You know that heat wave we’ve been having in Ontario lately…turns out it was a good thing for Rowbust because WOW it’s hot here!
We were picked up by the bus at 8am and were whisked off to the race site. The drive took about 30 minutes and we got to see some lovely Hungarian countryside scenery on our way. If we didn’t know better, at times it looked like it could have been a Canadian country road! Lots of trees, vegetation and growing in the fields are many of the same crops at home.
When we arrived at race site it felt as though every Canadian team had booked the same time slot so we knew we were in great company.
Arriving at race site for Club Crews is always a special moment. Taking that step off the bus and getting the first glimpse of it is exciting. And even more exciting is seeing the looks on the faces of those who are taking their first trip to Club Crews. It’s a feeling one doesn’t forget! And for those of us who’ve been here in 2014 (Ravenna, Italy), 2016 (Adelaide, Australia) and back again in 2018 seeing the stars in the eyes of the first timers puts us right back there in our first moments too.
Soon we were organized with a spot to put down our gear with a shady spot to warm up and to wait for our instructions from Coach. The only thing left to do was to get in the boat and see how the water feels, how the boat feels and to get our muscles moving after long days of travel and HEAT! Did I mention the heat?!?
Just like at home in Welland the start line is equipped with starting “boots” (they call them “cups” here) to hold each boat precisely in line for the start of the race. When the gun fires to signal the start, the boot drops away and the boats start moving toward the finish line. Held starts are a luxury that we appreciate!
The two practice sessions we had today were “good” and “better”. The first was good…getting the feel for it and getting those butterflies to settle. The second practice was better and we harnessed the power of the butterflies and laid down several good race plans. People were moved in and out of the boat and Newton (me! 😊 ) got a chance to practice steering just in case she get’s called up!
When we were done on the water we felt good, we were tired from the work out….oh, and HOT!
To give you a sense of the size of this event…here are some stats….
- 6 days
- 60 hours of racing
- 451 races
- 119 finals
- 6000+ athletes
- 30 Countries
- 140 clubs (20 Canadian!)
- 1331 entries
- 6732 medals awarded
- 62 international officials
This is a huge undertaking for the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) and the Hungarian Dragon Boat Federation and it is exciting for us to be a part of it for our third time!
No matter what the outcome of these Championships we are forever grateful that the Breast Cancer Survivors of the world can come together on a world stage and compete! We are athletes, cancer has brought us together but paddling and competing keeps us healthy and living life to the fullest!
That’s all for today folks!
Good night from Hungary!
***NOTE – Race times for day one have changed…I will wait to post them for you until after tomorrows practice & opening ceremonies in case there are any further changes!
Suzanne Newington (aka Newton)
Rowbust member since 2011, Keeper of the Team Blog, proud member of the Hungary 2018 CCWC Crew!