DieselFish Breaks the Waves at Treasure Island!

Sometimes, it’s hard for me to believe that one of the dragon boat world’s most prestigious events takes place in my own backyard, because the water in the Bay is notoriously frigid and choppy. The feds put Alcatraz, once the world’s most secure prison, here for a reason. Somehow, despite these less than hospitable conditions, the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival (SFIDBF) has become the largest dragon boat festival in the country. Every year, the toughest teams from the around the world – the ones mad enough to deal with San Francisco’s hostile waters – travel to Treasure Island for two days of hardcore racing. As usual, DieselFish entered the fray. But this year’s SFIDBF was anything but ordinary. We went head-to-head with some of the most competitive teams from around the world and held our own. In fact, we delivered some of our best performances in years!

We owe our success to a thoughtful training plan and an explosion of energy. This year, we started our preparations earlier and tried new methods. The crew may not have realized it, but every race prior to the battle in the Bay was a dress rehearsal. Our coaches took the lessons we learned throughout the year, and applied them to our training regimen. At the same time, DieselFish’s recruitment boom continued to bring new blood to the team. These rookies came to us excited about the sport and eager for a challenge. These developments made us faster, stronger and hungrier. By the time the SFIDBF rolled around, the team was ready to show the world what it could do.

At the festival, the team’s “Fresh Fish” rookies maintained their focus and paddled hard, just as their coaches taught them. The fresh fish should be proud of their effort – they earned a spot in Division B, an amazing feat when you consider just how wet behind the ears most of them are. A few of the Fresh Fish had never raced before!

DieselFish’s “Salty Fish” veterans had their work cut out for them. They had to face a gauntlet filled with some of the dragon boat world’s most fearsome competitors. The Salty Fish, however, were well prepared thanks to the breakthroughs they made in fitness and technique throughout the season. They pulled water like nobody’s business, and exceeded last season’s performance by breaking into Division A, the highest level of competition!

This year’s SFIDBF was a grueling, yet rewarding experience. DieselFish faced fierce competition, but rose to the challenge. We walked away from Treasure Island with a feeling of accomplishment, because we delivered strong performances that exceed last year’s results. It’s gratifying to know that all the hard work and energy we put in throughout the season paid off!

Hello Internet friends! Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!

The Love Boat

Last night, DieselFishies Allen and Ann got married! I got to know the lovely couple through our adventures together with the team, so I can honestly say this pairing is perfect. The bride and groom share the same gentle warmth and intelligence, and I’m sure they will keep each other happy for years to come.

DieselFish was well represented at the ceremony and the banquet. After the newly minted couple exchanged their vows, they kindly asked the photographer to take some photos with us. What a nice gesture!

Allen and Ann even reserved two tables for us at the restaurant. We were treated to a traditional and luxurious Chinese banquet, followed by music and dancing. Everyone had a great time, but I’m worried that we didn’t burn off enough calories on the dance floor – we’ve got a race coming up soon!

I’d like to thank Allen and Ann for sharing their big day with us. They have been a big part of the team for ages, and I’m ecstatic that they are about to begin a new and exciting part of their lives together.

CONGRATULATIONS! AND REMEMBER - "ALEX" IS A LOVELY NAME FOR A BABY BOY OR A GIRL!

Hello Internet friends! Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!

Vote for Avy @ BabyAvy.com

This is Avy, isn’t she cute? Avy is the daughter of Leon Cheng, one of the founders of DieselFish’s sister team, the fearsome Los Angeles Racing Dragons. Avy, unfortunately, suffered an in-utero stroke. She is hearing and vision impaired, and diagnosed with cerebral palsy. You can make a difference in Avy’s life! Please click on this link to access Avy’s profile on the upromisetodream site, a charity sponsored by financial services firm SallieMae, If Avy gets enough votes, she will receive funding that will make a difference in her life. Hurry, voting ends on September 29th!

Go to BabyAvy.com today!

DieselFish Year Two

You have to start somewhere. Everyone on the team started out as a rookie. But, with time and practice, you get better. Here’s a conversation I had with Leo and Christie, the recipients of last season’s Rookie of the Year awards. The two looked back at their first season with DieselFish, and talked candidly about their journey and what the team means to them today.

-The Minister of Newbie Happiness

M: How did you find out about DieselFish?

L: My friend Tiffany from work invited me to try it out.

C: My friend was a friend of a friend of Head Coach Birk’s. I had always wanted to try it, so I got connected to Birk who connected me to the team. I signed up with DieselFish, and then, at my first race I realized that there were multiple teams in my area, Oakland. Birk never mentioned that there was a team so close to me. [MINISTER’S NOTE: Christie drives from OAKLAND to practice with us in REDWOOD CITY. She must really enjoy paddling with DieselFish!]

M: What do you remember about your first couple of practices with the team?

L: I remember getting burned by the sun. I was a lot paler before, I hardly had any tan.

C: I remember thinking how great the team was. They were so friendly and inclusive, and made sure that I had a good time. I paddled with the DieselFish Youth for the first several practices, so and I remember being coached by Al (who was steering the DieselFish Youth boat). I remember that I was sore for a couple of days after the practice. And then, I remember coming back from my first practice, and thinking that the people were super nice, but that I wasn’t physically cut out for the sport.

M: What things made the practices easier?

L: SUNSCREEN. At this point, I can’t get any darker...

C: I kept coming out, and each time it got a little better. I was a little less sore after each practice.

M: Why did you become a member?

L: I like chilling on the water, what could be more fun? [MINISTER’S NOTE: I think Leo’s trying sound cool and laid back here. You don’t get the Rookie of the Year award by taking it easy on the boat!] And it keeps me active rather than sleeping all day, which I do miss sometimes.

C: I tried paddling so that I could get an extra workout on the weekend. I became a DieselFish member because the team was incredibly good at recruiting.

M: Why did you come back for a second season?

L: I just wanted to keep paddling, and the practice site is conveniently located in Redwood City, close to my work and home.

C: I had to. I got voted in as the Team Manager.

M: What has changed since your first season?

L: The team’s energy increased exponentially! There are more people on the team, and everybody is on top of their game!

C: I think that the team has really developed both performance wise and as a cohesive group. We’ve got a lot of great energy amongst the paddlers, and we’ve grown our team by a lot. People are really excited about paddling, and about DieselFish, and it’s great to see that.

M: What do you like the most about paddling with DieselFish?

L: Everybody is showing a positive attitude to improve, both for the team and individually.

C: The people are what keep me coming back.

M: Way to go, Leo and Christie! You've both come a long way since your rookie days!











Hello Internet friends! Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!

Special Training with Coach Dom

DieselFish members Birk, Jarmar, Lin and my own bad self recently completed an enlightening 7.5 hour training session with Dominic Shew, a professional dragon boat coach from Vancouver.

In the days leading up the session, I worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle an entire day of drills and paddling. Now that the event is over, however, my body isn’t terribly sore, but my mind is blown! Dominic got me to think about my body mechanics in completely different way. Let’s see how much of this information I can incorporate into regular DieselFish practices.

- The Minister of Newbie Happiness

Coach Dom and Coach Birk

Jarmar takes a well-deserved break - paddling all day is hard work!

Hello Internet friends! Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!

IDBF - Thoughts From the Last Day

[Minister's note: DieselFish members Joyce Lee, Dennis Chen and Colin Morneau recently returned from the International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships with silver medals hanging from their necks. Joyce served as the manager for Team USA’s Under 23 (u23) Squad. On the last day of the race, she collected her thoughts and posted them to Facebook. Here is her first-hand account of this life-changing experience.]

IDBF - thoughts from the last day
by Joyce Lee on Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 7:42am

Today marks the last day of the International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships and the experience has been fulfilling, affirming as well as humbling.

The ‘dream’ of a USA u23 squad started when then USDBF President visited the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival almost one year ago. As one of the board members who help organize this event, I had the pleasure of meeting Ginny and introducing her to the large contingent of active high school and college crews in the SF-Bay Area. This was when she said the u23 team has not been formed and would like the west coast to take a stab at this project, and select from those with the desire and ability to represent from across the country.

This experience was fulfilling because despite a rough and disorganized start, we did gather a committed u23 squad to race in Tampa. We would not have fulfilled this without a group of people who genuinely cared, as well as a lot of forgiveness from paddlers and their families – and for that, I thank every single one of you.

This experience has been affirming because many things I know from club dragon boating still speak true. The importance of working as a team, both on and off water, is even more vital with the extra pressures of being away, five straight days of racing and the increased level of competition.

To be perfectly frank the Worlds is like going to a really, really big away festival. Except a zillion times bigger.

Off the water, there are race officials to keep happy, rules to abide by and be gracious enough to not get tied up in the cattiness that happens when you get a group of hyper-competitive people together. We overcame this by working as a team.

On the water, it is hard to not get carried away. I had the chance to meet a number of very experienced coaches during my time here and each has different techniques to bring out the strength of paddlers from all backgrounds. The mantra of ‘race your own race’ still applies and for that, I feel affirmed.

This has been a humbling experience because there was indeed very much we didn’t know. Having now experienced this event first hand, I know what to do better next time. I recognize our team’s results have been mixed, but can assure you everyone on the team – on and off water - tried to do what they felt was right. Humbling yes, but the truth is we wrote a new chapter in history and many in history didn’t get it right the first time either. We can and will only get better if we go out and re-write history once again.

But before we do that, let’s leave it on the water for our last showing in this regatta. Let’s go out with a bang – go USA U23!!!