*dimsumdolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Proud to be an SPC-er

My weekend was FANTASTIC although now my back and shoulder blades are aching from all that racing! On Saturday it was the 200m races and on Sunday it was the 500m races. On Saturday, us ladies from the Singapore Paddle Club (SPC) did well by qualifying for the Grand Final but unfortunately we weren't good enough to earn a medal. We don't do as well in the 200m as we do in the 500m. The SPC men won the Plate Final (which is like the Second Divison league in football terms 'cos they didn't qualify for the Grand Final). But at least they won the Plate! The Mixed Team B (unfortunately i wasn't in this team) took Silver for the 200m Grand Final! But I was in the 500m Mixed Team B and we also took Silver for that one! We lost to the Filippino team by just a little - but this proves that we are the best Mixed team in Singapore!!!

We ladies did better than the men by qualifying for the Ladies 500m Grand Final. We went into the finals with the worst timing. Three-quarter way into the race, we were last, but at the last 100m, we sped up and caught up a lot but still wasn't good enough to get a 3rd. We were up against very fierce competition, 'cos the team that won was the Singapore National Team, the 2nd was a very good team from the Philippines. We only lost to the 3rd by about a dragon's nose - seriously - it was only by 0.21 seconds!!! And we tied for 4th with the team from the National University of Singapore - girls half the age of many of the women in my team!

But we really paddled our hearts out. I'm SO proud to be paddling with these women. I know everyone gave it their all. The drummer and the steers were our coaches - both guys. And they said we were really good. Even though we didn't win, we beat our own best timing during trainings. And they said we were really moving as one body. And to crawl back from 4th to 6th in the last 100m was fantastic. The guys supporting us from the stands said it was one of the most fantastic races of the weekend. Oh my god, i can't even begin to describe the feeling when we got off that boat and feeling so good about what we did - we had no idea what was going on until we were told. After that we all began hugging each other and some of the girls (I call us "girls" but really, all of us are quite old - in our late 20s and 30s. Haha.) started crying. The guys shared in our joy too and I know they were proud of us too.

Because we did well in the races on both Sat & Sun, the ladies qualified for the Ladies 1000m Super Cup. Only the top 6 teams of the competition get to compete in it - they give you points for qualifying for events and points for the position you get in the race. So anyway, now I can say my team is one of the top 6 teams in Singapore!!! That was was the first time doing a 1000m race for most of us. But we wanted to do it even though we were really tired from all that racing. Before the women's final, 10 of us had actually raced in the Mixed Final where we came in second. So the moment we got off one boat, we got onto another and went to do another race.

That's why I'm so proud of all the girls - we really gave it our all. I know i felt like dying at the end of the race. But knowing that everyone put in that same amount of effort to pull the boat gave me a HUGE amount of satisfaction and joy. That was THE race of the day for me. So now I take back what I said about me beginning to enjoy outrigger canoeing more. I love BOTH just as much! Dragonboat has given me so much and the sport will always be special to me.

Anyhow, the 1000m race was really an experience not to be forgotten. It's neverending!!! Just paddling to the starting point itself was an eternity. But unfortunately, we didn't win this one, coming in last. :( But oh well, that was a bonus. We did what we had set out to do and that was good enough.

The girls and I can be proud of our achievements 'cos really we were up against girls much younger than we were, who were fitter and had more time to commit to training. It's different when you're schooling and the only commitment you have is school and training. For working individuals like the people in my team, work commitments will always have to take priority - after all, it's what we do at work that funds our love for paddling. Work commitments often take us away from trainings, making us unable to turn up for trainings. Family and personal commitments will also take people away from trainings as well. It's all a fine balancing act. So despite training less than many of the other teams, we came back with very good results.

So I got myself a Silver medal! After the race, we went for dinner as a team and drank a lot of beer with people making speeches, lots of toasts and laughter etc. Fantastic atmosphere - our post-race celebrations are really the most fun part. Haha.

It was a good weekend for the club as we bonded again as a team. I'm proud of SPC and it feels great to be a part of this family!

Posted by DSD at September 26, 2006 12:00 AM