Saturday, August 12, 2006 - 06:53 PM

Second Day of Racing Brought Many Close Finishes

TORONTO, August 10, 2006 — The first full day of racing at the 2006 International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) Club Crew World Championships took place under beautiful sunny skies, and the competition could not have been more exciting.

Today’s races all focused on the 200 metre distance. With some of the world’s top crews in the water, it made for some very quick, very close finishes.

“The 200 metre distance makes for some very exciting races,” said John Hollins, Vice Chair of the 2006 IDBF Club Crew World Championships’ Organizing Committee.

According to Hollins, “the most dominant crews so far in competition are the False Creek Racing Canoe Club (FCRCC), the Canadian Senior Dragon Boat Club, the Laoyam Eagles, and the Pickering Dragon Boat Club (PDBC) – all Canadian crews.” With some great teams in competition across all divisions, Canada was expected to be a leader here at the 2006 Club Crews.

The Laoyam Eagles, from Pemberton, British Columbia, won the Junior Mixed race, with Pickering Ontario’s PDBC Elite A. crew coming in second, and the West Rouge C.C. rounding out third. The Pickering and Laoyam clubs battled again with the Pickering club coming out on top in the in the Junior Open while Laoyam struck back to win the Junior Women’s race.

In the Grand Dragon Mixed 200 m. final, Eat Trout, another Pickering Dragon Boat Club Crew, finished first, Germany’s Schwerin Uhu’s paddled to second and the Cascades, another Canadian crew, came in third.

False Creek dominated the Premier Mixed 200 m. category followed by the OHDBC Mayfair Predators taking silver and the Pickering Dragon Boat Club upsetting the G & G Dragons to take the bronze. False Creek also struck gold in the Premier Open category.

The Canadian Senior Dragon Boat Club swept all three senior categories including the Senior Open, Senior Mixed and Senior Women’s events. Breast Cancer Survivor races were also held today, and Dragons Abreast showed their strength winning the gold over the Survivor Thrivers and the Pink Sensation.

Saturday’s races include heats and some finals in the 500 and 2000 m. distances, with many of the major finals scheduled for Sunday.

The 5th Annual International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) Club Crew World Championships event will be held from August 10-13 at Toronto’s new Western Beaches Watercourse off Marilyn Bell Park. The races along Toronto’s beautiful waterfront are free to attend.

For more information, directions and a full schedule of events, visit www.2006ccwc.com.



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