A series of updates from Jim Hinsvark

Digging through my email spam box today, I found a host of email updates from Jim Hinsvark sent from Prague. I'm posting them in chronological order from the earliest to the latest.

Update #1
Today we race the 2000m. Woke up early with thoughts of racing running through my head. It seemed as though the entire team woke up early and was down eating breakfast in anticipation of the days events. Today we find out where we sit in regards to the other teams that have come to race. Hopefully the race goes well and we place in good stead.

Yesterday Janet and I walked the old town area and up to Prague Castle. This city is amazing in so many ways, the culture, the archetecture and the people that live and visit here. We walked for hours and were constantly amazed at tne varying types of stuctures in the city. When we alked throught the old town square the local vendors were out in force. The smells of the smoked ham, sausage sweets and potato dishes was WOW. We ate ham, potato pancakes and corn for dinner as we watched the sun light fade over the city.

The hike across Chalres Bridge and up the streets to the castle was very cool. I had to explain to Janet the almost overpowering erge for men to spit off bridges. I told her that I had surpressed the erge so she waited a moment and dared me to spit. A dare! I readied myself and as I leaned over the rrail I saw, just in time, the paddle boat below. What a stinker!

We ran into some teammates and so I walked up behind Skinner and gently grabbed her behind. The look o her face as she realized everone in her group was ahead of her was great! She spun around, red faced ( after enjoying the moment of course) and saw me. Gret fun!

Gotta go and get ready fo the races.

Update #2
Hi there, trying to catch up and fill you all in to what is happening here. Wed. we raced the 2000m. Thought we had a pretty good starting postion ,3rd, and took off ready for the race. First turn we caught the wake of the lead boats and took on water. Came out of the curve into hugh waves and took on more water. The waves were enough to our callers ass wet! By the time we came into the second turn we were half full and then the turn began. Sloshing water is not a good thing to have in a curve! Side to side we rocked and filled, sinking as we finished the turn. We drug the boat to shore and called it a day!

Next was the 1000m Thurs, and we did fairly well, but had to come up through the loser bracket, we were .013 out of the final. We placed third in the next theat and were off to the minor final, again by hundreths of a second. 6th overall was where we finished. The day ended with an amazing lightneing storm alll around. We sat in the bus instead of watching the final races.

Today, more of the same. Finishing out of moving into the finals by hundreths of a second in the 200m

Day off tomorrow, so Janet and I will spend the day checking ou t the city. It will be a nice break as we can get some good sight seeing in and the paddlers can get ours minds around how to pick up those hundreths!!

Update #3
Hi there, It has been a few days so here goes.

We had Sat off from racing so Janet and I took off on foot to explore the city a bit more. We planned a route that looked like it would take all day and headed out to see the city. Meghan would be proud of my figuring out the transit system as that was always her task in Thailand. We jumped on the subway and took off walking. The route led us through some less touristy areas and into the large park area on the west side of the river. There was an orchard in one area that had pears (ripe) and what we think were almonds and apples and it was like anyone could pick what they wanted as there were no signs to hint otherwise. The walk was much shorter thatn we thought and we were back at the castle in a couple of hours.

There was an orchestra of some sort playing that we could hear from quite a distance. I think it was some sat. concert in the castle. Hungry we headed to the Old Town Square and to the vendors that were roasting and smoking various meats and treats. Enjoying the huge kelbassa we had beer and margaritas (Janet is not to fond of beer).

Sun races

It was great. My birthday and I was racing for Gold! We worked our way through the heats and into the medal round. Sadly, I set my goals to low and we only raced for the gold. We finished .06 seconds out of 3rd. I have never been in so many races that were determined by so close a time. Our heatsfor advancement or medals were missed by no more than .13 secs . Crazy, fun racing.

We are coming home early and will see you soon.

Final results from Prague

From Michelle Rudd:

Senior Women and GM Women took bronze in the 500m. Hard to believe Worlds are over. US did great but just wait till next time!

Day off for the women in Prague

Report from Kathy Skinner:

Ahh.... we have today off and will be back on the water tomorrow for the 500 meter races. Our team has been getting stronger with each race we have had. Canada has won all the gold in our division but we close the gap in the 200 yesterday losing by less than a second. After all was done we went back to the hotel for a meeting. One of our teamates made a comment of how sore she was and it was decided it was due to all our stretching. We won our first race yesterday putting us directly into the finals, which was much later in the day. This allowed Lisa time to take some pictures of some rather hot men. The Slovakian men and the Austrialian men so far have the hottest bodies. Lisa jumped on a pole, holding her body out to look like a flag. It really impressed the Slovakian men who were late getting to marshalling because of her. On to the 500 tomorrow and hopes of knocking off Canada. Its time they heard our national anthem.

Short update

From Michelle Rudd:

Short update: Great day for Wasabi Women in Prague today. GM Women took Bronze in 200m. Senior Women took Silver in the 200m. The teams are really clicking. Tomorrow all mixed racing for the 200m distance. Then Sunday we do the 500m races. I'm sure more colorful commentary will follow from others...

Cloudy Sky and Positive Thoughts in Prague

Update from Michelle Rudd:

Up early today for a 7 am bus departure. For Senior Women A the hour ride to the site provided some time to both rest a bit more and visualize our race as a group. The weather is quite different from yesterday with a thick fog present. Our first race has us bracketed such that we are hopeful we’ll be able to proceed straight to the grand final. It’s a 1000 meter race straight shot. People are hungry after the disappointment of coming so close to a medal with a fourth place in the 2000. I can already see us peeling out the fog, ahead of the pack…
First race we REALLY wanted to win because it meant we bypassed the semi and could save up our strength. Alas it was not meant to be with Germany nudging us out at the end in a photo finish. Turns out that wasn’t so bad because the semi gave us another practice as a team. This time we found the glide and cruised to first. Off to the grand final….
Word is that even though we didn’t keep them, we had Canada at the start. Germany edged us again but we pulled it out for the bronze. Liking the weight around the neck. Looking to continue to improve tomorrow in the 200. Hopefully the shorter distance will be an advantage for us over Germany since they will have less room to make up distance on us and we can put some serious pressure on Canada. Make ‘em fight for it. Positive thoughts….

Update from Prague with 2000m Race results

Michelle Rudd had this update today:

Hey Wasabi. It's late in Prague and we have an early day tomorrow but we wanted to check in.
2000 meters today. I think the following is correct:

Premier Open Gold
Premier Women Silver
Grandmaster Women Silver
Juniors Gold
Grandmaster Men, swamped, did not finish
Senior Open Silver
Senior Women Fourth

Strategy decision was made from above not to run any of our mixed teams today.

Coach Carol and the GM women did us in Power Surge particularly proud with their silver and I think Annie and Carolyn were interviewed by roving correspondent aka Coach Jeff.

Crazy wake on the water. Multiple boats got swamped. Unfortunately first was Grandmaster Men in the second turn, caught at least in part in Ukraine wake. Everyone's ok. They were close to the grandstand when it happened so it wasn't far to shore. When the Open men went later in the day, about half the boats ran with an empty seat to lighten the boat and that strategy certainly seemed to work for our men. Felt bad for the Iranian men who lost it in the last stretch, continuing (as our men had) to paddle in an attempt to get it done.


Kathy Skinner loves her racing tank top and next time will probably order the skort.

Prague update from Vassar Byrd & Kathy Skinner!

OK -SOOOOOO we can't seem to get the wasabi blog page up in english and our Czech is rusty. This means we are currently blog challenged so we're sending this to YOU. Those of us who arrived late did our first practice with the Senior Women's team - the boat felt great and very strong. The race site is WAY out of town - beautiful countryside, bucolic farms, very lush. After many hours of flying and almost none sleeping, it felt GREAT to get in a boat and MOVE. The most difficult part of this trip so far for Skinner and me is that we underestimated the vicious and tenacious nature of true jet lag...went to bed last night so tired we could hardly move, only to find our brains pinging awake, and completely unable to get back to sleep. Listening to the sound of the HVAC...listening to the sound of Michelle SLEEPING.... listening to the sound of each other NOT sleeping....
After our practice, we wandered around town without a map, hungry, and very sleep deprived but we fixed most of those issues. Except the sleep deprived part. -Vassar

So now the rest of the story. Practice seemed to go fine, of course there was video taping that occured which we have yet to see. However, fear struck poor Vassar when Jeannette called her and asked her to hang around so she could talk to her. Of course Vassar was convinced that she was the only one who looked bad on the yet to be viewed video. I of course, took no mercy on her and insisted that if anything could go wrong I was sure it was her fault. Alas all was well, jeannette only wanted to see her to say thanks for all her help with the Portland paddler's financial stuff. Than off we went to find some garden that Michelle insisted was somewhere in Prague. We proceeded into town with no map. After each picture Lisa, Holly, Vassar or myself took, someone would ask what is that building? Of course we had no idea but figure we will try to match up the photos later. Thank God we have races tomorrow. I need a break from all this tourist stuff. Skinner

We Made It.

Update from IDBF world championships in Prague from Jim Hinsvark:

We are settled in Prague after a good trip over the ocean. It was a very good (short feeling) trip intp Amsterdam where we had time to play.

We figured out hoe to get tickets for the metro and were off to the city for an exploration. We had 8 hours to sightsee and wanted to make the best of it.The first problem was that it was 8AM and there was hardly a soul in sight. After a walk around we found a small cafe and had a buffet breakfast. We drank coffee and juice as the city began to awake and start the work week. When there was a fair amount of folks out there we ventured out to see what we could see. Canals and flower shops and sex shops it ran the gamut.

Then we found a bike shop and rented 2 bikes, grabbed a map and were off to see the city. Amsterdam is laid out for walkers and bikers. The cars know that there is always another biker coming so they keep an eyeout. The only unsafe part was the bikes are old style and you need to back break. After a few bumps Janet finally stopped bumping me. Bike are a great way to see the city. So many sights and so little time :-). We returned the bikes and headed back to the airport to rest up and then off to Prague.

Arriving a bout 10PM we were ready for the hotel. Problem.... the other plane was late so we had to wait for them. The driver let us in the car and turned on some music. Techno and rap for 45 mins. Not my favorite music, but I was better off than Janet, she picked up a stomach bug along the way and was in no mood or condition to sit around anywhere to long. When we finnally left the airport the driver , who felt bad drove fast to make up lost time. Not good when one has to hold onto not only thier seat, but "other "things as well. We arrrived at the other hotel first so Janet ran in and the driver, who had been informed that Janet needed a toilet, and I chatted for a bit. We arrived at the hotel late and I , shall I say, slept better than Janet.

Breakfast was buffet and large. Off to the metro and down to old town for a walk. It is easy to see why people were telling us to just walk. The stuctures here are old, ornate, amazingly well crafted and great fun to look at and try to pick up all the detailing the old craftspeople did. Lunch in a park by the river, across form the Nat. Theatre, was quite pleasant. Back to the hotel and I was off to practice. Janet slept most of the afternoon to try to recouperate. She did that that well and was ready for dinner when we got back.

The venue was built for an Olympics a while ago, no one could remember which one, so it is very nice. Good practice. The last member of the team joins us tomorrow and we go do it again.

Love you all.

Jim

Angelica goes to Prague to paddle for Team USA

From Kraken coach Randy Stokes:

As we all prepare for the PDBA Club Crew regional championships this weekend, I wanted to send a quick note to everyone reminding them that we have a Kraken team member, Angelica Liharik, that is traveling to Prague to compete as part of Team USA in the IDBF World Championships that will be held next week.

Angelica was part of the incredible national team that swept all three (mixed, open, & women) Junior A berths last year in Long Beach.

I am very excited to see one of our own team members participating in the event and hope others can experience this level of competetion in the near future.

I know Angelica will represent Kraken and Wasabi very well as she travels abroad. Please join me in whishing Angelica and Team USA all the best as they go up against the top junior teams in the world.

Go USA and Go Angelica!!!

Finally done with work and can focus on the task at hand. First off, Seattle.

Announcing the Premier womens crew for PDBA qualifier‏

Wasabi premier women's coach Carol Hoekstra announced the Premier women's crew for the PDBA qualifier today. Below is a re-post of Carol's message to the club.

Club, please join me in welcoming the following women who are being offered a seat on Wasabi's open/premier womens crew. These women represent members of 4 standing Wasabi crews and trialed amidst nearly 80 women for a seat on one of the women's crews for this event! (Announcements for the masters and grandmasters crews should be following soon from Connie).

Members of the crew, please watch for practice plans to be announced soon.

PDBA

Alyda Rodriguez

Amy Reese

Becky Hall

Christine Pezzulo

Franchesca Harper

Holly Ansari

Janet DeAustria

Jen PeArt

Jesse Draskovich

Jessica Lowman

Jodi Burroughs

Julie Borsetti

Karen Mayhew

Kat Gilbert

Kellen Todd-Quinn

Kristen Peterson

Lexi Olson

Lisa Hillhouse

Lisa Lum

Lisa Stewart

Nancy Butler

Piper Gallucci

Stephanie Sherwood

Tracey Miller Steering: Joyce Chua Calling: Suzi Cloutier/Carol Hoekstra

Nice work, ladies!

A Month in Taiwan, Last Week ...

Kim Ketcham, our team manager, sent out her notes from the trip and I just had to share them. I think it was Jim Hinsvark who had one of the best quotes at the end of the first week ... he said, "It's been a long month this week." It really did feel like a month. We packed so much in during the 7-10 days that we were there and so many things happened so us -- natural (earthquake, typhoon, solar eclipse) and unnatural (well, we won't go into those).





Here's Kim's notes...

Every one of the team added to the fabric of this trip. What crazy memories!! What an unforgettable time in Taiwan!! Never to be duplicated. Every time I do a trip like this, I feel as if my horizons have been broadened – that I understand the world better. There are so many common bonds with people from other countries; it’s great to see everyone laugh at the same things & cheer together. Dragon boat and other sports are good for the world!

I hope you are proud of your accomplishments on the water. Most of the team is either of Senior or Grand Master age (how many need reading glasses???). I believe the reason we did as well as we did is because you are in great shape and you are experienced dragon boat racers. Mike did a great job of coaching you into one team, and you gave it 110%. We had very little time to put this team together and together we were amazing. We had the heart and desire to do our very best. Your best is all you can ever give. Congrats on representing the US honorably. Hope your jet lag isn’t as bad as mine. Cheers,Kim

A Month in Taiwan Last Week (Kim’s view)

Friday, July 10

• Evening departure from PDX to SFO (Rachel & Kim on a laugher)
• Picked up a Thai lady along the way (she loved us)
• Met Jim Hinsvark’s friend and his son at SFO
• Jim’s friend bought sushi and beer, our Thai lady friend shared awesome homemade food
• Late night flight to TPE

Saturday, July 11

• Saturday didn’t happen, flying over the Pacific
• Laurie, who left earlier, arrives in Taipei

Sunday, July 12

• VIP arrival in Taipei at 5:30am, met at the airport and escorted to the City Hotel
• Woke up Laurie; went shopping at the street market (wonderful fresh fruit and baked goods)
• Laurie, Holly, Kat, Rhonda, and Kim had a crazy (hard, couldn’t breathe through it) massage
• Jim and Rachel went to the jade and flower markets
• Excellent beef noodle soup
• Simon arrived and looked after us
• Dr. Chen calls and tells Simon to not let us eat street food ... TOO LATE!
• Taipei Night Market
• Late night arrivals of California and Philly contingency
• Beers and laughter in the lobby
• Midnight-- celebrate Mike Jr's 19th birthday!!!
  

Monday, July 13

• Dr Chen arrived
• Tailor in the lobby, Opening Ceremony outfits
• Practice on the Chinese Taipei team’s boat
• Trip to the bank with Dr Chen
• Video review in the computer lab at the school
• Bus compliments of Dr Chen
• Lunch & refreshments compliments of the Chinese Taipei team
• Visited Taipei 101 building
• Mongolian BBQ compliments of Dr Chen
• Nighttime EARTHQUAKE!!!

Tuesday, July 14

• Practice on the Chinese Taipei team’s boat
• Drinks compliments of the Chinese Taipei team
• Lunch at Taipei 101
• Bus trip the length of Taiwan, club humor in the back of the bus, conversation & sleep at the front, fun and Starbucks at the rest stops
• Bus compliments of Dr Chen
• Accreditation at Kaohsiung City Hall
• Check into the Garden Plaza Hotel in Kaohsiung
• Night Market

Wednesday, July 15

• Met Jeff, our attaché
• Tour Lotus Pond race venue (beautiful!!)
• Karaoke on the bus (Sweet Caroline, da-da-da)
• Unbelievable tour of the Buddhist Temple:

o Audience with the Venerable Master Monk
o Calligraphy, the whole team silent, wind chimes
o Largest free-standing Buddha in Asia
o Omi-toe-fo

• Dinner at TGIFs in the Dream Mall, compliments of Simon's brother:
  o Crazy waitress named "Cat" silenced "Fish-head" bill
  o ICF officials joined our party
• Bus compliments of Simon

Thursday, July 16

• "85 Degrees" coffee and baked goods
• Skirmish with the Canadians over the practice bus (Marc & Jimmy, wall of men)
• Met our security detail
• Practice at Lotus Pond on the race course
• BBC Charley on the boat
• Team leader meeting
• Typhoon rain, running with Dr Chen and Arny
• Opening Ceremonies (meeting other athletes in the field, waiting under the stadium, entering the stadium, singing Volare and We Are The Champions, laying on the ground watching fireworks)
• Way, way too hot and humid for Kim in wool!!!

Friday, July 17

• "85 degrees" coffee and baked goods
• Race day number one – 200’s and the 2000
• On-the-water battle with Germany
• Team leader meeting after the 2000m
• Team quarantined (Go to your room with no supper and think about what you’ve done!):
  - Wall punch, team unrest
  - Beer and pizza in rooms

Saturday, July 18

• Race day number two – 500’s and the 1000
• CNBC correspondent (The Business of Sport)
• Ambulance and hospital visit (excellent care)
• “Rocco’s going to kill me!!” – Jimmy Small
• “Nee-How homie” – Mike Jr.
• Fancy thank you dinner for Jeffrey (attaché), Richard, Yvonne, and Roger (security detail)

Sunday, July 19

• Early morning lobby action:
  o Team members up all night with the Russians
  o “Enjoy your supper” - Jeff
  o Farewell to the Philly group
• Move to the Hotel New Image
• Flying Disc competition in the main stadium (Heinekens and Starbucks); invented the US cheer
• Chiropractors under the stadium or bus & lunch with the US Flying Disc team
• Team USA Evening:
  o Press Conference (yikes!), TV interviews
  o Dancing, gifting mock tees to officials/dignitaries
  o Meeting other US athletes (Rocky – racquetball, Chris – bowling, Kenna – sumo, etc)
• TGIFs with Simon, security detail, and American Sumo team
  o Rock/Paper/Scissors drink game at Simon’s insistence and hosting
• Racing taxi cabs!!!!!! (really racing)
• Night Market – really, really hard foot massages

Monday, July 20

• Some West Coast departures
• Running around in cabs with American Sumo guys, Jeff, and security detail
• Flying Disc in main stadium, refined our cheers (Ike!!)
• US Aerial Team (ecstatic to see our flag when they landed)
• Bowling (didn’t get to see Chris but the Koreans were good)
• World’s hottest soup on the hottest day (first non-Asian to eat at the stand)
• Visit 11th Floor Temple, lighting incense, dripping sweat
• More West Coast departures
• Korfball (Chinese Taipei vs. Netherlands)
• Hong Kong dinner (thanks, Tommy!) or German House with sumo guys

Tuesday, July 21

• Jeff, Richard, Yvonne, and Roger still with us
• Racquetball (Canadian thanked us for our support)
• Chiropractor (cute Irish guy)
• NRT train to "85 degrees" (chicken blood & rice popsicle) then on to Ju Jitsu
• Walk through tunnel to Ju Jitsu
• Dim Sum (best ever!)
• Flying Disc Gold Medal match:
  o Led the stadium in the US cheer and Jiao, Jiao, Jiao, USA!!! ("Go, go, go USA")
  o GOLD!!! Photos with the team, captain wore my flag
  o Medal ceremony, parents so thankful to us, flag very sweaty
• Mid-Games Athletes party
  o Cold Heineken six packs - music, dancing, singing
  o Lighthouse bar (owned by an American), tequila shots – Richard’s first ever
  o Jeff, Richard, Yvonne, and Roger still with us (we’ve completely corrupted them)
  o Laurie and the poker-playing table of old men
  o Crazy cab ride (Tom exuberant in Chinese)
  o Night market (dumplings)

Wednesday, July 22

• Laurie & Tom early morning departure
• Total solar eclipse
• Free Rx from pharmacist to Rachel
• Cab to high speed train station
• Farewell to Jeff, Richard, Yvonne, and Roger – I bet they miss us!!
• High speed train to Taipei
• Farewell on train to Ike and Cat
• Very cramped and uncomfortable flight to LAX then on to PDX
• A cool 90 degrees in Portland

Thursday, July 23

• All day nap

Friday, July 24

• Back to work and reality (missing the rock-star status of an athlete’s ID badge)
  

Observances:

• The people in Taiwan are very FRIENDLY, all of them!
• “City dogs” know how to cross the street with traffic lights
• ICF dragon boat race officials are excellent (calm and calming)
• Taiwan is clean and eco-friendly
• World Games was bigger than imagined
• I don’t do well in heat and humidity
• Dr. Chen and Simon are amazing (and as always, lots of fun!)
• Buddhist monks shine
• Big dogs and families ride on scooters
• We should have more street markets and night markets
• Sometimes you don’t win but you always do your best
• Public transportation is excellent in Taiwan
• We can out-party sumo wrestlers
• Dragon boaters and Ultimate Frisbee players get along well
• 1-2-3, 4-5-6, U-S-A (4 times!!)

Pictures by Tommy Leonardi

Back from the Abyss

WORLD GAMES

Ok, so I did fall off the face of the earth ... I blame the Russians and Roommates! I've gotten a lot of slack for keeping everyone hanging so ... "what happened"!

So, Saturday 18-July 2009 .... tempers cooled down and we all kissed, made up and finished racing. In fact, after the races, several of us were out drinking with members of the German and Russian teams, including the German coach. It's all just the "heat of the battle" tempers that flaired and both steerspeople (US and German) made some questionable choices. In the end, the US, Hungarian and one other team were DQ'd from the race ... seems like there was other stuff going on besides what we were doing in that 2000 meter race. Anyway, it was a 2000 that will be marked in our minds and my blade forever (yes, it has battle scars)!

Saturday's 500 meter races and 1000 meter races went pretty much like the rest with the US usually finishing about 5th. Russia took all the gold medals. They were a rock-solid group of 20-25 year olds that are a true National team. While drinking with them and members of the German team all through the night, we had an opportunity to get to know them better. And, no we weren't drinking Vodka ... seems like tequila is a true international border breaker!

Then it was time to shower and move hotels. With our competitions finished, it was time to move out of the official athlete's hotel and into a new hotel. With the new hotel came a new roommate and so the computer went with the old roommate making it less accessible to blog. Sorry ... didn't know we had such a following.

For the next couple of days, we tried to attend as many of the other sporting events as possible, support the other USA teams, especially the Ultimate Flying Disk team who we befriended early on, and experience Kaohsiung as best we could. We saw a bit of aerial (formation skydiving), racquetball, korfball (yeah, we didn't know what it was either but the Dutch are exceptionally good at it!), jujitsu, bowling, and Wushu karate (I probably spelled that wrong).

We used our athelete credentials to get on the field for the medal ceremony when the Ultimate Flying Disk team collected their GOLD! It was awesome although it really unnerved our security detail that we were all out there. :) (The US, Israel and one other country all had security assigned to us due to some threats made.)

Overall the World Games were the ultimate experience of a lifetime!!! The Taiwanese people were so friendly and welcoming, I can't even begin to explain it. I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity and great people to share it with.

Pictures (from the top):

• Opening ceremonies - Olympic flag leading in


• Germany paddler and Laurie hamming it up on Saturday (see we really did make up)


• USA's Jeannette and Tom taking in a little Russian Gold!


• On the stadium field to photograph USA's Ultimate Flying Disk Gold (Laurie, Cat, Rob & Rachel)


• Letting loose with Security on the last evening (Yes, they were off duty!)

Sorry so late on this posting but I'm now...

Back in the US, back in the US,

back in the US of A!!!!

Laurie

Today's report

Friday, 17-July 2009:   OK, yesterday was too packed with events to get a blog in but the Opening Ceremonies were Olympic-style grandeur which, as athlete's, we got to watch the end of it from the infield of the stadium, while sweating in the tunnels below for the really cool show part.  But it was truly amazing to be there.

Today was the first day of racing.   The 200 meter races were the morning event.   We took 3rd in our first heat, 3rd in second heat which was the fastest 3rd which put us in the A final.   We ended up in 5th but ironed out a lot of things that you would normally do if you practiced together more often.   

Then there was the 2000 ... we were DQ'd!  We battled the German boat 3 times and hit the Japanese boat ... pinning the steers-person to the tail of the boat and spinning it across the race course which disabled all teams behind us from passing.  This enabled the slower teams in front of the pack to enjoy their clear water and eventually medal.  We were wondering why the Canadian teams congratulated us coming off the water. 

Afterwards security whisked us away to a nearby hotel and the German team to a separate hotel.  It was suggested that we not attend the all-teams buffet dinner tonight to let things blow over.   Nothing like a little drama!

Racing Begins

Following Gang Green's exceedingly successful excursion to Ulsan South Korea. We are sitting on pins and needles back here at home, waiting to hear the outcome of the Team USA race events at The World Games.
Thanks, Laurie, for the very detailed account of the honors and activities so far. Please let everyone know on Team USA, that all of Wasabi Paddling Club is pulling for them back here at home.

Larry
President
Wasabi Paddling Club

Honors

, 15-Wednesday 15 July-2009:  Today was a day off the water.   The morning was ours and we had a chance to just relax.   Felt good.    By noon, it was time to "hit the road".   

We piled in the bus with our officials, Dr. Chen & Simon, along with our attache', Jeff.  First stop of the day was to see the race course and check out the boats.  The pulse of the city is definitely getting excited about the games.   As our bus drove along and other busses pulled alongside, people saw our USA baseball hats and frantically pulled out their cameras and were taking pictures and waving.  Everywhere we go, people waive and say hi.  It's really incredible to be a part of this.

Lotus Pond is the race site and it is beautiful (see picture...that's the finish line).  The boats are great but can't say what they are ... I understand that they are Vietnamese.   Anyway, I like 'em!!!  After walking the race course we piled back into the bus and were on our way to Fo Guang Shan monastery.  It is a huge complex and Dr. Chen arranged for us to meet and be blessed by the Venerable Master of the monastery.  He was incredible and we heard that he actually delayed a trip to Australia by a day in order to meet us.  I understand that Dr. Chen and he have known each other for quite some time and was especially thrilled to see such a mix of races on our team for he spoke a lot about blending the 'East' and the 'West'. Here's a picture of him presenting Dr. Chen with a gift of a calligraphy scroll.  

We then toured the monastery, where we all had a chance to practice a little calligraphy ourselves (see picture).   It was the quietest this group has ever been and quite a contrast to the karaoke that was happening on the bus on the way to the monastery.  The golden Kwan Yin statues at the top of the place were breathtaking (picture).

After the monastery, we went to a mall where Simon's brother, Jay, treated everyone to dinner at TGI Fridays.  In the middle of dinner, the president of the ICF (International Canoe Federation) showed up to join Dr. Chen along with several other dignitaries.  They then joined us on the bus for the ride back to the hotel.

What an honor!!!  It's an honor to be here, to meet the Venerable Master, and for the heads of the ICF to come to meet us.  WOW!    

Tomorrow we practice on the race course.

Quick answers to questions

Hi gang,  Thanks for the blog comments.   Answers to some questions that have come in.

The Earthquake actually turned out to be a magnitude 6.3 and lasted a long 31.96 seconds.  No major injuries or damage reported.

The typhoon missed us but we could see it off to the east as we travelled south to Kaohsiung.

Opening ceremonies are the evening of the 16th ... and apparently Kaohsiung built a new stadium for all this.   The picture at City Hall looked impressive.

Races are the 17th & 18th.  

Cheers, Laurie

The Magical Mystery Tour

Taipei to Kaohsiung -- Tuesday, 14-July-2009 ... Moving day!!!  But not until after practice.   It was back to the beautiful BiTan Scenic Area for another practice session after an intense video review.  Imagine 25 people in a very small hotel bedroom.   You might say it was a bonding session ... definitely a time to get over that American 'personal space' issue.   Practice was short and intense, ending with a fierce 200 meter race piece.  WHEW!  We'll see what the video looks like tomorrow.   

After showers it was time to move the type-A's out of Taipei (I know we crack ourselves up!) We packed up our luxury coach (aka 'Bus') and were off to Kaohsiung.   Imagine - enclose over 25 aggressive, high-strung, particular personalities into a small confined area, add music (yeah, Laurie brought the iPod Speakers - heh, heh) and what do you get ... boisterous, loud, rowdy raucous fun on wheels.  We were amused at the sign at one rest area [see the picture with teammates Gerry (Philadelphia) and Rocco (Florida].   We were questioning just where they were taking us?

Upon arrival in Kaohsiung, we went to City Hall for our accreditations (ID Badges, etc.).  The countdown to the games sign (see picture) was in the middle of the city hall building.  Then it was off to the hotel where we immediately ran into members of the German Dragon boat team. One man was particularly anxious to speak English with us and he has been extremely helpful in telling us where to find the 7-11 for water, restaurants, etc.   We've nicknamed him Team USA Attache' as he's our new best tour guide.   Oh, by the way, Kaohsiung has assigned an attache' to the team who escorted some of our group to the local night market in the evening ... his name is Jeff.

Kibitzing from Kaohsiung... Laurie

Shake, Paddle & Roll

Taipei, TW -- Monday, 13-July-2009

SHAKE - Most of the team arrived Sunday evening with the rest including Dr. Chen arriving Monday morning.  We're all here!!!    Time to SHAKE off the jet lag, after all today is a work day for both the Taiwanese and Team USA.  Breakfast buffet was served, the tailors arrived and every one stood for their fittings of their opening ceremony slacks and jackets.   The hotel lobby was abuzz, with passer-bys looking in the lobby windows. and hotel staff and guests watching.  Then it was time to head to our first practice together as a complete team.

PADDLE - We piled in our bus and were off to the Hsintien River in the BiTan Scenic Area.  Beautiful location!  There were was a cliffside dwelling and even an area where a diving board attached to the top of some rocks.  We were told that Dr. Chen used to swim here when he was a kid.  Along the side of the river opposite the cliffs, was a park with docks, swan boats, 'Hello Kitty' boats, and a lone dragon boat waiting for us along with a Chase boat and driver.   There is stirrings amongst the team for a head-to-head 'Hello Kitty' versus Swan boat race.  Hmmm ... who will be the victor?!?  

We practiced well considering the jet lag, heat and humidity.  The Oregonians did it again and brought the rain with us so it kept us cooler than we normally would have been.   When the first practice was complete, we piled back in the bus and went to a nearby Elementary school where Simon and Dr. Chen and arranged for us to commandeer their computer lab.  Yes, we caused quite a stir amongst the school children and with many stops for pictures we made it to the lab and watched the video from the morning session.  It was absolutely brilliant having the lab ... of course, a bunch of techie-savvy people led to everyone logging on, checking email, getting on the internet, etc.  Brought the network to a crawl until the teacher assisting us, politely kicked us all off.  After video it was back to the water to work on starts.

Evening in Taipei - Team Dinner.   Back on the bus and off to dinner with Dr. Chen.  But first a little stop to see some of Taipei.   The bus stopped in front of Taipei 101 which is currently the second tallest building in the world.  We excitedly poured off the bus and went to the top to see, literally, ALL of Taipei.   Awesome!!!  Here's a picture of me and my teammates from San Diego, Rob (aka Ike) & Cat.   It was a bit windy at the top.  Rumor is a typhoon is blowing in.  Then it was off to dinner for Mongolian BBQ  ... delicious and then some walking around to keep everyone awake past 9pm.  :)

ROLL -- 2:06 am ... EARTHQUAKE!!!  We were startled awake by a firmly rolling-style earthquake.  Rachel and I jumped to the doorway and rode out the free 30-second or more ride.  It was one of the longer-lasting ones I've experienced.   All is well here and so far no reports yet of casualties.  It turned out it was a 6.7 on the richter scale ... a valiant and successful effort in rolling us out of bed. 

Safe and sound in Taipei!!

Laurie - Team USA reporter at large

Congrats to Gang Green!

Reading through all of Eileen's emails from yesterday - Wasabi Gang Green will be coming home with two Bronze medals (500m & 200m) and one Silver for the 2,000m race. Well done, ladies - well all know how hard you worked to get there!

Adrift amongst the Taiwanese

Taipei - Capital city of Taiwan on the northern end of the island.   Input 6 Portlanders in the eastern part of the city and look out!   It's Sunday which means the local market in back of the hotel has special things that aren't there the rest of the week, like the bread with a vegetable much like onion diced up on it ... made by the same woman who makes the "to die for" rice flour angel food cake.  YUM.   The fruit and vegetables are fabulous. We sampled various things, some known, some not!  Highlight of the market was a drink made of ground up mild chili's and ice ... who knew?   It wasn't spicy but all concurred that it would be great with vodka! :)  Nice people, eager to share and have you taste their goods.  (Picture - vegetable vendor at the market.)  

As we return from the market, we see that Simon Chen has arrived.   Simon and Dr. Chen are our US officials and they have made numerous arrangements for us from airport transportation, our comfortable hotels, etc.  We are truly thankful.   About the time we're talking to Simon, Dr. Chen calls and tells Simon to tell us not to eat the market food ... too late ... we've been there, done that.  :)

Next stop -- massages.   Oh why not?   Rachel and Jim go off for a walkabout and the other 5 us go for an hour and a half excruciating pain and pleasure.  To Kurt and David at Therapeutic Associates ... they found all kinds of new places to inflict pain ... never had eyeballs and cheeks massaged (facial cheeks that is)!  And that smiling thing is that you guys all do is global!  When they'd see us wince ... they'd get that same smile that the Portland physical/massage therapists get.  (Go figure!)

Well, let's see ... it's 2pm, what next?   Must be time to eat again.  Off to a local noodle restaurant for some noodle soup.  Very tasty!   Alas, it's in the heat of day, time for a little downtime in the air conditioned rooms.   Gives me a chance to do this blogging thing.

From Taipei - Laurie for Team USA

P.S. Congratulations to Wasabi!  We hear there was a great showing at the Kent Races!!!

Part of Team USA Arrives in Taipei.   Hi Wasabians, Friends and Family...

The Portland contingent of Team USA has arrived in Taipei, Taiwan.  Laurie got in last night so I had a nice sleep and now have the rest of the team in our room...they're rooms will be ready at 3pm!  :)   

Kim, Holly, Jim, Kat ventured out in search of water and Coke and found an outdoor market in back of the hotel where ... guess what? ...  it's FRUIT SEASON!!!  YEAH!!!  For those of you who were in Penang last year will remember the fresh lychees, mangosteens, and other tasty treats that I don't even know the name of.    Kim also discover the lightest little Angel Food cake like thing that I've ever had.   We annihilated it and are now off in search of more treats.

From Taipei...Laurie Hansen and the Portland crew

Go Gang Green!

Hi everyone -

Gang Green has quite a few updates on their blog. Be sure to follow them and send them notes of support at:

http://wasabiganggreen.blogspot.com/

Gang Green Korea bound

Hi All, in the interest of keeping the Wasabi Blog less "crowded", Gang Green has set up their own Blog at wasabiganggreen.blogspot.com.

We're in the airport, ready to go...so psyched to represent Wasabi across the sea. See you all soon!

Ulsan South Korea, Seattle and Prague

Very soon Wasabi's Ganag Green will be winging their way to Ulsan South Korea to compete in the ICF World Chmapionships. Good luck to Gang Green - We are very proud of you. Blog often.

Also this month several Wasabians will we headed to the World Games in Taiwan as part of Team USA's entry. This is the first time dragon boating will be an event in the World games and we are thrilled that members of Wasabi are a part of it.

Two weeks ago Waters Edge made the difficult decision to withdraw from organizing and running the Seattle Festival races and the associated PDBA championships. As of last week a consortium of representatives from Team Survivor North West, Sakecino, PDBA and Wasabi have pulled things together and the event will be held as scheduled. The PDBA championships are used to invite teams to go to Club Crew World Championships in Macau, China 2010.

.... and then several Wasabians will depart directly from Seattle for the IDBF World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic as part of Team USA. Way to go everyone.......

All in all the next 8 weeks are going to be very busy and many club members are going to have expereinces that will last a life time. Remember to have fun.


Larry