2023 was a big year for the competitive club. 22Dragons won the 2023 overall national championships, its 7th since 2009. The 2023 charge was led by our youth, where both the 24&Under and 18&Under teams captured their respective divisional titles. Great job to all the paddlers of those programs, and their coaches, Mike Wu, Laurie-Anne Dancause, and Chris Wong for 24U, and Chris Wegrzyn and Emily Yang for 18U. 

Nationals results recap:
Std = Standard 20 person boat, Sm = Small 10 person boat
* Division winner

18U*: Women (Sm) 1st, Mixed (Sm) 1st & 4th, Open (Sm), 2nd & 4th

24U*: Women (Std) 1st, Mixed (Std) 1st,  Open (Std) 2nd
Premier: Women (Std) 3rd, Mixed (Std) 3rd, Open (Std) 4th

Senior A: Women (Std) 4th, Mixed (Std 1st), Open (Sm) 2ndSenior B: Women (Std) 6th, Mixed (Std) 3rd, Open (Std) 3rd
Senior C: Women (Sm) 1st, Mixed (Sm) 1st

Full results here

World Championships

2023 was also highlighted by 22Dragons’ athletes and coaches playing a prominent role in Team Canada’s success at the 2023 World Nations Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. A special mention to 22Dragons’ premier coaches Wendi Zhou and Matt Smith, who are also program directors for the premier national team that captured dragon boating’s ultimate prize, the Nation’s Cup, awarded to the top overall premier team. A list of 22Dragons’ athletes and staff who were part of the 2023 team can be found here. A recap of the event written by DBC president Scott Murray and Matt Smith can be found here

Matt Smith also had the honor of presiding over the championships due to the unfortunate absence of IDBF president Mike Thomas. Mike could not attend for medical reasons and so Matt who has served as an IDBF Vice President for 10 years was called on to represent the IDBF in ceremonies and to lead the annual Congress. He did a fine job representing, and we’re happy to report today that Mike Thomas’ health is improving. 

Photos by EdNguyen Photography and Jeff Holubeshen