! But you need to get there before 7:15am to stretch and marshal.

Good luck Guppies!!

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OH MY GOSH!! Our first race of the season is coming up fast, which is next week!! That is very soon. Last week we started our race sets after weeks and weeks of working on our endurance. By Sunday we looked awfully strong. So if you’ve been coming to practice, you guys are doing a great job!! If you haven’t been coming to practice, the question is why not? Even if you’re not racing, you can help the Guppies who are by helping them get stronger.

Plus, we’re going to see if we can knock Coach Gary off of the boat with our start. So helping our team get strong AND getting our coach soaking wet… sounds like fun.

Also, there is a pre-race meeting after Saturday’s practice. MUY IMPORTANTE to come if you are going to Tempe, AZ.

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The forecast for San Francisco was rainy and windy, at least for Saturday. Aside from a light rain storm Friday night, no gray clouds blanketed the sky as the Guppies arrived in Treasure Island for their last tournament of the season.

Coach Gary Chan stressed to the team to treat every single race as if the Guppies were racing in the last race of the day; to give it your all each time your paddle hit the water. And indeed the Guppies did just that. The waters were choppy as the Guppies paddle out into the harbor, but after Coach Gary’s intense training in the Long Beach by the breakers, this was just another walk in the park.

The Blue boat start off the day with a very early race, racing in Heat 4. It was a tight competition with everyone gunning for a chance to place. Instead of being placed into division, each dragon boat needed to place top three in their seeding to advance up. The Gold boat blew everyone away by taking first in the seeding and semi-finals. They even qualified for the special Visitor race with the second fasted time on Saturday’s race, while taking third in the Visitor race.

Aside from the huge surprise that it did not rain at all that race weekend (not even a gray cloud), the Guppies shocked spectators and other race teams by making it to both the Consolation final and the final race of the day! The Blue boat put up a huge fight in the Consolation race and came up 4th overall. While the Gold boat made it to the last race of the day, fulfilling the goal the Guppies made as they trained for SF. The competition was fierce as the Guppies raced head to head with LA Racing Dragons, Air Canada JetStart, Dragon Warriors, Bay Area Dragons, and Life Scan’s Jambalaya. The Guppies placed 5th in the race, but it wasn’t so much about placing, but the fact that the Guppies wanted to be challenged and they were race with the toughest team of the festival.

The gendered teams and the Masters boat put their best stroke forward. The Men’s made it to the semni finals, but couldn’t place high enough to make it to the Final. The Women’s were joined once again by Arizona’s Hila Dragons, but their combined efforts weren’t enough to take on the power ladies teams. The Guppies Masters joined forces with LA Racing Dragons and put away cross town rivalry to put up a great show.

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Please see the Guppy’s Download section for the SF Race Waiver.  Sign it and bring it to this weekend’s practice.  Also, there will be a race meeting immediately following Sunday’s practice.  Hope to see you there!!

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pssssssst.  Check out the Guppy Downloads section.

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We came.  We paddled.  We took medals home.  CONGRATS Killer Guppies for a killer weekend!!  Here’s the run down:

Division IA (Killer Guppies Gold): Third Place

Division  IIIA (Killer Guppies Blue): First Place

Division VB (Killer Guppies White): Fifth Place

Open A (Killer Guppies Men): Third Place

Womens A (Killer Guppies Ladies): Third Place

Masters A (Killer Guppies Masters): Third Place

Not bad at all!  All those weekly fitness challenges came in handy!  Next up SF Race!!  If you haven’t already.  Please reconfirm your response so we can get a better head count (I am sure this weekend’s victories has wet many of your appetite for more competition!!).  So don’t delay, do it today!

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If you haven’t gotten a chance to fill out the race packet you can download at the Guppy Downloads section of this site. Please fill this race packet out and bring it to the next practice. This is muy importante!!

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Alright Guppies, since we’re getting pretty close to the Long Beach Race, we need each and every one of you to come to practice.  Particularly this Saturday, July 12th.  Coach Gary is planning on having a mixed practice, then a gender practice shortly afterwards.  There are also Gold boat seats still available.  If you would like to be on the Gold Boat, Gary will be holding OC1 time trials this weekend.

Also, there will be a team meeting this weekend after practice. All the important race information, meeting times, and parking locations will be discussed. Not to mention Ellen’s highly motivational speech.  So please PLEASE be there!

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