OneStroke did fairly well in their maiden Singapore River Regatta race under their new coach with a style of paddling that is relatively new to their arsenal of paddling skills. They had a good shot for the men's semi finals but missed out by a mere few miliseconds to go for a second try in the repecharge after their well deserved second placing in the heats. A fantastic fairytale ending for the men's team from the powerhouse that is Nanyang Technological University (NTU) for sweeping all the top spots in the Premier Men's Open and Mixed Categories. Also my heartiest congratulations to National University of Singapore (NUS) for their well earned victory in the Minor Finals of the Premier Open Men's Category.
0812 hrs
Event: National Premier Open Men Heat 3
Position: 2nd
OneStroke managed to pull off a credible second place having only trained a few times with a full crew. They followed the plan very carefully and applied their fundamentals as best they could. Strong starts albeit slower than expected but speed managed were quite strong noting their chafing from the boat glide. Can improve better on the starts to transition and needs a more distinctive last charge to finish off the set with a better timing. Best set since I started coaching them so far.
1418 hrs
Event: National Premier Mixed Heat 7
Position: 3rd
We did quite well in this particular heat despite the towering competition that was made up of the other tertiary teams. Head to head we could only manage to pull a short lead from the start to the 100m mark. Lack of conditioning overall as a team didn't bode well for the team when they lost the final 100m by at least half a boat length. Sprint races are meant to be close, if the team is not close enough, you're not strong enough. Full stop. Need to work on basic conditioning for the entire crew. Basic timing principles are not adhered to in this race which will need improving. Strength endurance lacking since we faded off pretty badly in the last 100m.
1500 hrs
Position: 4th
This team lacks basic strength, conditioning and experience to handle the pressure of a race context. Looking forward to see this bunch paddle more as they have potential to be alot more composed and stronger. Observations include lack of reach, slow starts and basic lack of preparedness to race. So expect more technique work and strength training with this bunch of guys and girls.
1230hrs
National Premier Open Men's Minor Finals
Champions: NUS
NUS came into this finals after a disappointing set from their semifinals having being beaten by their local rivals NTU by a clear 3 seconds (about half a boat length). This was already after a re-start called by the officials for NYP having crashed into NTU's lane in the final 100m of the race. NUS put up a strong fight against its strongest competitor Ministry of Home Affairs made up of mostly local and Nepalese Policemen capable of making waves in the water on their best days. NUS made it through after a strong start and finished 1st, just inching past MOHA although they had their top podium positionin their crosshairs in their final charge for the finish.
1236hrs
National Premier Open Men's Grand Finals.
Champions: NTU
NTU and SAFSA were favourites to win this Giant vs Goliath encounter. Many were pipping NTU for their outstanding all round performances in both their heats and semis. After a strong start by all the competitiors including Republic Polytechnic, the race was held tight by all 4 contenders holding off any signs of pulling away from the competition. The crowd went into a frenzy as they went head to head at the final charge with only final 20m to go. NTU ended the race within a whisker of SAFSA with RP just a mere half a second behind. NTU finished off with the top podium spot, followed by SAFSA and RP for 3rd place. That match up was one of those that was highly anticipated and heart stopping nonetheless. Congratulations again to NTU for their overall top quality performances.
The year has ended off on a high as OneStroke moves into its next phase of its management and new era of paddling. I only hope for more improvements to come as these guys take on newer challenges and take the chance to win races next time if we were to go down for river regatta again. I must say this time that the SRR 2012 was well organised despite a few hiccups along the way. Lanes were well marked and competitors thoroughly enjoyed themselves through an almost hiccup free 2 days of racing. All in all, dragon boat racing is still about enjoying yourself through the company of friends and family in an atmosphere of competition. I hope not to miss this feeling again as long as I can continue coaching or paddling in some way or other. Kudos to the management team who made SRR 2012 happen for OneStroke as well as for me.
Signing off,
Paddle Geek
