Ann Newsom
Ann speaks of how the team came about, and how it was in the early days of the team, pre-computer era.
I read a brief article in the local paper looking for people interested in water sports to start a dragon boat team based out of the Dogwood Senior Centre.
The team picked the name from a number of suggestions put forth and it was originally, “Nothin’ Draggin’” and it just morphed from there.
We borrowed a boat from Lotus Club at Barnet and had to move the boat from the boatyard and launch it from the beach every time we went out.
In the early years we divided the team into two, and to make the “A” team and we were expected to perform a timed test on the erg machine. I remember going down to the boathouse for a couple of hours a week and everyone would come down for their erg session. I had a large book and kept track of everyone‘s time, improvements, etc. Working with the erg machine was very interesting as it clearly showed people just how much power you needed to put on the paddle to produce an effective, powerful stroke.
This was all before the widespread use of computers so we had ‘phone trees’ for notifying members. Fundraising was done by begging for small donations from local businesses and holding raffles etc. I must have written literally hundreds of thank you letters.
I seem to have avoided being responsible for any specific department but spent years bailing boats, counting bottles with the wasps and doing other odd jobs.
I sat in seat one for a long time. Now any seat is fine!
Pat Johnson
Pat talks about how she came to the team, and recounts races, mishaps and many memorable moments…
Our first gathering was at Dogwood in the fall of 1998 after a write-up in the local paper described forming an over 50 years old men and women dragon boat team. I believe it was the idea of Gwen Wong who worked for Coquitlam and possibly a program director for Dogwood.
There was a fellow, Charlie, who may have been the first coach, he was a friend or relative of Gwen's. Lavina Leatherdale, a high school friend who lived in Coquitlam saw the notice in the local paper, we talked about it and went to the first meeting. Lavina had recently lost her husband, and they boated previously. I used to go boating, too. We were both interested and signed up. We met again in the new year at Dogwood, Kate came and explain it all with much enthusiasm as she was a seasoned racing paddler. We must have practiced in the evenings or weekends as I was working full time but available to practice.
I've always enjoyed being on the team, so much laughter and fun! Socializing with men and women, being on the water in a non-motor boat sitting low in the water, going for a beer together, an"all for one" attitude, and doing your best for the team. The "kids" attitude taking the bus to various events, so much laughter and noise.
It was our first or second Alcan, 1999 or 2000, we raced but didn't pay much attention to the results, some of us left before the results and presentations, only to learn that we won our race, beating the Grand Dragons! We were so surprised, couldn't believe it.
Over the years steer persons fell in the water, I remember Dave Smith at Richmond, Anne Hensel and Brian Kenny at Rocky Point, I think there were others but there weren’t any injuries.
I have paddled in most positions on the boat, right and left, but never stroke. I've been the manager for Safety for many years and the Kateslem Kids program for many years as well, but never sat on the executive.
My fondest memories over the years are the friendships and support we shared together…there were some difficult times, too. We have lost many members over the years and losses of member's family.
Being part of our team is a life highlight for me. So glad to have the new Alumnae group to continue on!
The way we were! One of the very first team photos we have. Check out all the wooden paddles. Can you spot people you know?
A DRAGON'S TALE (1998 - 2023)
[Compiled in 2018 by Brian Asselstine – 2023 version expanded by Robbin Whachell]
The Beginning
It all started with the excitement of Dragon Boat racing being introduced to the public at Vancouver’s Expo ‘86. A big push for dragon boating came from the former lieutenant governor, David Lam, and his business partner, Milton Wong.
They envisioned the races as a way to celebrate cultural diversity and they initiated the first festival in 1989.
In 1998, Gwen Wong, niece of Milton Wong, began her work at Dogwood Pavilion, a senior centre for Coquitlam. She enthusiastically proposed a dragon boat team from Dogwood and promoted this with the members.
Kate Zubick inspired prospective members to embrace the sport and helped organize instructional sessions for paddling technique and strength and flexibility training. Newsletters and community newspapers called for interested potential members and a team was formed by November of 1998 to start the season in 1999.
Dryland training started at Dogwood, followed by paddling practice on the Burrard Inlet.
On-the-water training, with rented boats, was initially organized at Barnet Marine Park. The coaches were Charlie Wong assisted by Sharon Lum and Mike Younghusband, with Gwen Wong as manager.
Ann and Pat in 2018 at the team’s 20th anniversary celebration
Membership
Of the original 40 members in 1998, two are still with the club; Anne Newsom and Pat Johnston! The club has remained as an over-50s organization, partly to maintain the benefits of an association with Dogwood Seniors Society.
The club grew slightly in numbers over the next few years and by 2005 there were 55 members. Membership remained relatively steady until 2011 when the numbers rose to 66.
The paddlers have always been a close-knit group and organized many activities outside of just training and racing.
Dragon boating gets team members outside in the community, together with a diverse group of individuals, keeping fit and learning to be a team.
Over the years some members organized or participated in adventure trips not directly related to dragon boating. In 2012 a small group travelled to Tanzania, Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. In 2013 another group travelled north for a multi-day canoe trip on the Yukon river and in 2014 a small group hiked and biked the El Camino de Santiago, starting by crossing the Pyrenees into Spain. The team did a bike and barge trip on the Rhine River in Europe. Other team members stay active and fit by participating in cycling or kayaking day trips, hiking the local mountains and valleys, or cross-country skiing.
Women’s regatta in Vancouver
Regattas
The “Dogwood Nothin’ Dragging” team entered their first race at the Alcan Regatta in June 1999 and won gold in the master’s (seniors' event). This was followed by gold medals in 2000 and 2001 at the Alcan Masters. Eventually, the team name became “Dogwood Nothin’ Dragon” and then was changed to “Nothin’ Dragon Masters” in 2014. In 2023, the name has been shortened to simply, "Nothin' Dragon."
The Club has had only two presidents over the years, Ron MacPherson and Brian Kenny.
For a number of years two teams were entered in the larger regattas with one team being a more experienced, competitive team and the other made up of more novice paddlers. This worked reasonably well until about 2011 when two equal-strength teams were formed for many of the practices and the larger regattas. The exception is the team entered the Rio Tinto Alcan Regatta, now called the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, by selecting from the stronger, more experienced senior C paddlers who have demonstrated an ability to work as a team.
The Greystone Dragon Boat Races were held at Rocky Point Park in 1999 and 2000 during Golden Spike Days. As many as twenty teams took part in this local regatta.
Pat Johnson as a ‘Ladybug’ (Women’s Regatta in Vancouver)
After the first year, the club entered teams in Richmond’s “Rip up the River” regatta and then the Victoria and Kelowna regattas were added to the racing schedule. The “Ladybugs” women’s team was formed in 2002 and raced for two years at Deas Slough before the event was moved to False Creek. The Lotus Club race (later renamed “Bill Alley Memorial”) was added to the racing schedule along with the “Cornucopia race in Kent, Washington. Kent is remembered by many team members for the fantastically clean toilets and the delicious salmon and pasta dinners (not necessarily in that order).
Nanaimo was added as a race destination in 2004 and the Harrison Lake regatta in 2005. White Rock initiated a regatta that lasted until 2007 when stormy weather capsized a number of boats and many paddlers ended up in the ocean. The Taiwanese festival started a dragon boat event in False Creek in 2006 using traditional wooden boats and unique race formats (for example, paddling backward and capturing the flag).
Part of the team competing in our very own event in Port Moody at our Inlet Spring Regatta in 2018, which is hosted annually.
White Rock was replaced by the Deep Cove Race for Charity and one team was entered in the Kelowna regatta. In 2010 the team raced at Cultus Lake, but this regatta was short-lived. In 2012, the club participated in the B.C. 55+ Games at Burnaby Lake and the Penticton regatta replaced Kelowna. A team also attended the Seattle Dragon Boat Festival, which was a lot of fun due in part to the unusual format.
The Canadian Nationals were held at Elk Lake on Vancouver Island in 2013 and the team raced in a 2000 m event for the first time. Dan Strain steered the boat around the tight corners with keen accuracy and helped keep us ahead until the very last lap.
In 2014 the club started sending a team to the Steveston Regatta in place of Seattle. The next year there were enough members to enter boats in both men’s and women’s categories. The B.C. 55+ Senior Games came to Coquitlam in 2016 and both our teams held their own while helping to host the event. It was a great learning experience in preparation for hosting our own event, the Inlet Spring Regatta in 2018 to commemorate our 20th year as a team.
We had a full racing schedule again in 2017 and achieved our best result in Victoria in years by winning the seniors race.
In 2018, to commemorate our team’s 20th anniversary we created the Inlet Spring Regatta, a huge achievement and fundraiser for Nothin’ Dragon.
On display today at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex in Coquitlam.
Hall of Fame
In 2019, our beloved Captain, the late Dan Strain was inducted posthumously into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame.
Coaching
All these racing successes and challenges would not have been possible without careful preparation and training and a great deal of thanks goes to the coaches and managers who supported us over the years. The initial few years involved using rented boats with coaching by Charlie Wong, Sharon Lum and Mike Young, with Gwen Wong as the manager.
Jackie Webber joined us as coach in 2001 and was followed by Kate Zubick in 2003 with assistance from Jim McArthur. Jim took over as head coach in 2005 with Jack MacIntyre as his assistant. Henrietta Hamming started as manager and has been our greatest supporter ever since.
We needed a new coach in 2012 and were extremely fortunate to connect with Erica McArthur (no relation to Jim). Erica has national and international paddling experience and helped bring the whole team to a new level. She continues to coach the Riverside Rapids high school dragon boat team.
In 2014, coach Pam Cornell came to us with a strong background in paddling and coaching. After Pam, an Olympian canoe racer from Poland, Kris Lepianka coached the team up until the end of the 2022 season. Teammate, Denise Nelson, who has always had a knack for balancing our boats for training and races, assisted as a backup coach to Kris over the past few years and stepped into the coach's role in 2023.
With strong and consistent coaching some team members were encouraged to try racing at the national and international levels. In 2014, Brian Asselstine travelled to Ravenna, Italy to compete with a False Creek team at the World Club Crew Championships. In 2015, Peter Newell and Roz Harrington travelled to Welland, Ontario to compete at the World Nations Championships. In 2016, Peter Newell, Terry Flynn and Roz Harrington travelled with the False Creek Senior C team to Adelaide, Australia to compete at the World Club Crew Championships.
Our Oktoberfest event in 2019.
Social Activities
Social events have always been a way to introduce new members to the club and help everyone get to know each other better. Some key events held over the years have included:
Annual barbecues
Mardi Gras party
Hard times party
Pancake breakfasts
Bowling
Family paddles
Christmas parties
Pub nights
Oktoberfest
Our yard sale at the Old Mill Boathouse.
Fundraising
Over the years fundraising has been an integral part of club activities to support community programs and keep the cost of membership as low as possible, while also being fun events for member involvement. Direct sponsorships from individuals and local businesses have helped the club financially and connected us to the community.
Fundraising events have evolved over the years to adapt to the needs of the club and the interests of the members. Notable events include:
Casino nights
Legion nights
Plant sales
Bake sales
Garage sales
Bottle recycling
Trivia nights
Paddling experiences for clubs and businesses
Inlet Spring Regatta (our team’s own race event created in 2018)
Training the Kateslem Kids
Community Service
Giving back to the community where we live, work and play has always been important and there have been unique opportunities for us to offer service by providing:
Team building paddling opportunities for Kateslem (youth at risk)
Paddling opportunities for foreign students
Paddling experiences for community members
Equipment and logistics support for the Gleneagle and Riverside Rapids high school dragon boat team
Coquitlam Crunch administration and logistics support.
Supporting our Alums
Thanks to the perseverance of Ric Tesan, we launched our Alumni Paddle in 2023, where past members can sign up for a nominal fee to dragon boat once a week. This opportunity has fostered leadership, willingness to try new positions on the boat, and helps those recovering from injury. It’s a great transition for those older members who may want to stop racing, but still want to come out to enjoy the water, team camaraderie and a cold one afterward at the legion.
New Society
In 2022, the Nothin’ Dragon Paddling Society was formed.
The purposes of the Society are to:
strive for individual and team excellence by participating in the enjoyable sport of Dragon Boating.
support each team member in becoming fit, skilled, and dedicated to leading an active and healthy lifestyle
promote the sport of Dragon Boating in the community
to contribute to the health and well-being of our larger community
There you have it, the tale of a dragon boat team that is greater than the sum of its parts, passionate about an active, fun and competitive sport, and invested in our community.
We have been, and continue to be, a team that exemplifies that great quote from John Wooden:
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
