Where to begin?...how do you start a tale that is so much a part of you that you have no idea where it starts and yourself ends?...
Women...everything seems to be tied into the fairer sex...you'll come to notice that women play a heavy role in my life, and this is no exception...I started my Dragon Boat career back in late 1999...I was invited by a friend of a friend of a friend to participate in a training session with some paddlers...they needed a guy of my size and build to off-set one of their larger paddlers and provide a body during a training module...although I was only there in a spectator and training partner capacity, I was intrigued by the dedication and skill involved in what I had initially thought was a glorified canoe boat...
My real first experience of paddling came a year later when I was asked by my cousin if I was interested in joining a team that he was starting in his faculty...I thought about it, thought it was a great opportunity to have some fun, workout and, more importantly, learn what it was like to be in a team oriented sport...so, I agreed and I became the 22 member of the University of Toronto: Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy Dragon Boat Team, the "Motor Unit"...it was a great team...we had an awesome coach who was both knowledgeable and very easy-going when it came to the training...another great aspect of the team was that every single person there was very physically oriented and in relatively good shape...we could accomplish a lot and push everyone just that little bit harder, and I loved that aspect...it was a good time, and we came in think 4th in the University Cup...sure, we were in shape, but we were also a rookie team and were up against some pretty competition...we did so good, that the top brass decided that a 2nd team would be a good idea and the women's team "Strokin" was born...The next year, we got together again and decided to make sure we were on the podium this time...we worked like crazy, Wednesday evening practices, Saturday 8am practices, and before we knew it, it was time to show what all of that hard work had done...I think we came either 2nd or 3rd in the Cup and we were ecstatic...I remember that feeling of accomplishment, of attaining a goal that was set months in advance...If I'm not mistaken, the plaque is still up in the Rehab building...It was after this success that I decided that I wanted this for myself and the idea of the Shag'n Dragons was conceived....
One year later, back in Dec of 2002, I was sitting in the Cock'N Bull (Founder College's pub and local hangout) and I said to myself "you know, wouldn't it be great if I could see my friends during the summer time, when school was out?"...I wanted to do something that was athletic, but also easy enough in the beginning that it wouldn't discourage the less then stellar athlete...now, doesn't this reason seem very noble and kind, but in truth, this was but a partial reason...I had just begun going out with a new girl, someone who I thought was very special, and I wanted to show her how manly and athletic I could be...I couldn't pick Martial Arts, because hitting your significant other is not the best way to show love, so I decided that a couple that paddles a boat together stays together...so thats when I thought back to my Motor Unit days and said, "yeah, lets do Dragon Boat"...the first person I looked for was my drummer, my Co-Captain...it so happened that we had a friend named Elynn who had not only paddled before but was willing to be part of this team...with that out of the way, I set out to look for my team...I was able to find half the team with relative ease, and thankfully, with the help of Elynn and Julia, we were able to find the remaining few people...there were 2 things remaining: 1) finding a steersperson, and 2) coming up with a team name...the steersperson issue was easier solved then I thought, and the person we brought had a friend who was experienced and who could assist our new steersperson, and so that was done...as for the name, this was all Julia...
My initial desire for the team name was the "Wu Boat", you know, a play on the WWII German "U-Boat"...of course, having my name in it was a wonderful extra, but that wasn't the main reason why...I don't know why, but it was quickly dismissed, they just neer gave it a shot....We then had people come up with lists of team names, and such goodies as "10,000 dead babies at the bottom of the sea" and "flaming dildos" were the results...I don't remember who said "Super Dragons" but I thought, "Dude, that sounds like a cheesy Chinese martial arts movie!...how about UberDragons?"...then Julia, having an epiphany like all geniuses do at some point in their life chimed in and said, "How about Shag'n Dragons"...I thought about, thought it was funny, different and easy to remember, and we were done...
Now it was time to practice, to see if my friends and I could actually make a go of this, to hopefully not come last and to not sink at any point in time...2 out 3 is good enough....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment