yearbook

2nd Annual Tempe

Squad Division Place
 
1st Race (02:29.43)
2nd Race (02:30.22)
Avg 1st and 2nd (02:29.83)
3rd Race (02:36.16)
Overall Average 5th (02:31.94)
Out of State Championship 3rd (2:36.12)
250m Sprint Challenge 2nd (1:13.92)

Dear team LARD,

As we approach a new racing season, it is time for me to step down as the co-captain of the team. It was an honor to serve as one of the leaders of the team. I gained invaluable experience and made stronger bonds with all of you.

I am very content with the team's accomplishments this past year. As this transition in leadership occurs, I am excited what the new captain(s) will bring to the team. I am confident the new incumbents will do a fine job in carrying this team to new heights.

Effective Feb 19th, I shall transfer all my duties to the new captain(s). I shall also step down as one of the contact persons for PDBA. I will however, try my best in helping the new leaders with the transition period.

It is a bitter sweet moment for me. I need to focus in other parts of my life. That may mean leaving dragon boat racing, something I held so dearly for the past 4 years. I will hang around as long as I can. Speaking of which, here are some announcements, hehehe:

Feb. 19th - START OF THE RACING SEASON! LARD has always begun (at least the years I've been in it) its season in mid Feb. That means attendance will be recorded and required (not forced, hehe) for members. We will have a team BBQ after practice on this date to paddle-off the season opener. ;) What a better way to start the season by stuffing ourselves with those delicious chicken wings? :P

Membership dues! Please start writing your checks for membership. We decided NOT to raise prices. But want more participation in our fundraising efforts (eg yard sale, sponsorship hunts, etc.) One time: $120, two installments: $65. Checks payable to the Los Angeles Racing Dragons Foundation. Bring them this Saturday, along with $10 for the BBQ. Thank you!

PLEASE respond to Diane's email about Tempe race. This is a last minute addition to our race schedule for this year. This will be a good warm up race and calibration for the coming year. There will be a lot more "better" teams this year, eg San Diego and Bay area teams.

This is all folks. It's been a pleasure.

Love,
Oliver Lee
Co-captain,

Team,

you guys had a great weekend in AZ. i am proud of all of you. we conquered adversity, be it weather, scoring, seeding, or that big beer sitting in front of you. this looks to be a very promising season. let's build on the momentum and do some crazy things in vancouver!

on a somewhat different note, one thing that i have learned in my years competing in various sports and at various levels is the notion of humility. i know, i know, some of you will say - scott? humble? WHATEVER!!!! but bottom line is, you should treat all competitors - those you beat and those that beat you - with the utmost respect. it is the way of the true warrior. your adversaries make you a better person (and us a better team). we should be thankful for each one of our competitors and treat them with respect regardless of the competitive outcome.

so, i propose the following - from now on, let's not disparage our competitors in our public conversations and even in emails amongst ourselves. we should speak about our competitors highly, if we can't find anything positive to say about them, nothing about them should be said. remember, life is a series of cycles - no one is on top forever. so, while we are on top (or near the top), let's dominate the right way - with humility, dignity, class and respect.

hope to see you all out on the water.

your always angry coach, scott wu


To the paddlers that were able to make it out to Tempe – congratulations on a very fine performance. It was mentioned before about the adversity we faced, whether it was fatigue from the late night drive, first race jitters, hot/cold flash weather, water conditions, or March Madness...we came together very well and were able to paddle as a single boat/team. This tournament was just a taste of what’s to come. The team management, coaching staff, and captains will work hard to make sure our momentum doesn’t fade. Thanks for committing to the race, and we hope to see you all in the coming months to help our boats(s)/team continue to improve. I have your LARDware – 3rd place “out of town division” and travel mugs (2nd place 250m sprint). Sorry, we donated that box of brownies to the nice front desk staff at the Courtyard Marriott

For everyone else, you’ve heard some of the reports on our Tempe race. I don’t recall all of the numbers, but our finals placed us 4 seconds behind BAD and 8 seconds behind Taipei, I think. Our start sequence has once again proved us to be one of the best 250m teams around, placing us second behind Taipei in the Fairytale Brownie Bowl. The atmosphere was very relaxed, and our paddlers were still able to keep focus.

I want to invite everyone out to practice again. Our team will only get better if each and every one of you get better. To do that, the coaching staff and captains will be working with individual paddlers when they can. Video cameras and feedback will start immediately to give you time to work on it. After that, we all have to be able to paddle as a boat. This means training together, consistently. It’s hard to be a team if your seat partner or the person in front/ behind you keeps changing.

I believe there will be a team meeting next week (April 2 or 3). Stay tuned for details. We have a lot to take care of. Uniforms for this year need to be ordered. You have to come out to practice to size yourself with the samples.

We have also received the first order of Hats/Visors/Tshirts. Those of you who “pre-ordered” with me can pay me and pick up your order. For the rest of you, we now have samples for you to check out. They look great. We have to place a 50 piece order to get the same pricing, so come check it out and get your order in now!

As a team, we have set a very fine bar for the 2005 season at the Tempe Race. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s a great place to start and improve. By the end of the season, each and every one of you should feel proud to have participated in 2005. We are who we are on the boat and off the boat, in private, or out in public. I am proud to be a part of the Los Angeles Racing Dragons Foundation, and hope to make it so every one of you will be too. That is one of my goals as co-captain. (Though...I don’t think I’ll be getting any tattoo’s any time soon...). At this rate, we CAN expect great things by Vancouver, and just steam roll on through July/August’s tournaments. But we can’t do it without YOU!

Most of you are probably saying “damn, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Steve say so many words at one time before!” Oh well. Get used to it! You always gotta watch out for those “quiet” ones....

Steven Chow

Team co-Captain, 2005 Race Season


Men

Anthony Pinga
Chuck Chang
Greg Kromhout
Jason Cheng
Leon Cheng
Nick Chekmizoff
Olaf Jaeckstein
Rich Maher
Scott Wu
Steven Chow
Thanh Do
William Lin

Women

Andrea Wong
Carla Copeland
Courtney White
Evelyn Lim
Karen Cheng
Katrina Rosa
Pamela Nham
Tran Nham
Wileen Wong
Wynne Wong-Cheng
Los Angeles Racing Dragons Foundation

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