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August 7, 2004
The Piranhas finished seventh overall and third in
the B-final behind Tempest and a resurgent Jetstart team at Summer
Sensation in a day full of ups and downs. GTDBC Senior Mixed "A"
, DBW Imperial Dragons, Sudbury Team Chiropractic, and GTDBC Senior
Mixed "B" rounded out the A Final, finishing in the order
listed above.
Panic amidst poor lane conditions, missing paddlers,
and last-minute substitutions from former team members who had not
paddled in two months were amongst the challenges faced by the struggling
Piranhas. The Piranhas paddled poorly in the poor conditions of
lane one and finished third in their first heat, a boat-length behind
a team Sudbury Team Chiropractic and the GTDBC Juniors, only finishing
ahead of the GTDBC Senior Women. With two starting paddlers not
showing up for the first race, Simon Hatch, who was visiting Toronto
for the weekend, provided his services to the team without any hesitation
after two months of inactivity.
After a furious wake-up call by Coach Rob Chang, the
Piranhas, with their 216-pound coach at the drum, were one of the
only teams to improve their times in worsening conditions and jumped
ahead of the Baycrest Blades to qualify seventh for the B Final.
The B-Final involved a TIDBRF Community A Division rematch between
Tempest, Baycrest, the Piranhas and a surprising Jetstart team.
After Tempest jumped out on the field, the Piranhas, despite looking
messy, opened up a three-seat lead at the second last set of buoys.
The combination of strong finishes by Tempest and Jetstart, with
a poorly executed finish by the Piranhas saw Tempest win by three
seats of their own, with Jetstart, the Piranhas and Baycrest following
shortly behind in a tight B final.
The team showed signs of promise in the B Final. but
there are serious issues to address as the team prepares for its
season-end push with events in Port Dover and Toronto's Great White
North Challenge.
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