Pentictonās 14th annual Dragon Boat Festival brought out the best in its teams.
While windy conditions forced the cancellation of Sunday afternoonās final events, organizer Don Mulhall said there was āpretty goodā racing. With teams being placed into different divisions based on their results,Ā racing improved with dragon boat teams of similar speeds matched against each other.
āIt was as good as it gets,ā said Mulhall, adding that weather conditions were perfect on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Lynn Allin and Bre Symchuck of the Penticton Dragon Bottoms, who had just finished racing Saturday commented on the event.
āIt was amazing,ā said Allin. āThe water was beautiful, the start was great and the wind wasnāt too bad.ā
Symchuck said itās difficult to know how much the wind would affect paddling, but she said it really wasnāt a factor for their team.
The top mixed team was Victoriaās Fairway Gorge United. Top womenās team went to KelownaĀ KDBC Dragon in the Drink. Top breast cancer survivor team is the North Shore Dragon Busters. Top Penticton Mixed Team OāKai Iākicka Uāas, while Despirit Housewives earned the nod for Pentictonās top womenās team. Pentictonās Survivorship team finished second in the breast cancer survivor challenge.
Winner of the greatest steersperson challenge was Penticton Golden Dragonsā Harvey Quamme.
Mulhall, who coaches Survivorship and the Flying Dragons, said it was tough for Pentictonās teams to squeak into the top. The Flying Dragons, competing in exhibition races, had improved times, and as coach, Mulhall said he couldnāt ask for more.
As for the paddlers response to the cancellations, Mulhall said they werenāt upset.
āBefore I could really even announce it, a spontaneous beach dance party just erupted ⦠around the announcerās table,ā said Mulhall, who thanked his volunteers for their support. āHundreds of people all dancing. It just speaks to the vibe of our festival. I think teams are just there obviously to race and be competitive, but they are also there because itās a good time.ā
Mulhall estimated 2,300 paddlers along with 73 teams participating from throughout the B.C. Interior, Lower Mainland, Vancouver IslandĀ and Alberta.
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