Paddlers go for gold

BY SCOTT HADDOW

A group of eight Sudbury paddlers have earned the right to represent Canada at the 2008 World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Sydney, Australia this month.

The eight paddlers make up a good portion of Team Canada's National Grand Master men's and women's squads.
The eight Sudbury paddlers fought and willed their way onto the national team through a series of elite training camps across Canada.

The paddlers attended the camps, conducted by national team coaches, over the last year in order to showcase their talents and strengths.

The Sudbury group includes:  Dave Arnold, 54, Filomena Baker, 52, Bob Brazeau,67, Leo Dupuis, 71, Claudette Ethier, 57, Norma Fairman, 58, Linda McCosham, 54, and Dan Welch, 60. Brazeau, Fairman and Welch are veterans of the group as they paddled for Canada in the World Championships held in Berlin in 2005.

A high level of energy and the will to do their best sets the eight paddlers apart from a crowd.

"All these people...are highly competitive, not just in dragon boat racing, but in anything they do," said Brazeau. "These people have remained focused and have made the sacrifices everyday to make it happen."

Brazeau vividly remembers his time in Germany.

"Representing Canada...it was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had," said the 67-year-old paddler. "I had goosebumps and it gave me a real surge."

The Sudbury group knows plenty is at stake and will make the most of the experience.

"It's the opportunity of a lifetime," said Baker. "It's exciting to represent my country. A lot of us watched the Olympics growing up and dreamed of making it to something that big. That dream never became a reality for us, so this is our big international event to represent Canada in."

The Sudbury racers went to national camps back in September and November of 2006, followed by another two camps earlier this spring.

Dragon boat racing is part of a healthy lifestyle.

"We're not just representing Canada...we're representing all the people over 50," said Linda McCosham. "It just shows we can do this activity well over the age of 50. It's a great sport to maintain a high level of fitness."

The team is shooting for gold, but it will be a tough chore to accomplish.

"Focus will be the key," said Brazeau. "We need to concentrate fully on the task at hand. We can't get distracted by an exotic country. We will worry about tours and seeing kangaroos after the races. If we do this, we will be successful."

Some team members leave this weekend, while the others will follow in the next week.

Interested fans can go to www.dragonboat07.com to follow the progress of the Canadian National teams.