Century Race

2024 – year of the Dragon. We kicked it off with the Century Race – a 100m race which may seem short but requires aggressive strokes and bursts of energy.

The race was held at an unconventional location – Jurong Lake which is located in the far west part of the island. Our team travelled to Passion Wave@ Jurong Lake to train in order to get familiarized with the water condition there which is notorious for its ‘heavy water’.

On 9th March, the site was blessed with fine weather. Was it due to the ”Bawang” sets (Garlic / Onion / Chilli) that QL/SDBA painstakingly prepared and used to pray hard for good weather? It was certainly a beautiful day with clear blue skies.

We were not there on day 2 but we heard there was wet weather and capsizes. Not so lucky.

A naughty otter family decided the deck was a good place to ‘poo poo’

Our team took part in the Women and Senior Mixed category.

Our senior team had a very good start, coming in the first position in the heats which led to direct semi-finals (SF). The women team performed relatively well and came in 2nd in the heats. The good timing ushered us into direct semi-finals as well. 

Warm up… getting ready for actions

For the ladies, it was a very commendable effort and a good start for the year. We knew the competition in the category was going to be tough, but we went in, gave our all and bull-dozed into the semifinals. Fantastic feat – well done, ladies!

Both teams met with strong opponents in the semis and the amazing timings clocked by them pushed us into lower ranks in both categories. Despite this, our senior team marched into the Minor Finals and Won. 2nd runners-up! GREAT work seniors – HIGHLIGHT of the day!

After the ”high” from the win, it was time to fill our bellies. We rewarded ourselves in heartlands hawker centers, neighborhood kopitiams and some places a bit more ATAS (for those with deep pockets) ……BUT ………….

Nothing beats the post-race celebration 2 weeks later, where we reminisced exciting race moments over pizzas, tasty wings & drumlets, chips & crackers and (sinfully) sugared drinks, under the stars at WSC.

The Century Race is a curtain raiser for many more races SDBA has lined for the rest of the year. There is SDBF, Pesta Sukan, Austcham, Sea Regatta, SRW and overseas races.

The targets have been set and we will be training hard to reach greater heights. We know we can.

2024. Year of the Dragon. Gunning for Podium.

Watch Out. We are U Dragons.

Austcham Challenge 2023

It has been years since we participated in austcham – a unique race which calls for long, steady strokes and lots of stamina, paddling over a 5K or 10K distance that spans across Kallang and the Marina Bay.

Who is up for the challenge ?

There were 3 categories in Austcham this year :

1. Women 5K (NEW!) – DB12 boat, 10 paddlers, 1 coxswain, all women

2. Open 5K – DB12 boat, 10 paddlers, 1 coxswain, no restrictions on gender mix

3. Mixed 10K – DB22 boat, 20 paddlers, 1 coxswain, 50/50 gender mix

With Kalasag (whom we partnered in the Pesta Sukan Women 2K Ring Race and clinched a Bronze), we managed to register an Open crew (6UD+4KD, all men) under U Dragons and a Women crew (6 KD+4UD) under Kalasag Dragons.

Hourly trainings were planned on Sundays ( very hot, humid afternoon ! ) barely 5 weeks from Race Day. We could not schedule it any earlier as it would have clashed with the Penang Race training ( Dec 2023) where some of the crew members are participating in.

Our last two trainings were threatened by the haze and everyone was closely monitoring the PSI readings, praying hard that we would not have to cancel the sessions.

Despite the scorching sun from 12 – 1 pm….

and from 1 – 2 pm

Thanks to the fillers for covering for the team mates
who could not make it due to work commitments

RACE DAY !

The organizer ( Austcham ) was busy with setting up the tents and getting drinks chilled for the hot afternoon while crews were getting ready for the races.

The race schedule

Warm up, recap race strategy, psych up for the race, let’s go !

Race lane / sequence and Bib # / colour:

Women – Bib 01, White

Open – Bib 16, Green

Mixed – Bib 07, White (yes, one of us was asked by another team to join them for the 10K !)

There were only 3 teams in the Women category ( probably because it was a new category ) so podium finish was guaranteed right from the start. The main challenge : will we be able to sustain our starting position at 01, leave the backwash behind us and lead all the way to the finishing line ?

The German Dragons and Singapore Paddles Club teams were stronger than us, overtaking to take the first 2 spots just under sub-30s. Our ladies were not too far off with several seconds closing almost on the dot in 30 mins. WELL DONE, TEAM !

The ladies ROAR !

U Dragons

Fierce competition was seen in the Open category with 28 teams including Senior National Teams A & B going in for the experience ( no prizes for winning ! ).

Our guys held on tightly – they were overtaken by some but took back the lead against others.

Overall, they retained their ending position at #16, the same position where they started off. GREAT job, guys !

There were more actions in the 10K category. The route is twice as long and a lot more challenging, taking the big boats pass the Flyer, under the Helix bridge to the Merlion, Marina Bay and back – much to the delights of tourists hanging around the area. The teams continued to try and impress the spectators with overtaking at the 4 turning points within the Marina.

As the Sun goes down and the races over, it’s time to cheer for the winners.

CONGRATS to all the winning teams !

With the excitement of the race behind us – it’s time to replenish and PARTY, PARTY !

Off to Hero at Clarke Quay ! ( organizer chartered buses )

For U Dragon mates, perhaps next year we could form a team for 10K, having concurred 5 quite comfortably ?

Come on, it’s a game of Mind Over Body.

After all…..

Pesta Sukan 2023

On 30th July, the day unfolded for U Dragons at the Water Sports Center @Kallang with the Pesta Sukan Dragon Boat race organized by ActiveSG. It was the second competitive race for the team since the lifting of covid restrictions allowing full capacity in a DB22 boat.

It was destined to be a hard fight for us as the 200m DB22 Singapore National Mixed category was expected to be closely contested by 29 teams. At 9am, the first event and heat1 saw us flanked by strong contenders – American Dragons Singapore, Canadian Association of Singapore, Raffles and the Filipino Dragons (Singapore).

We had a fairly strong start and came in third. Then we spent the rest of the time keeping a close watch on the timings from the next 5 heats as progression was based on 6 Heat Winners & 5 Fastest Losers heading straight into Semi while the rest continue to battle it out in Repe. The question on our minds was: will we breeze into the Semi?

As the race progressed, there were many nail-biting moments as timings for many teams just got better and better. Not surprisingly, we went into the Repecharge.

We managed to squeeze into the Semi but the podium was out of our reach. There were stronger teams out there who have trained hard (or harder) and deserved the top 3 positions. It would have been a bonus if we had made it to the Finals but hey, the teamwork was superb and every crew member put in the best so let’s give each other a pat on the back.

Well Done, U Dragons! Congratulations to the winners!

The second challenge of the day was a new 2km Ring Race for the ladies. As the name implies, it is a loop race with a 400m straight course and a U-turn to the starting point (that’s one loop). The full course? 4 U-turns or 2_^1/2 loops.

As this category called for an all-ladies DB22 crew, we made the bold decision to collaborate with another team, Kalasag. We had much fun & laughter training together a few times, complete with a toy drum to get our sync right.

Training with Kalasag

Leading at the turn

Our friendly partner

All the hard work paid off. With a steady pace and a brilliant overtake, we clinched the bronze. The feeling of victory is absolutely thrilling!

The event came to an exciting close with the conclusion of the ring races (ladies, open, mixed categories) and the day ended on a high note for us (well, who wouldn’t, we won a medal).

It has been a fabulous experience. We came, we battled, we won some and we lost some. No regrets.

We’ll be back at the next race event STRONGER. Till then ….. hasta la vista.

Dragonbattle 2017

On 7 October, our team took part in the dragonbattle race organized by Dragonboat Innovate (DBI) and Singapore Management University (SMU) at Orcid Country Club. This is the 3rd time this competition was held in Singapore and it may be the last time according to the organizer.

We participated in 5 categories: Featherweight, Heavyweight, National Unified (mixed), Senior Titles & Ladies Title. Although the pool of competitors may not be as many and vibrant as last year, we still witnessed some familiar strong opponents.

Battles over battlers, our heavyweight team managed to overcome British dragons in the finals and emerged as the winner. Our seniors title team also crowned as the champion after beating Team Rojak in the finals.

Although able to take on competitors like Motley Crew, our ladies team wasn’t able to beat British dragons in semi-finals to defend their titles last year. Our National Unified team also lost to team SPS in the semi-finals while Feather Weight was unable to surmount REACH Dragons too. Nonetheless, the performance of Feather Weight team is commendable as none of our team from previous years in this category managed to survive and go as far as the semi-finals.

It was a fruitful day wining the Seniors Title again and defending the heavyweight titles , perhaps delivering a good closure for this competition in Singapore. Aside from dragonbattle race, some of our teammates also joined the KDF charity race organized by Kidney Dialysis Foundation and SDBA in the next day.

Dragonboat Challenge 2017

Dragonboat Challenge race which is organized by Bukit Batok East CSC returned this year on 24th September (Sunday) at Marina Reservoir. Similar to last year, our team participated in the all stars mixed and NTUC Challenge category except for Novice category.

The all stars mixed team had a close fight with team Bishan East Thomson CSC (Kiyah-Splashh), with both leading the wave ahead of the other teams from Kampong Glam CSC and Team Alpha. In the end, we came in 2nd position behind Bishan East Thomson CSC with a timing of 1:16s which paved way to direct semi-finals.

The semi-finals heat wasn’t easy as strong opponent Team Toe had a strong head start, leaving our team fighting against Tampines United Paddlers (TUP) and Bishan East Thomson CSC. Although we couldn’t triumph over the rest and settled at 4th position in the end, it was indeed a close call with difference in splits seconds (1:17s).

In the NTUC Challenge first heat, our crew managed to beat other unions team from AUSBE (Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees) and UPAGE (Union of Power & Gas Employee) and came in first position with a timing of 1:17s. However, AUSBE and UPAGE managed bit back in the final race and left us settled at the Bronze position.

The mixed performance of this race can be attributed to less preparation this time. However, it gave us a good gauge for our current standing and to seek out improvements.

DBS Marina Regatta 2017

DBS regatta returns to Marina Bay for the 6th times from 1st to 4th June this year as one of the biggest bayfest. Our team participated in this race by sending a 12 mixed crew and 12 ladies crew for both Singapore Premier 500m & 200m race and also a 20 crew for 200m premier open.

The first day of weekend started with 500m race where our mixed 12 crew managed to secure a 4th placing ahead of SIT dragons and the Hong Kong institute of Architects in the first heat with a timing of 2:48s, but falling behind SPC (2:32s), Nanyang Polytechnic (2:40s) and Kiyah-Splashh (2:44s). This lead us to repecharge where we managed to improve 3s and came 3rd position against strong opponents from Argonaga dragonboat and Kiyah-splashh. Although qualified for semi-finals, the team was unable overcome rest of the teams like Nanyang Polytechnic, SIM, Singapore polytechnic and team GD.

On the other hand, the ladies 12 crew faced strong competitors in the first heat from NTU, Temasek Polytechnic, NUS and SIM and managed to beat only PALS with a timing of 3:03s. They managed to achieve 3rd position in the repecharge after fought hard and defeated PALS and Republic polytechnic but unable take on stronger opponents from SMU and Gaelic dragons.

On the second day of the weekend, our 12 crew mixed clocked 1:03s for 200m race in the first heat at the 5th position falling behind NUS (1:00s), Nanyang Polytechnic (1:01s), Temasek Polytechnic (1:03s) and Kraken (1:04s) and only won Japan dragons (1:08s). The crew met with the same fate in repecharge where the team were ranked behind stronger opponents from the Hong Kong institute of Architects, Temasek Polytechnic, Arnonaga dragonboat and Nanyang dragons.

The 12 ladies crew had a better headstart by beating TJ Seahawk, British dragons, Gaelic dragons and Spanish Armada and emerged as the 1st runner up with a close call and timing of 1:08s, falling behind Yarra River dragons (1:04s). This allowed the ladies to proceed directly to semi-final. Despite fighting hard, they were unable to replicate the prior success and positioned 5th behind Phillippine team dragonboat, SIM, Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic but maintained the edge over TJ Seahawk.

Our 22 crew open mens team performed relatively well in the first heat, taking on opponents from Yarra River, Singtel and Gaelic dragons and secured 3rd position with timing of 00:52s, falling slightly behind Mountbatten (00:50s) and SAFRA (00:51s). Subsequently, the team fought hard in repecharge, beating Dragon riders, SIT dragons and Building department of Hong Kong to secure 2nd position, falling just slightly behind Austcham Paddler Club and qualified for semi-finals. Unfortunately, they couldn’t surpass their prior performance in the semi-finals and concluded with 6th placing behind the rest of the field, i.e. Phillippine Titans, Mountbatten CSC, NUS, British dragons and Penang Forward Sports Club.

Overall, DBS race showed mixed performance with some room for improvement and postmortem. The guys, however, are upbeat with their 20 crew results and vowed to train harder next time.

 

 

 

Memorial

In memory of one of the youngest paddler, a teammate/friend, Yip Wei Li who we unfortunately lost due to accident on 29 January 2017. No words can describe the pain/sorrow that some of us have gone through. You have been a great inspiration and friend and will always be remembered.

River Regatta 2016

The 34th River Regatta which was held on the 5th and 6th November this year saw our team’s participations in 4 different categories: the Palm’s Singapore Club Crew open, Singapore Women, Singapore Senior Open and the PA Integeneration.

On the first day, our club crew open team came in first position with a timing of 1:00s in the first heat beating Paddlers Against Limits (PALs)/Choa Chu Kang CSC, Kampong Glam CSC and team Hombre Cantina. In the direct semi-finals, we faced with stronger opponents and managed to secure 2nd placing with an improved timing 0:59s beating Team Naga (Punggol East CSC) and Home Team Sports but falling slightly behind team Ley Choon Group who was 2s ahead. This is quite an achievement as it paved way to Minor Finals which later saw us achieved 3rd placing with similar timing but unable to overcome SAFRA and Home Team.

On the second day, our women’s team competed with strong opponents in the first heats from Nanyang Poly Alumni, TMDSports and secured 3rd position beating only SIT dragons with a timing of 1:06s. This didn’t stop them from fighting hard again in the repecharge which saw them improved their timing by 1s and emerged as the winner overtaking Team Onestroke (Queenstown CSC), British dragons and Motley Crew (Siglap CSC). Although qualified for the semi-finals, the ladies couldn’t beat Ngee Ann Poly, DBS and Tampines North due to unforeseen slight veered off-course during the semi- finals race.

Meanwhile, the Senior Open team gave their best effort in the first heat and became 2nd runner-up beating Mortley Crew with timing of 1:03s despite unable to overtake American dragons and Filipino Dragons. Taking on another chance in the repecharge, they managed to maintain a similar performance and came in 2nd but falling slightly behind Austcham. The timing and positioning didn’t allow them to qualify for semi-finals.

Our team members also paddled in the PA Integeneration category under Bukit Batok East CSC. This team did well to stay ahead of the game with composure and became 1st runner up with a timing of 1:03s beating Punggol Coast (Kraken), Mortley Crew but
falling 1s behind Tampines Changkat (Ironwill). Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t good enough to qualify for the direct finals.

Overall the team performance was satisfactory for all categories especially with the achievement of Minor Finals in such a competitive sports event at National level. Our team managed to give our opponents a run for their money.

Dragonbattle 2016

This year’s dragonbattle competition saw a larger pool of participants compared to last year. Similar to previously, this tug of war kind of dragonboat competition was held at pool of Orchid Country Club (OCC) on 1 October, jointly organized by Dragonboat Innovate (DBI) and Singapore Management University (SMU). We participated in the four categories: Featherweight, Heavyweight, Senior and Ladies title.

Our featherweight team managed to overcome United Paddlers after three rounds of battling but weren’t able to hold against the team from Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) in the subsequent heats. Meanwhile, the heavyweight team were able to beat teams like Mortley Crew and Kiyah-Splashh but lose out to team from KL Barbarians which applied strategy of deep long holding. The Seniors team also managed to overcome Teams like Silent dragons, Mortley Crew but were ousted by Kiyah-Splashh in the final round, taking the runner-up position. This broke the dream to defend the champion for both heavyweight and senior categories.

However, the ladies team gave a consistent performance battling against other team like team Kraken, British dragons and succeeded in overcoming them. In the final battle, their persistence and strong fighting spirit have given them slight edge over Kiyah-splashh. It was really a close call between the two and Kiyah-Splashh did give our ladies a tough fight. In fact, both teams did very well during the final few moments of highten atmosphere.

It was a long and tiring day for all and certainly a good exposure despite not able to defend the titles given the stronger competition this year.

DB challenge Paddlefest 2016

Our team participated in the DB Challenge Paddlefest once again organized by Bukit Batok East CSC and PA Water Venture. The race was held on Sunday (28 August) at Marina Reservoir with a race course distance of 250m. We took part in 3 categories which are the All Stars, Novice and NTUC Challenge mixed.

The All Stars team came in 3rd position in the first heat with a timing of 1:20s falling behind Taman Jurong and Sengkang Central. However, they managed to pick up and improved their timing to 1:18s in the repecharge heats resulting the first placing. The timing wasn’t good enough to qualify for the semi-finals.

The Novice team performed quite well in the first heats meeting competitors from Pioneer (REACH dragons), Team Naga and Sengkang Central and ended in 2nd placing. In the Novice race Final 3, they came in first position with a stellar performance and improved timing of nearly 2s beating other teams from Team Dragonwave and Team Naga.

Meanwhile in NTUC challenge mixed race, our team performed well in the first heat coming in first placing by beating Heathcare Service Employee’s Union (HSEU) and Port Officer’s Union (POU) with a timing of 1:17s. There was a tremendous improvement of timing by 3s in the finals and we became the champion among competitors from POU and Amalgamated Union of Statuary Board.

Overall our team performed satisfactory especially the dragons paddlers who have proven themselves well despite some racing for the first time.