SD Digest 6.30.10

Space Dragons,

We're now officially in our last month of training for LONG BEACH! Let's all make a commitment to bring it up a NOTCH!

Great job to the beach clean-up crew!

1. NEW CAPTAIN
Introducing Roger, who now joins Capts Pearl & Tran to take care of the ever growing Space Dragons team! We hear he's a pretty awesome dude.
Why are there three captains? The team is growing and there are a lot of behind-the-scenes tasks to handle, both for practice and for tournaments. Adding a third captain will help spread the workload and make sure we are on top of our game!

2. PRACTICE & REMINDERS
Only 13 practices before LONG BEACH
Please remember to fill out your attendance poll.
Please remember to have your PFD on, zipped, buckled before getting on the boat, check your benchmate for safety gear!
Reminder to not park in the (small) Boy Scout lot closest to the building on Sunday mornings, leave parking spaces for the Calvary Chapel's elderly and physically challenged congregation.
Reminder to not park on any city streets.
Please keep up your outside workout to supplement the on-water workout at practice! It takes more than just weekend practices to earn hardware!

3. LONG BEACH
Deadline to change your Evite RSVP: 7/10
No Flake rule apply after 7/10
Need your festival waivers by 7/10, give to Pearl or Jackie.
We'll be hosting Ripple and GG Dragons (from Canada) this year, potluck both Sat & Sun, see Pearl or Kat to sign up for a potluck item.
$35 race fees payable to Space Dragons, give to Pearl or Denise.
You must be a paying member of the Space Dragons to race: $80 team due payable to Space Dragons, may be on same check.

4. LAKE GREGORY
RSVP on Evite if you're interested, more details to come

5. SAN FRANCISCO
Have you RSVP'd?
Have you reserved your room? They're running out fast!

6. LAKE LAS VEGAS ROSE REGATTA
Oct 16 at Lake Las Vegas, 1 day tournament!
Gauging interest, please RSVP if interested.

7. BIKE RIDE SATURDAYS
Yes it's back. Come ride with Roger after Saturday practice and land work-outs. Join us for a casual ride from Mother's Beach to lunch.
The ride will be anywhere from 8 miles to 15 miles one way. We eat and then ride back. Everyone is welcome!
Note: No helmet no ride.

-- Pearl, Roger, Tran

Mother Nature to get some Space Dragons Love..

Space Dragons!

Big ups to everyone who showed Mother Nature a little bit of love during our last beach clean-up day. It's time to show her a little more!

Thanks to the efforts of Marina, we will be having beach clean-up day on Saturday, June 26. So stick around after practice/land work-outs and join your fellow teammates!

Space Dragons adopted Mother's Beach as our own. Let's get out there and show the community what we're all about.

SD Digest 6.23.10

Space Dragons,

Our next tournament is big Long Beach: T-6 weeks!

1. PRACTICE
Yup, that's only 6 more weeks of practice. That means it's almost "Hell Month" as Coach Czar calls it! Please make your best effort to attend all practices, it's a team sport and you need to train with your team. Remember to fill out the attendance poll by 7 PM Mondays (for Wed practices) & by 7 PM Wednesdays (for weekend practices).

2. LONG BEACH
If you have NOT signed a tournament waiver, you've been sent a separate email, please sign waiver and turn in to Pearl or Jackie. RSVP deadline: 7/17, No Flake Rule apply after 7/17 (i.e. if you're a "yes" you are responsible for the race fee).

Race fee $35 payable to Space Dragons. $80 fee for team dues if you have not already paid.

We'll be hosting GG Dragons from Canada and Ripple Effect this year, ~100 paddlers total. We'll be doing potluck for both days this year, please see Pearl or Kat to sign up for something to bring. If you have a good idea for an ice breaker for 160 people (yup, that's Space Dragons + RFX + GG), let us know! If you have extra equipments (chairs, tables, coolers, etc) we could use, please let Ceez know.

3. SAN FRANCISCO
If you have NOT already made your room reservation, please do so ASAP. Lower rate rooms ($130) are sold out, new rooms ($149) are almost sold out! Please update Evite with lodging and travel info.

4. BEACH CLEAN UP -- Sat 6/22
Next opportunity to keep OUR beach clean! Will be after practice & land workout.

5 SPACE DRAGONS TEAM WEAR
Team race jerseys: $25/each for sleeveless and short sleeve; $28 for long sleeve.
White T-shirts, tank, sleeveless shirt: $15/each.
Long sleeve t-shirt: $20/each.
Ash-grey sweatshirts: $25/each for pull-over; $35/each for zip-front.

Please email Pearl: type, qty, size. Order deadline: 6/26.

6 SPACE DRAGONS PATCHES
$11 each, you can use it to embellish your apparel! Email Marina if interested

7 REI PADDLE FEST -- Sat 6/26
Event Fee: Free
Location: Marine Stadium
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Description: Paddlers of all skill levels are invited to participate in free paddling clinics with boats, paddle boards, paddles and PFDs.
See your Digest for more details!

8. REMI'S MASSAGE
Too much stress at work? For Space Dragon teammates, Remi is offering 1 hour combo massage for $50! Remi is a licensed massage therapist who is versatile in various modalities. Her office is located at Neijing Eastern Medicine Clinic in Culver City ( www.NeijingEasternMedicine.com). In combo massage, she uses a combination of several massage styles, including Swedish, Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Craniosacral, and Neuromuscular, each tailored to address clients' specific needs.If you're interested, please email her at remi.massagetherapy@gmail.com

-- Pearl & Tran

Babes in Bikinis!

Hello Space Dragons!

Now that I have your attention, I just wanted to remind you that on Saturday, June 19, the Space Dragons will be holding our annual bonfire/bbq!

WHO: Space Dragons and Friends!
WHAT: BBQ, beach activities, & bonfire!
WHEN: Saturday, June 19. After practice and land work-outs.
WHERE: Bolsa Chica Beach.
WHY: As our dedicated organizer Janet declares, we spend so much time paddling around the beach, but not a whole lot of time on the beach! So to rectify that situation, it's beach party time!

It's a potluck, so don't forget to bring some grub. We'll have a BBQ going, so bring stuff to grill too! There will be volleyball courts, cycling trails along the beach, and of course surfing (need a board? I'll bring extra.)!

Please note, parking costs money so it behooves you to carpool from practice, since everyone will be at practice, riiiight?

See you on the beach!

Paddles up!
rajaree

SD Digest 6.16.10

Space Dragons, Only 7 weeks until Long Beach! Let's train hard!

1. BOSTON RECAP

Congrats, Boston crew, great job showing whom the Space Dragons are as the 3rd fastest boat of the tournament!

2. PRACTICE

There is practice TODAY & this weekend. Please fill out attendance poll on the blog. If you cannot access poll before closing time (7 PM on Mondays & Wednesdays), please email lb.space.dragons@gmail.com.

3. SPACE DRAGONS BONFIRE -- 6/19

This Saturday after practice & land wokout. RSVP on Evite please.

Please bring firewood if you have any. Bring food to BBQ, desserts, drinks, etc ... potluck style!Please note alcohol is prohibited (if sighted...i.e. be inconspicuous), we'll have tables/EZ-ups and coolers with ice. Bring your own chairs, beach towels, surfboards, etc. Dress accordingly, the night air gets chilly. There will be a volleyball court set-up.

Location TBD at end of practice, otherwise text/call Janet. If not going to practice (which you should attend, of course).

Need suggestion of what to bring? Email Janet.

4 BEACH CLEAN UP -- 6/26

Next opportunity to keep OUR beach clean! Will be after practice & land workout. Kudos to Marina for coordinating.

5 SPACE DRAGONS TEAM WEAR

Team race jerseys: $25/each for sleeveless and short sleeve; $28 for long sleeve. White T-shirts, tank, sleeveless shirt: $15/each. Long sleeve t-shirt: $20/each. Ash-grey sweatshirts: $25/each for pull-over; $35/each for zip-front.

Please email Pearl: type, qty, size.

Order deadline: 6/26

6 LONG BEACH -- 7/31 & 8/1

Have you RSVP'd? See other paddlers who haven't been out? Encourage them to come out!

Please sign attached tournament-specific waiver and give to Pearl. Check your waiver status on the practice attendance sheet.

Tournament fee $35 payable to Space Dragons.

7 SAN FRANCISCO -- 9/25 & 9/26

Please arrange your roommates & reserve your hotel room ASAP. Please note the $130 rooms are SOLD OUT! New tournament rooms at $149/night rate, they WILL sell out quickly!

Set with lodging & travel? Update Evite with info! Please RSVP on the Evite if you haven't already done so!

8. REMI'S MASSAGE

Need to wind down from Boston tournament? Too much stress at work? For Space Dragon teammates, Remi is offering 1 hour combo massage for $50! Remi is a licensed massage therapist who is versatile in various modalities. Her office is located at Neijing Eastern Medicine Clinic in Culver City ( www.NeijingEasternMedicine.com).

In combo massage, she uses a combination of several massage styles, including Swedish, Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Craniosacral, and Neuromuscular, each tailored to address clients' specific needs. If you're interested, please email her!

9. GRACE IS HEADING DOWN SOUTH ON JULY 13TH

Grace will volunteering abroad to teach English to Chilean students until December 2010. She is still accepting any monetary donations for her living and teaching costs by July 3rd. She is also accepting other miscellaneous donations (i.e. USB keys, iPod and mini speakers). She appreciates the ongoing encouragement and support from Space Dragons and will miss the team SO MUCH!

Check out her blog for further details: http://gracevolunteersinchile.blogspot.com/

-- Pearl & Tran

On the Fifth Moon of the Fifth Month of the Lunar Calendar...

Space Dragons, ever wonder how you got here? Why you're standing on a beach at 7:30am on a Saturday morning, freezing your butt off? Perhaps you're not quite sure why the pain is so enjoyable? Well, let me tell you a little story about how we all got here.

The story that you know and love may begin in 2002, when the Space Dragons first formed. If you don't, read about it on the blog here. However, real story takes us back approximately 2,500 years, to ancient China. It all starts with a man named Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was famous patriotic poet of the time, and was a beloved and popular figure.

Our story is set during the latter part of the Warring States Period (in the 3rd century BC) in China, when seven individual kingdoms competed with each other for hegemony. Qu Yuan lived in the Chu kingdom, and was a trusted advisor to the king. He advised the king against the allying with the Qin kingdom, the strongest kingdom at the time. Sadly, the king's other advisors, fearing the loss of their power, made false accusations against Qu Yuan and had the king exile him. It was during his years in exile that he wrote some of the greatest Chinese poetry expressing his fervent love for the Chu kingdom and its people.

In the years that followed, the Chu kingdom would be overtaken by the Qin. Upon hearing his beloved state was captured, Qu Yuan was in great despair and distress, and in his desperate state, committed suicide by drowning himself in the Milou River.

Citizens, upon hearing of his suicide, quickly took to their fishing boats and raced to rescue the poet. Unable to rescue him or find his body, the local villagers dropped rice into the water in order to feed his spirit while beating on drums to scare away the evil spirits. But the fish in the river ate the rice before Qu Yuan could get to it, so in order to ward off the fish, villagers began wrapping the rice in silk. Today, we wrap sticky rice in reed leaves and call them zong zi.

Over time, eating zong zi has become closely associated with festivals and celebration. Meanwhile, the art of racing boats to search for Qu Yuan's body gradually became the cultural tradition of dragon boat racing. To celebrate Qu Yuan, Dragon Boat Festivals are traditionally held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, which falls on June 16 this year. A large internationally reknown Dragon Boat Festival will be occuring in Macau this week. And yes, Wednesday night practice paddlers, you will be paddling on the day of Duan Wu Jie (literal translation: "Solar Maximus Holiday"; generally translated as "Dragon Boat Festival" ).

And so now when someone asks you why you paddle, you can tell them it is to celebrate one of the great ancient Chinese cultural icons, Qu Yuan.

As for me, this week I will be eating lots of zong zi!

source: my mom and dad. There are other variations of this legend but essentially the story is the same. And now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Paddles up!

rajaree

This is Important.

This is important. Read this.

Please respond to the polls. Please respond even if you are marking a "no." They're up now, so DO IT! yay!

The poll for Wednesday attendance will close at 7:00PM on Monday (6/14).

The poll for Weekend attendance will close at 7:00PM on Wednesday (6/16).

Why are we making paddlers respond to polls?

It's because the Association needs to know how many boats we will be using during Practice. The Coaches can only figure that out by knowing how many paddlers will be coming out for Practice. An inaccurate count may lead to not having enough boats to use for Practice. Wouldn't that suck?

So the moral of the story... respond to the polls!

Thanks everybody!

Paddles up!

rajaree

SD Digest 6.9.10

GREATEST of LUCK to the Boston crew this weekend-- Tik Sum Rass!

1. PRACTICE
There WILL BE practice this weekend 6/12 & 6/13, please fill out attendance pollLong Beach tournament is only 7 weeks away!Sunday morning parking: please do not park in the lot immediately next to the Boy Scout lot, the Calvary Chapel requested the lot be used by their elderly and physically challenged congregation for Sunday service

2. BOSTON crew -- we paddle this weekend!
Please look for emails regarding logistics from Jackie!

3. NATIONAL TEAM TIME TRIAL -- 6/12
Reminder that the USA Canoe/Kayak is having time trail this Saturday for the US National Dragon Boat Junior, Senior, and Masters teams.
To compete in the ICF World Championships 8/27-8/29 in Szeged, HungaryMore info, go to: http://usack.org/news/2010/05/05/dragon-boat-usa-national-team-trials/35790?ngb_id=1

4. SPACE DRAGONS BONFIRE -- 6/19
Please RSVP to Evite.
If you have a beach volleyball, please let Janet know.

5. BEACH CLEAN UP -- 6/26
Next opportunity to keep OUR beach clean!
Will be after practice & land workout.
Kudos to Marina for coordinating.

6. LONG BEACH -- 7/31 & 8/1
Have you RSVP'd? See other paddlers who haven't been out? Encourage them to come out!Please sign tournament-specific waiver (attached to Weekly Digest email) and give to Pearl. Check your waiver status on the practice attendance sheet
Tournament fee $35 payable to Space Dragons.

7. SAN FRANCISCO -- 9/25 & 9/26
Please arrange your roommates & reserve your hotel room ASAP--they sell out fast!
Set with lodging & travel? Update Evite with info!
Please RSVP on the Evite if you haven't already done so!

8. SPACE DRAGONS TEAM WEAR
Team race jerseys: $25/each for sleeveless and short sleeve; $28 for long sleeve
White T-shirts, tank, sleeveless shirt: $15/each
Long sleeve t-shirt: $20/each
Ash-grey sweatshirts: $25/each for pull-over;
$35/each for zip-front
Please email Pearl: type, qty, size.
Order deadline: 6/26

9. PEARL'S COOL BREEZE CENTURY RIDE
Pearl is riding the Cool Breeze Century again this year as part of the Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems team. Raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. With your help, Pearl was able to raise over $1000 last year and is looking to raise another $1000 this year. Please see Pearl's fundraising site, linked on the Weekly Digest!


-- Pearl & Tran

Paddler Spotlight -- Kat "K-Dub" !!

Hometown:
Killeen, TX

Dunking day (Birthday):
Feb 8th - too cold for dunking!!! (Ed note: so she thinks!)


If you could have an endless supply of any 3 food items, what would you have?

Only 3??? Dduk bok hae, kimchi jjigae , Blue Bell Peaches & Homemade Vanilla ice cream.

How long have you been paddling and who got you into Space?
I've been paddling for almost one year. I started by coming to Long Beach tournaments to cheer on my sister, Mary.

Who got you into paddling and why do you do it week in and week out?
Mary!! She motivated me to try paddling as a fitness activity. I love it because everyone on this team is encouraging and supportive and all are trying their most to improve and have fun together.

Are you a better Paddler when you are Happy or Angry?
Happy (positive) energy is stronger for me than paddling angry. I try to find a zen place where the pain is good!!!


Favorite or notable Space Dragon moment(s)?:
My favorite moment was white team winning gold at Long Beach. It was a fine taste of the good life and made the goal of winning more tangible!

How do you prep yourself for a Race?
I eat light and get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water.

What do you do when you're not paddling? Hobbies, activities, interests?
When
I'm not paddling I am at a Bikram yoga class. Most of my spare time is spent walking my dog or taking her to the park. I love watching movies too. Other than that I am working working working!!!

Any advice for new paddlers?
Don't give up! Keep trying, it gets better and better every time you come to practice!

Paddling-wise, any particular goals for yourself or the team?
Master the new SD stroke and go from there. For the team would be to have more spam musubi and kahlua cake around!!!!

If you could change one thing about the team what would it be?
I don't know because even the things I don't like are teaching me discipline (like waking up early on saturdays!!!)

Favorite part about being a Space Dragon?
Tournaments! ...and the conflicting loves of eating yet staying in athletic shape!

Assuming you had a single brother or sister, what Space Dragon might you consider hooking them up with?

They would be so lucky to hook up with any Space Dragon, right!

Most interesting character you've met through the team?

Interesting character...would be Galen. His consistently high level of energy is unmatched.

If you were to trade any SD teammate for an RFX (Ripple) paddler, who would it be?
Oh i can't imagine who I would trade from SD but it would be in exchange for Gary cause my mom thinks he's such a nice guy!!











If you were to be stranded on an island with any 3 SD paddlers, who would you choose to get-by and pass the time with?
Well, I'd have to say Mary for companionship, Wade for positive attitudeness and Rod for protection.

First thing that comes to mind when you hear the word(s):
1. pounce - Pelei (my dog pounces on things)
2. voluptuous - Marilyn Monroe
3. predator - Tyrannosaurus Rex
4. prey - Mantis
5. Space Dragons - Kahlua cake!

Name something that our readers don't already know about you.
I am a certified scuba diver!

Because An EZ-Up is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

Ever wonder where tourney tables come from? How about the wonder of how paddles somehow magically appear at tournaments when you yourself don't remember how it got there? What the!?...how'd that cooler end up there?!...This master of magic just might fill you in on the trade secret if you answer his call!


Got an old broken tent or EZ-up? Think its life of providing cool, comforting shade is over? Our equipment Czar, Ceez says "NOT!" He is putting out a call to all paddlers with broken tents and EZ-ups (and their parts). Your donation could provide the blocks needed to help bring life back many of these once broken tents and EZ-ups so that they might have a second chance at tourney life! 


Contact Ceez @ (kukea_circle @ yahoo (dot) com) to see how you can help because an EZ-up tent is a terrible thing to waste!