Piranhas Dragon Boat Club: Piranhas Take On the Island

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Piranhas Take On the Island
University Cup Champs Become First Ever University Team To Qualify for Community A Final

By Raphael Leung

The Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival is widely regarded as the most prestigious dragon boat competition in Ontario, and arguably, in all of North America. Thus, the mindset of the Piranhas was to physically and mentally peak here, two weeks after their first taste of competition in Pickering. They had to prepare their minds and bodies for the four races they had ahead of them, stretched over a new three-day format. Each community team would have one heat each on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, there would be two races: the University Cup final, and the Community Division final, granted that the heat times of the Piranhas were fast enough to take them there.

This somewhat new, and hopefully improved Piranha team had lofty goals at Centre Island this year. First was to make amends for last year's heartbreaking 2nd place finish in the University Cup, and secondly, to improve upon last year's 8th place overall finish in the Community division-ideally, to win it all.

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Day 1 >> Day 2 >> Day 3

Day 1

Arriving at the Island, the Piranhas would have a chance to be acclimated with their surroundings and to have a look at the competition. After all, they were scheduled for the second last heat of the day. With a strong tailwind, and a noticeably shorter course, the times of the top teams were roughly 5 seconds faster than those from just a year ago. So knowing well the task they had in hand, the Piranhas prepared to take the water. On top of their usual race preparation of warm-ups and stretches, it was decided that the team add a regimen of wind sprints to more aptly prepare the body for the strain that accompanies a dragon boat race. Normally, a drill such as this would be beneficial to the performance of the team. But with the unforseen circumstances that the team was about to face, it was likely that the wind sprints were detrimental to the Piranhas.

In the team's first heat, the Piranhas faced familiar competition from other university teams. They themselves were placed in Lane 1, notorious for being the slowest and most shallow of the 6 lanes. On their right were two other U of T teams: University College, and Victoria College, respectively. There were also two teams from University of Western Ontario: the WaveWalkers and Western 360°. Rounding out the heat were the Golden Dragons, a team that the Piranhas had also raced against in the Pickering Festival.

The teams lined up, and the race was started. The Piranhas reacted well and took off to a magnificent start. Already 200 metres into the race, the team had developed a healthy lead and had fallen into a nice rhythm. It was around this time that some of the paddlers began to hear faint calls of, "Hold the boat!"

This is the last thing anyone expects to hear in the middle of the race, and clearly no one would stop paddling merely because of something that they might as well have imagined being said. So the crew plodded on, until the calls to stop paddling came again and again, each time more adamant. Eventually, paddles stopped churning, and large question marks hovered over each of the paddlers' heads.

As it turns out, ViCrew had collided with University College right off the start, and it had taken over a minute for the call to the race to reach the Piranhas. A look back down the course revealed that all but one of the other teams had been stopped within 40 metres of the starting line. Realising the energy the team had expended doing half a race, frustration quickly spread throughout the boat. There was less cussing heard in a Quentin Tarantino film. Reluctantly, the crew paddled back to the starting line. "3 minutes to start," the official called to the team.

With nerves out of the way for this start, but feeling genuine fatigue, the second-last heat of the day was restarted. Again, the Piranhas pulled away right off the start, but not nearly as authoritatively. Halfway through the race, their lead was noticeable, but soon some members of the team began to falter. The extra paddling they had done, compounded with the wind sprints, was enough to drive them to exhaustion. But the Piranhas gutted it out, and crossed the finish line about three-quarters of a boat ahead of the next fastest team, ViCrew. At the end of the day, the U of T Piranhas managed to overcome adversity and place 5th overall with a time of 2:22 and change, 3 seconds behind the fastest time of the day. Ahead of them in the standings were the Baycrest Blades, Sinai Lightning, Shaolin Monks, and the Sick Kids Miracle Dragons, respectively.

The Piranhas, tired after a stressful day, dined at the Old Spaghetti Factory, then went their separate ways home.

Day 2

The second day on the island was significantly calmer in terms of course conditions. The tailwind that helped all the teams on the previous day was non-existent. The Piranhas had one of the earlier heats of the day, and with the impressive time they posted on Friday, the competition would be watching them carefully. The teams in this heat were of a lower calibre, but the importance lay in race times. If they could post a fast enough time, they could possibly move up in the seedings. This would be difficult, though, because of the slower race course.

In their second heat, the Piranhas would race in the more coveted Lane 4, up against the Golden Dragons (again), U of T Dentistry, St. Michael Hospital, The Stingrays, and Slowburn. Once again, the Piranhas broke the other teams off the start, and powered down the course in a impressive display of dragon boat racing. By the time they crossed the finish line, they had thoroughly defiled the other teams in the heat by 14 seconds. Their time of 2:21.58 would eventually stand up as the fastest of the day, but since the race format seeds teams by their fastest time of the first two days of the festival, the Piranhas retained their 5th place seeding going into Sunday. But nonetheless, a message was sent to the other teams. The University of Toronto Piranhas were a team to be reckoned with, and were undoubtedly in contention to win the Community Division at the 13th Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival.

Day 3

University Final

Finally, Sunday was here. It was the climax of the festival, and the focus of an entire season of training. Their first race would be the University Cup race, scheduled for the early afternoon. The other 5 boats challenging for the championship included U of T Occupational and Physical Therapy, Rotman Hostile Takeover, Asian Focus Shockwave, and once again, our friends Victoria College and University College. The mindset of the team before this race was to merely get through as easily as possible, knowing that in one and a half hours, they would be racing in the A Division final. After all, the teams in this race were all from the B Division and lower. What could possibly go wrong?

To begin the race, the Piranhas had their shakiest start of the festival. Still, they took a lead, but things didn't feel right. The rhythm just wasn't there, and the energy level of the team felt alarmingly low. 300 metres into the race, the Victoria College team pulled up to them. Having already had a race earlier in the day, Vic College seemed to be better prepared for this race, as they felt confidence surge through them with each stroke. On the Piranha boat, things seemed to sputter as they felt the pressure of the ViCrew on them. An eerie desperation gripped the crew as they suddenly became haunted by their University Cup loss from the previous year. It was all slipping away again.

The Piranhas, though, would not go down without a fight. Looking beyond technique, and beyond synchronicity, they reached deep inside themselves and found enough to will themselves to hang on to a close half-second victory over Victoria College. University College paddled to a commendable 3rd place finish. Although they didn't paddle their best, the Piranhas still managed to post a blistering time of 2:18.01.

When team was met by Sir Coach Rob after the race, he was irate. How could a team struggle against B and C division teams and expect to compete against the likes of proven champions like the Shaolin Monks or Sinai Lightning? What went wrong? After insightful discussion and feedback, the focus turned to the Community Grand Championship. There was no choice but for everyone to push the University Race out of their minds and to look forward to the ultimate goal.

As this was going on, the ViCrew stormed the Piranha camp and graciously congratulated them on the victory, and wished them the best for their final race ahead. This kind act was surprising, but appreciated by all of the Piranha team. But soon after, it was back to business. If the team stayed focused and did what they were capable of doing, they could very well be heading to Vancouver the following year.

Grand Championship Final

After a series of delays, the Piranhas entered the marshalling area with the other top crews. The sight was quite the absurd one. The diminutive University team was completely dwarfed by the burly paddlers of the Monks and the hospital teams. It can be stated without hyperbole that that a good number of Piranha males were smaller than many of the females on the teams of their competition. Amused comments of "look how small they are!" were brushed off by this group of resilient Piranhas.

As the team paddled out to the starting line, it hit many of them: they were in the Grand Championship of one of the biggest dragon boat festivals in the world-and they absolutely belonged there. It was difficult to remember to try and enjoy this moment, and to take it all in. Most teams will never get the chance for this. This one succeeded in their second attempt. On the subject of Grand Championships, it was the second one for this young team. Their first was in Waterloo the previous season, where they finished 4th overall. About half of the present crew paddled in that race, however nothing compared to the pressure that was on their shoulders now.

One by one, the teams lined up at the start. In Lane 1 was the Spirit of Osler, a hospital team that was 5th place after the heats. In Lane 2 were the Sick Kids Miracle Dragons, a perennial contender in the Community Division. In Lane 3 was Mount Sinai Lightning, the defending champions. In Lane 4 were the Baycrest Blades, who were the top seed heading into the final. And in Lane 5 were the Shaolin Monks, Grand Champions from two years ago, who have developed into friendly rivals over the past two seasons.

The Piranhas sat in Lane 6, hoping to sneak across the finish line first from the right side. As always, the orders barked over the megaphone by the starting official only added to the tension. At last, the pistol went off, and the final race had begun. As to be expected, the Piranha start was strong and gave them an early kick. But they were up against the best, and none of the teams were overwhelmed the way that past competition was. Halfway through the race, the Piranhas were paddling well, but they didn't feel like they were breaking away from the pack. No one expected them to-the race would probably be won at the finish. But because they were in an outside lane, they had little feeling for what was going on. All they knew was that they were in a tough battle with the Monks, who were pushing them to the limit.

This was when the Piranhas could have used some more maturity and race experience. Hearing a series called by the Shaolin Monks and seeing them pull ahead, panic ran through this small, young crew. The stroke rate rose, and the team began to spin. As they neared the latter part of the course, they were also hit by a cross-current which Lane 6 is most vulnerable to. Feeling themselves slipping behind the Monks, the U of T Piranhas gave all that was left of their heart, nerve, and sinew to the unforgiving 150 metres that is their finish. After crossing the line, the realisation dawned on them that the Monks had edged them out by mere inches. But more sobering was looking past them to see that two other teams had already drifted a noticeable margin past the finish line. The Piranhas had come in 4th overall.

Mount Sinai had repeated as Community Champions with a time of 2:19.15. Baycrest Blades were an admirable second with 2:20.51, followed by the Monks with a time of 2:21.56. The Piranhas were a dragon's whisker from a bronze medal, with a time of 2:21.81. Rounding out the race were Osler and Sick Kids, with times of 2:31.05 and 2:31.50, respectively. Though understandably disappointed, the Piranha crew had every reason to be proud of an outstanding accomplishment. For the second day in a row, they had posted the fastest time by a Community team-and the 8th fastest mixed crew overall. They were 2 seconds from turning a seemingly unreachable goal into reality, and the satisfaction showed in the smiles of Piranha faces.

Congratulations to the Mount Sinai Lightning on winning their second straight TIDBRF Community title.

Corporate Final

Though the Piranhas had raced their last race for the festival, the day wasn't entirely done. There was still the matter of the Corporate Division Final, where the fearless coach of the Piranhas, Sir Rob was to race with his Canada Life Imperial Dragons for the Grand Championship. The skinny little kids in blue jerseys lined the shores to support their coach and mentor as he raced in the final race of the day.

In what was arguably the most dominating victory in a Corporate Grand Championships on the Island, the Imperial Dragons paddled to a gold medal in a jaw-dropping time of 2:07.76. The little Piranhas cheered in admiration and awe as their Coach and his team achieved a long-awaited dream.

When the Coach stepped onto the island on Friday afternoon, he had set three goals: He wanted the Piranhas to win the University Cup, the Community Title, and he wanted to win the Corporate Title with his team, Canada Life.

Two out of three ain't bad.

- Raphael [Right 3]