Typhoon Tigers! Well done for a brilliant finish to a fantastic season of BDA racing!

Typhoon Tigers!

Well done for a brilliant finish to a fantastic season of BDA racing!

200m Open     - 6th in 200m Major Cup Final       (6th in UK)       0m52s

200m Mixed    - 1st in 200m Minor Final             (7th in UK)       0m54s

500m Open     - 4th in 500m Major Plate Final     (16th in UK)     2m16s

500m Mixed    - 4th in 500m Minor Final             (10th in UK)     2m20s

1000m Open    - 6th in 1000m Heat                     (11th in UK)     5m04s

With such an impressive record at 200m , other teams must begin to worry when they see us in their heat!  And I'm sure even the top teams in the country can't afford to ignore us!  We swept aside premier teams and tore apart standard crews as we stormed our way into the Major Cup final.  Despite being the last to cross the line, just making the final and to be up there with the best was an achievement in itself.   Out of the past 4 BDA events, we have come 7th at London, 6th in Peterborough and now 6th in the Nationals.

We have consolidated our position in the 200m and we have come a long way in 500m.   In the past, we have been renowned for starting strong but burning out half way through the race.  But much to the surprise of Kingston Pretenders we didn't die like they expected!   In the last two 500m open races, we kept up with the leaders as we crossed the line together.  Although there was a little drop in power in many of the races, everyone battled on with 100% effort and it's exactly that what makes the difference.   I now know that when I give everything I've got, the team will be right behind me. And when the team is giving their all, I will never give up on them!

Last year, we backed out of the 1000m race when we realised we would not receive points for our effort.   This year we went all the way!  Although many paddlers found the thought of it quite daunting, everyone did it for the team.   Based on our 200m seeding, we were drawn against the top 5 teams.  As expected, we fell behind.  But what amazed me was how long we kept up with 3 River Serpents (5 th in premier division)!

It is a shame we didn't pick up any silverware at the Nationals this season whereas our arch rival did.   The problem is that we are just too damn fast for our own good!  Because we did so well in the 200m, we were entered for the Cup whilst RD only got as far as the Plate which they won that.   But for me, it's not about trophies.  I rather qualify alongside the best in the 200m open and come 6 th with no award rather than collect silverware for coming 13th!

It was unfortunate that we lost half our team of beekcakes from the year before just as we joined the BDA league this season.   But we rebuilt a stronger crew who has exceeded the achievements of the seasons gone by.  As we became stronger and stronger, we climbed the league table to finish 5th in the standard division – not bad for a debut season!  If we start next season picking up from where we left off this year and make just as much progress as we did this season we should be scrapping for 1st place in the standard division – that's fighting for promotion to the premier division!

This season we started paddling to get fit.   Next season, let's get fit before we start paddling.  Let's work hard over the winter and start next season even stronger than we are now.   I'm already looking forward to 2007 as I'm proud to be part of such a great team and amongst such a good bunch of friends!

 

Ping

P.S.   I'll like to thank everyone for the commitment over the year.   It has been a long season which started earlier and finished later than usual – we have been training for 7 months and have managed to squeeze in 4 charity and 8 BDA events!   Thank you all for your time in training and your effort to make it to the various races up and down the country.  I know that many people have made a lot of tough choices and sacrifices for the team, I really appreciate that.

P.S.   Also, I want to say a huge thanks to the following people (apologies if I have missed anyone out):

Alan H                  -  For sorting out transport.

Phan/Adrian          -  For arranging accommodation at the Hilton – no-one believed me when I told them!

DKnY                    -  It must have been difficult trying to organise a table for 30+ hungry tigers!

Wedding Dodgers -  (Sam C, Dan, Alan T, Jose, Yong-Sum)  Thank you for choosing to be with the team and not letting us down.   It just would not have been the same without you guys.

Ambi's                  -  (Sam C) How do you manage to do 7 races on the left and still do a 1000m on the right?!  Good on ya mate.

Hurri-phoons          -  (Ed, Phil I, Dhana, Kalai, Yong-Sum, Mary, Helen, Loviner, Kaye, David, Nilesh)  Thank you for lending your paddling services.   We couldn't have done it without you.

Wai                      -  Thank you for always being ready to support TT.  When I asked for 3 girls for our mixed team, you gave us 4 of your best girls.   Thank you for that.

Coaches               -  (JC, Adrian, Kin) Thank you for devoting so much of own time to the team.  I'm sure I speak for the team when I say that it is very much appreciated.   We have grown in strength under your guidance and our progress is attributed to you guys.  I hope we did you proud.

Team Line-Up

D   Wincy

1   Alan H      Andrew

2   Kwok        Jo

3   Phan        Chi

4   Sam C       Ping

5   Jeremy      JC

6   Ben         Dan

7   Pete N      Alan T

8   Claire      Jose

9   Mui        (Ed)

10  Phil W     (Phil I)

11 (Dhana)    (Kalai)

12 (Loviner)  (Mary)

13 (David)    (Helen)

14 (Nilesh)   (Yong Sum)

15            (Kaye)

H  JC / Pool Helm