2008 Year in Review

Squad	Division	Place
Black:	Mixed A Championship	2nd (2:18.3)
Red:	250M Championship	4th (1:13.0)
Pink:	Breast Cancer Survivor Cup	3rd (3:07.4)
Nationals:	Open Championship	2nd (2:14.7)

March 29/30 - Tempe, AZ

As usual, this team continues to amaze me. As we pointed out over this past weekend, our goal was not to win these races but to find the best competition the Tempe Tournament had to offer in order to prepare for our future target races.

We had our Red mixed team race some of the best the tournament had to offer and intentionally placed our Black mixed team in the Open Division where all other teams were comprised entirely of men.

Red was absolutely amazing. Some of you have been paddling for less than a year - some of you for only a few months. Your progress is absolutely remarkable. Anyone that has been around the paddling community realizes that paddling, although it looks relatively simple, is a very hard discipline to master. You can't do it in a few months. Hell, you can't even do it in a year. That being said, the Red boat looked amazing. Your timing was flawless and the stroke rate was that of a high-caliber team. The LARD veterans that lead and powered Red are the reason our team as a whole is so successful. You are the epitome of team player. We all should take note of your team first mentality. Red's race pieces were absolutely amazing. You should be proud of yourselves. As Vi (my wife) sometimes tells me, "You didn't shame me." Keep up the good work.

As for our Black mixed team, you are well on track to represent the best we can when Nationals comes around in July. You showed no fear going up against all mens teams pulling out a 2nd place in that division. You also took a second in the Mixed A Final. You surpassed my expectations going into this race. Although, I think anyone on that Mixed Final boat will agree, we could have ran a better piece in that mixed final.

Both teams battled some very windy conditions against some great competition. You made us proud and the paddling community outside of LARD is truly noting your progress. However, our work is not finished. It has only started. In the coming months, we will be racing stronger and faster teams and we will get faster and stronger.

I hope to see you all this weekend.

~Scott

I wanted to shoot out a quick note to congratulate all of you on your performance and representation out in Tempe this year. In a year where the weather couldn't have been any better (aside from the electrified tents), you all shined. What a fantastic way to kick off our new season!

The team did exceptionally well. Every boat that went out to paddle improved in the manner that we discussed. Don't believe me? Well, Phil's surely got it on film! We talked about our own expectations for this event in the context of our team goals; you all worked hard to meet and exceed these expections. It showed in the results. Our results demonstrated the overall strength of our organization, through and through, to the entire dragonboat community. I am sure they all took notice, and many gracious comments I have personally heard have only reinforced that. You should all be proud. Our team is recognized not only for our performance on the water, but the support we have for one another off the water.

A quick recognition to Megan P. for a courageous effort steering in her first race. As with many things, it always gets better. Thanks to her teammates and to her for the outstanding attitude.

I am sure this message finds you having arrived home safe, fully rested, enjoyed some pictures to stir your memories of the event, ready for the rest of the season. Now is a great time to bring out new paddlers, and the directors and coaches will look to possibly put together an event (BBQ or such) to facilitate the introduction of new paddlers to the sport.

Hope you all had a great week, thanks for Tempe, and see you all out on the water!

Go TeamLARD!
Leon

Squad	Division	Place
Black:	Comp A Championship	7th (2:00.92)
	Guts & Glory	8th (13:05.69)
Red:	Rec B Championship	4th (2:14.63)
Men:	Open Division Consolation	3rd 2:13.56)
Women:	Comp A Championship	6th (2:21.60)
Women:	Guts & Glory	8th (12:04.55)

June 21/22 - Vancouver, BC

Hey LARD,

Fantastic weekend for the paddlers who represented LARD as well as the Long Beach dragonboat community! This was an exciting weekend on and off the boat, and I hope everyone has fond memories of our trip together.

The coaches expected a strong showing from all our crews, but you guys blew our expectations away. Your intensity and determination were clearly evident the whole weekend, starting from the warmups to the mental drills and to the moment you stepped on the boat. The competition was fierce for every division, so pats on the back for everyone. We train and work hard as a team, so every success is a team success. For LARD Black to make Comp A is mind-boggling, and for LARD Red to place in the top half of the entire recreational division is a great accomplishment. The women's squad should be very proud of competing against some of North America's top crews. The men's squad showed true toughness by racing multiple times in the same hour and doing well against guys that train together many times a week.

Please give a big thanks to Jessica and Megan for being our callers. They did an awesome job of commanding the boat and directing our controlled aggression. Thanks to Leon and Gary for being the guiding force in the back. We should also thank Betty for joining us and being part of this unforgettable weekend. Any LARD alumni is always welcome to come back!

LARD Red, you guys showed great teamwork and paddled your hearts out against some very strong Canadian teams. To put it in perspective: there are about 70 teams in the recreational division, and you guys placed in the top 24. Your willingness to fine-tune and your eagerness for self-improvement had produced your best race on Sunday afternoon. The progress from Saturday to Sunday was tremendous, and proves that LARD's present and future will be shining brightly.

LARD Black, your races were exhilarating and indicated an all-out effort to compete against the top teams in North America. There has really been no other team from California to make it to Mixed A, so this is truly an honor for this team and for our paddling community. We are now in some elite company, and other teams now view you as an elite team to watch out for.

LARD Women, your performance and journey to Comp A was amazing. Some of the women had to basically finish their race and then immediately marshal for the women's semi-final. Even though the coaches were scrambling around on both days to find a pair of non-LARD paddlers, the women's confidence did not faze at all. It was a very prideful moment for the guys when we stood on the side and watched the LARD women line up next to False Creek and 3 Wasabi teams in the Comp A final.

LARD Men, the paddling marathon on Sunday afternoon was a true test of how strong and tough our guys were. The Red final was at 3:20pm, the Black final was at 4:26pm, the open division consolation was at 4:37pm, and the Guts & Glory was right after that. The men on Red paddled 1000m in a span of about an hour, and the men on Black paddled 3000m in a span of an hour. To see all the guys pumping each other up, no matter how fatigued you were or how many races were left, indicated the teamwork and camaraderie that we need to succeed.

There are some paddlers that unfortunately couldn't make it up there. However, you guys are a vital part of the team, and we'll need you at the upcoming race. Every paddler is an important piece of our puzzle, and this team can't be at full strength unless all the pieces are in place.

With the Long Beach festival looming ahead, it is imperative to keep our intensity and focus at an all time high. The coaches are asking you to raise the bar even more. We need to train harder and carry this momentum into the next target race. If you missed a stroke, or if you got tired, or if your timing was a bit off, use that as fuel for your training on and off the boat. There are only 4 weekends of practice left. Other teams will be training hard to beat us on our home turf, but no one has seen the best of LARD yet.

-Otto

P.S. - The last Guts & Glory race was probably one of the most exciting races I've ever been in. If you want more detail, we can give it to you at practice...

Hello Team!

To those who made the trek to Vancouver, I hope y'all had a safe and restful flight back home. I believe the last of our bunch returned Tuesday evening, including a handful that headed out to Whistler. To our LARDmates and friends who were with us in spirit, I hope the race updates came soon enough! As you've all heard by now, either through the Scott-Jane-Jeff grapevine or festival site (adbf.com), our 9th (!) visit to this tried and true venue turned out to be another memorable one:

Congratulations on another amazing race weekend. You should all be proud of what we were able to achieve, as the results reflect everyone's hard work and commitment, both on and off Mother's Beach, regardless of roster designation. Though I'm still feeling a mix of excitement and disbelief, I'm particularly proud of our teamwork, and simply happy for those who were there to experience this moment. Whether it was your first race at Alcan, first tournament with the team, first DB race ever, or if you've raced with the team at Alcan since it took place in front of the Plaza of Nations, and before the circus came into town (Cirque de Soleil), I hope this was a meaningful one to you. As we look ahead to Long Beach in just 4 weeks, I hope moments like these--where we surprise even ourselves and perform beyond our expectations--continue to inspire and motivate you to push hard for your teammates through the rest of the season. We're big dogs, too! At last weekend's race you just wouldn't have known from looking at us during pre-marshalling, as we probably gave up 15-20lbs/paddler to our competitors :-)

What stood out most to me from a performance standpoint across all of our crews is that we're becoming a better festival (two-day) race team. Physically, we're recovering much faster; our pieces simply felt more consistent from heat to heat. Mentally, it seems that we're also becoming more disciplined in preparation for, and during our races. Rows 5-8, fantastic job!

As Otto mentioned, a BIG thanks again to our paddlers-turned-callers, Jessica and Megan. Both of you stepped into a very critical position on the boat when the team needed you most for these races, and really just performed beautifully. As Tiffany and Huay can attest to, there are so many elements--physical or otherwise--that a caller often adapts to in preparation for (and during a race) in order to keep the team focused and driven. You both picked up on this very quickly, and would have made both Tiff and Huay proud!

Having said that, I'd also like to extend a huge thanks to Diane, Jessica, and Ev Wah for being such diligent race managers (both in preparation for, and during the festival weekend); Bill for transporting our paddles; Nick C for supplying us with cold water (and the means with which to transport it!); everyone that made it to Friday's practice for their patience throughout an unexpected hour-long eye-dotting/aboriginal ceremony *after* our 4-5 practice session; Matthew for his inspirational steering and push throughout G'nG and not backing down; Leon and Gary for their steely nerves and skillful race steering; Betty for re-joining us from SF to paddle; Phil for documenting nearly every minute of our experiences; fellow coaches for all of their unwavering dedication to this team; HPC for their continued support with the resources and knowledge to make LARD stronger; volunteer paddlers we befriended in the Vancouver community (Treasa, who we will undoubtedly keep in touch with, along w/ Linda, Lindsay, and Karen from TD Lightning); and Leon and Wynne for organizing all of our post-race and post-festival activities, from our wonderful Sat team dinner at the Top of Vancouver, Sunday dinner at Shabu-sen, and Monday's relaxing bike tour. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone, as the list could really go on, but you get the idea. Thank you, teammates.

My apologies for the deferred write-up to such a memorable weekend, work gets in the way sometimes :-) Keep up all the hard work, Long Beach is going to be another dogfight! I look forward to seeing y'all down at practice again soon.

Go teamLARD! Jason

Squad	Division	Place
	Nationals Qualifier	3rd Overall
Black:	Club Crew Championship	2nd (2:08.06)
Red:	Club Crew Championship	5th (2:22.28)
Black:	Division IA Championship	1st (2:05.88)
Black:	Division IA Championship	1st (2:05.88)
Red:	Division IIIA Championship	3rd (2:21.96)
White:	Division VA Championship	4th (2:31.86)
Men:	Open Division B	4th (2:23.12)
Women:	Women A Final	4th (2:36.33)
Women:	Women’s Division A	4th (2:40.63)
Pink:	Division VIB	5th (2:57.46)
Pinks:	Breast Cancer Survivor	1st (1:18.92)

July 25-27 - Long Beach

Team,

As we paddled out for the final race of the day, Leon asked us to close our eyes. He told us that when we opened our eyes, we would be paddling with Love. As corny as that may sound now, it summed up this past weekend. We only accomplished what we did this past weekend because of our love and dedication to this sport, and above all, our love and dedication for the community that is LARD.

Everywhere you looked, you could see it. Some of our members paddled (and steered) for WCPA and Manayunk but always remained true to LARD by making sure that none of the races ever conflicted with a LARD race. We had dedicated members both current and past come and volunteer to make sure that everything ran smoothly. New and veteran paddlers alike paddled like never before. Hell, we even had a future recruit show up to support us even though he has yet to take one stroke with us.

Everyone played their parts to perfection. For one weekend, we were a perfect team paddling as one, regardless of if you were in a specific boat during a specific heat. We all contributed to what we accomplished this past weekend. Thank you all for your effort.

Many thanks to our new coaches Chuck and Otto for their tireless work and invaluabe input. Our effort this past weekend would not be possible without their tireless work. Chuck spent NUMEROUS hours spearheading the project that was seating and balancing almost 10 different divisions we participated in (plus various configurations within each divisison). Otto provided valuable insight into the various issues that arose this weekend that would have been overlooked otherwise.

Thanks to Phil for making LARD look like rockstars with all of the photos/video footage that he took. I'm sure they will be surfacing soon on facebook, R&R, youtube, etc. I can't wait for the next video!!!

Thanks to Powerbar and HPC for fueling us.

Finally, thanks to our race managers and volunteers - Ev, K2, Diane, Jessica, and Vi (my favorite). I am sure I left out a few but I'm sure the follow up emails will make up for my oversight.

Enjoy the accomplishments for awhile. We will begin preparing for our final race of the season soon enough.

Thank you for a wonderful weekend.

See you out on the water.

~Scott

Squad	Division	Place
Black:	Comp A Finals	4th (2:15.22)
Black:	Visitors’ Cup Championship	2nd (2:09.70)
Red:	Rec A Finals	4th (2:26.03)
Men:	Men’s Championship	1st (2:07.30)
White:	Women’s Championship	5th (2:???)

Sept 20/21 - Treasure Island

Hey LARDmates,

Hope everyone had a safe trip home, and is recovering well from this past weekend. It was great hanging out with so many of y'all Sunday evening; just knowing that I didn't have to get up before 6 again yesterday was a relief!

For those teammates who had to catch an evening flight shortly after Sunday's final races, or hit the road even, I hope you were able to celebrate in your own way as well, either at the airport, somewhere on the 5, or once you got home.

We missed you all in 'closing out' TI as we gathered for team pictures and post-race comments, but I wanted to extend a huge CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU to every one of our teammates for a truly remarkable race weekend. (Rest assured, Phil will find a way to paste your mug into the team photo :-) )

To those who were unable to make this final tournament of '08, you should also be proud of preparing your team for a gutsy weekend of paddling.

Many of you who stayed through 'til yesterday are probably just settling into the new week, and if you're like me, poppin' some Vitamin I(buprofen) every now and then. But I sense a bit of disappointment, too, because our final races didn't end--at least on paper--the way we we felt was indicative of both our crews' final performances on Sunday.

From what I could see of Red's races throughout the weekend though, and how I felt as Black charged to the finish--separating from our competition in lanes 4 and 6 around us--I am very proud of what we accomplished in those finals.

All of you paddled with poise, power, and determination--everything the coaches have asked for--and I'm certain not a single one of you had anything left to give after crossing the finish line on your last races, whether it was on a mixed or gender boat.

As we've addressed in preparation for each race, placing has always been secondary to how we feel about our own performance on the water; given our lane assignments, we did what we could control and laid down a couple fantastic pieces. It was particularly heartening to see us congratulating the other teams afterwards on the dock as we switched up crews for the ensuing volunteers' race.

Reflecting not only on this past weekend, but our entire 11th race season, one that effectively started back in January as Scott had pointed out (!), I can hardly believe what we've been able to accomplish, and how much this team and its members have transformed within just one season.

HPC. Arizona. H. Alcan. P. Long Beach. C. tons of new paddlers. HPC. San Francisco. I'll save that speech and e-mail for later, but you get the idea.

It has been an amazing record-filled ride for this team, folks, and as others have mentioned, I'm also grateful to know such an amazing group of friends who I coincidentally paddle with. A huge thanks, too, to Diane, our every-race manager, and Betty and Steph, fellow LARD transplants to the Bay Area who were called into duty on short notice but eagerly sat in to paddle their hearts out with us.

Have a great week all, keep your heads up, and I look forward to seeing you guys again soon at Mother's Beach!!

Best,
Jason

Award	Winner	Runner-up
Jack Ko Award		Karen C
Most Improved (veteran)		James B
Most Improved (novice)		Crystal C
Most Spirited		Lori S
Most Inspirational		Leon C
MVP		Will L
Best Hair		Nate C
Biggest Eater		Mike L
Mr. Congeniality		Bill T
Ms. Congeniality		Karen C
Latest		Hugh N
Biggest Facebook		Mike L
Biggest Splasher		Todd Z
Best Sportsmanship		Leon C

Banquet: The Grand, Long Beach

At the end of every season, we close it with a bang! Party time! Everyone on the team got dressed up "in style" to celebrate another successful year, which is very evident from the happy faces, memorable and funny stories shared and of course, the hardware we bring home after every race! LARD’s banquet this year was bigger than ever! A great, big crowd, fantastic food and of course, the open bar!!! What made our 2008 season very memorable, too, was the yearbook headed by our very own, Megan Yeh. It captured every LARD moment that shows what our team is all about, what we were and what we have become, a better and stronger team. The highlight of the night of course is to recognize some of our team members and commend their hardwork! See list of our awardees (lard yearbook on the website) Great job LARDies!!! And to end the night, the much awaited, year-end slideshow/video that was put together by our very own LARD paparazzi, Phil! Thanks Phil, for once again, showcasing LARD’s talent!

-Kat Q

I felt the banquet last year was enjoyable with the new venue. We were all in one area instead of being split across the room from each other and seated more people at the tables. I liked the idea of having a picture taking area outside where everyone can have some memory of the banquet as well as take some group picture or couple pictures. The banquet was well organized thanks to the board and other banquet committee who were able to volunteer their time in helping. What made the night fun was the awards since everyone was left anonymous on who won what award and the fun awards too. However, what made the night end with a good bang was Phil's slide show. He always knows how to surprise us with his creative mind.

-Cathleen K