We often get asked to resend our update and informational emails. Just to keep them all in one place, here are the reprints (newest first) from this year so far:
September 5, 2016
Hello everyone,
Brackets
A complete race schedule and race brackets by division are attached to this email and will posted online shortly. Please contact us immediately if you see any errors or have any concerns.
A few words about our boats, lane assignments and advancements…
1. All boats used for racing have been recently washed, weighed and weighted to IDBF standards (within 10kg of one another). Please do not remove or interfere with any of the weights that may be strapped in the boats. It may be considered unsportsmanlike conduct that may result in disqualification from the races.
2. Teams have been pre-seeded and distributed accordingly among the first race heats, but they have been randomly assigned to a lane for that first race (i.e., pre-seeding will not be taking into consideration to place top-seeded teams into the center lanes).
3. After the first race, teams will automatically advance to the next race and lane based on their performance in the previous race.
Advancements will continue to work the same as they always have for this race. Brackets and advancements will be posted after each round of racing.
1. Advancement to race 2 (Saturday afternoon) is based on place of finish in race 1.
2. Advancement for race 3 (Sunday morning - semi-finals) is based on cumulative place from races 1 and 2 with time as a tie breaker.
3. Advancement to race 4 (Sunday afternoon - finals) is based on place of finish in race 3 with time as a tie breaker in a few select instances.
On Sunday, medals to the top three teams from each division finals will be available to teams approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the race unless all teams arrive together and represent that no protests will be filed.
2000m Races
The women’s 2000m Race Around the Bridges will again be run on Saturday after the mixed racing concludes; the mixed race will be run on Sunday. On Saturday, once the women’s division has concluded for the afternoon, a representative from your women’s team should check the seeding from the women’s races (to be posted at and near the Command Center) and should advise the race officials at the Command Center whether or not your team plans to participate in the 2000m Race Around the Bridges (if your team qualifies) or if you would like to be placed on the alternates list if someone ahead of you opts out. On Sunday, mixed teams in the A Division should similarly advise the officials at the Command Center if they would like to participate before the lunch break; otherwise entries will be offered to the next-highest qualifying teams that have placed themselves on an alternates list.
Marshaling
Teams will be called to marshaling 15-20 minutes before the published time for their heat. That means Heat #1 will be marshaling pretty much right after the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. In the unlikely event we get ahead of schedule, we will not slow down to catch up unless we are running more than 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
We hope our PA system is loud enough for everyone to hear, but we know it’s a big area with a lot going on. We again plan to have a visual aid (really big numbers) posted in a central location which will tell you what heat is currently marshaling. If you don't have a clear view of the marshaling numbers from your tent, make sure someone on your team is paying attention as to when you should be at marshaling. You should be wrapping up your warm-ups and ready to head over to the marshaling area when the heat before you is posted/called. We are not planning on doing any kind of organized pre-marshaling this year, but will change that if teams are consistently tardy. (Please don't make us do that.)
Other stuff:
1. Race Program. We're using an online-only program again this year. QR codes will be posted at your tents or bookmark this link now - http://www.portlanddragonboats.com/race-program.html - which should work on your mobile devices. If you need a paper copy of anything (race grids, tent maps), just ask at the Command Center.
2. Race Results. We'll be posting race results online as soon as we're posting them on the results bulletin board. Links can be found from our Race Program or just follow us on Twitter @pdxdragonboat.
3. Rosters, Waivers and Check-In. Rosters and waivers are now past due. We have checked your rosters against your electronic waivers through this afternoon and made comments (which should come to you via email) on the roster forms relating to deficiencies. If your waiver is complete, we have marked it “COMPLETE” in the title and locked the main tab for editing (use the Add/Delete tab for any changes). Some of you are only missing a few waivers; some of you have not selected roles for your participants. Please try to finish all of these in the next couple of days so we can mark more of these complete before race weekend.
Even if your forms are all complete, we’re asking for all team captains to check-in at the Command Center (located on the south end of Waterfront Park) before the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. No, we don't do wristbands at this race, but we do have other fun stuff to give you. The Command Center will also be open for check-in on Friday afternoon from approximately 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
4. Pre-Race Meeting. All team captains and steerpersons must attend the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. We will also hold a more informal and optional Pre-Race Meeting Sunday morning (same time, same place) for anyone who has questions/concerns about what transpired the day before. The Pre-Race Meetings will be located in the Marshaling area adjacent to the Command Center at 8:00 a.m. both days.
5. Tent Assignments. As we told you in our last email, we are providing 10x10 canopies (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you) for all teams. The canopies do not have sidewalls, but we are putting up fencing behind the tents to deter those passing by from entering your tents. Please do not move or cross over the fencing.
We've attached a map that generally depicts where all teams are in relation to one another in the park (also available online). Tents 1-24 are planned to be on the outer south circle, tents 25-36 are planned to be in the center of the bowl, and tents 37-64 to the north outer circle.
As a reminder, teams may not switch tent spaces without approval from the Race Director.
There will be security on-site overnight, but you should plan to take most of your belongings home with you at the end of each day. Many teams do leave up canopies, tables, and signs without incident, but we cannot be responsible for any damage, theft or other loss if something happens to them overnight. DragonSports-supplied tents and fencing will be taken down as soon as racing is complete on Sunday, we ask that you pack up your belongings as well before heading to the Beer Garden.
6. First Aid. Finally, a big shout out to our sponsor Kaiser Permanente for staffing our First Aid tent (located adjacent to the Command Center) this weekend. Though the basics will be provided here, we still recommend that each team bring their own first aid kit to this and every event to cover your team’s specific needs.
See you this weekend!
Hello everyone,
Brackets
A complete race schedule and race brackets by division are attached to this email and will posted online shortly. Please contact us immediately if you see any errors or have any concerns.
A few words about our boats, lane assignments and advancements…
1. All boats used for racing have been recently washed, weighed and weighted to IDBF standards (within 10kg of one another). Please do not remove or interfere with any of the weights that may be strapped in the boats. It may be considered unsportsmanlike conduct that may result in disqualification from the races.
2. Teams have been pre-seeded and distributed accordingly among the first race heats, but they have been randomly assigned to a lane for that first race (i.e., pre-seeding will not be taking into consideration to place top-seeded teams into the center lanes).
3. After the first race, teams will automatically advance to the next race and lane based on their performance in the previous race.
Advancements will continue to work the same as they always have for this race. Brackets and advancements will be posted after each round of racing.
1. Advancement to race 2 (Saturday afternoon) is based on place of finish in race 1.
2. Advancement for race 3 (Sunday morning - semi-finals) is based on cumulative place from races 1 and 2 with time as a tie breaker.
3. Advancement to race 4 (Sunday afternoon - finals) is based on place of finish in race 3 with time as a tie breaker in a few select instances.
On Sunday, medals to the top three teams from each division finals will be available to teams approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the race unless all teams arrive together and represent that no protests will be filed.
2000m Races
The women’s 2000m Race Around the Bridges will again be run on Saturday after the mixed racing concludes; the mixed race will be run on Sunday. On Saturday, once the women’s division has concluded for the afternoon, a representative from your women’s team should check the seeding from the women’s races (to be posted at and near the Command Center) and should advise the race officials at the Command Center whether or not your team plans to participate in the 2000m Race Around the Bridges (if your team qualifies) or if you would like to be placed on the alternates list if someone ahead of you opts out. On Sunday, mixed teams in the A Division should similarly advise the officials at the Command Center if they would like to participate before the lunch break; otherwise entries will be offered to the next-highest qualifying teams that have placed themselves on an alternates list.
Marshaling
Teams will be called to marshaling 15-20 minutes before the published time for their heat. That means Heat #1 will be marshaling pretty much right after the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. In the unlikely event we get ahead of schedule, we will not slow down to catch up unless we are running more than 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
We hope our PA system is loud enough for everyone to hear, but we know it’s a big area with a lot going on. We again plan to have a visual aid (really big numbers) posted in a central location which will tell you what heat is currently marshaling. If you don't have a clear view of the marshaling numbers from your tent, make sure someone on your team is paying attention as to when you should be at marshaling. You should be wrapping up your warm-ups and ready to head over to the marshaling area when the heat before you is posted/called. We are not planning on doing any kind of organized pre-marshaling this year, but will change that if teams are consistently tardy. (Please don't make us do that.)
Other stuff:
1. Race Program. We're using an online-only program again this year. QR codes will be posted at your tents or bookmark this link now - http://www.portlanddragonboats.com/race-program.html - which should work on your mobile devices. If you need a paper copy of anything (race grids, tent maps), just ask at the Command Center.
2. Race Results. We'll be posting race results online as soon as we're posting them on the results bulletin board. Links can be found from our Race Program or just follow us on Twitter @pdxdragonboat.
3. Rosters, Waivers and Check-In. Rosters and waivers are now past due. We have checked your rosters against your electronic waivers through this afternoon and made comments (which should come to you via email) on the roster forms relating to deficiencies. If your waiver is complete, we have marked it “COMPLETE” in the title and locked the main tab for editing (use the Add/Delete tab for any changes). Some of you are only missing a few waivers; some of you have not selected roles for your participants. Please try to finish all of these in the next couple of days so we can mark more of these complete before race weekend.
Even if your forms are all complete, we’re asking for all team captains to check-in at the Command Center (located on the south end of Waterfront Park) before the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. No, we don't do wristbands at this race, but we do have other fun stuff to give you. The Command Center will also be open for check-in on Friday afternoon from approximately 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
4. Pre-Race Meeting. All team captains and steerpersons must attend the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. We will also hold a more informal and optional Pre-Race Meeting Sunday morning (same time, same place) for anyone who has questions/concerns about what transpired the day before. The Pre-Race Meetings will be located in the Marshaling area adjacent to the Command Center at 8:00 a.m. both days.
5. Tent Assignments. As we told you in our last email, we are providing 10x10 canopies (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you) for all teams. The canopies do not have sidewalls, but we are putting up fencing behind the tents to deter those passing by from entering your tents. Please do not move or cross over the fencing.
We've attached a map that generally depicts where all teams are in relation to one another in the park (also available online). Tents 1-24 are planned to be on the outer south circle, tents 25-36 are planned to be in the center of the bowl, and tents 37-64 to the north outer circle.
As a reminder, teams may not switch tent spaces without approval from the Race Director.
There will be security on-site overnight, but you should plan to take most of your belongings home with you at the end of each day. Many teams do leave up canopies, tables, and signs without incident, but we cannot be responsible for any damage, theft or other loss if something happens to them overnight. DragonSports-supplied tents and fencing will be taken down as soon as racing is complete on Sunday, we ask that you pack up your belongings as well before heading to the Beer Garden.
6. First Aid. Finally, a big shout out to our sponsor Kaiser Permanente for staffing our First Aid tent (located adjacent to the Command Center) this weekend. Though the basics will be provided here, we still recommend that each team bring their own first aid kit to this and every event to cover your team’s specific needs.
See you this weekend!
September 1, 2016
Hello and welcome to the 2016 Portland Dragon Boat Festival. Hard to believe that the races are just over week away!
We're working hard to get everything in order for another great weekend of racing. We have 64 Registered Teams (26 women, 38 mixed) and a tentative Schedule of Racing was posted on our website today. We will likely be making updates to the schedule for the Specialty Division races in the coming days and we will have a final schedule out with the brackets out by Monday, but don’t expect it to change too much from what we just published.
You should all be finishing up collecting your waivers and finalizing your rosters, if you are not done already. We do check to make sure these are all complete before race weekend, that’s why we need them now (and you’ll hear from us when you check-in, if not sooner, if there are any issues). If you need to make changes to your Roster document after it is set and locked, please use Add/Delete tab in the Roster document.
As in prior years, we will be running 4-boat heats with two 500m seeding races on Saturday, and two guaranteed 500m races on Sunday (semi-finals then finals/consolation races). In addition to all of this, we have quite a few Specialty Division races plus our 2000m Races Around the Bridges.
What’s a Specialty Division race? We have eight of them, and it’s not too late to register for them if you haven’t already (subject to available space). No extra cost, but please be reasonable in your selections as some races may be running back to back. Teams are permitted to pair with other teams to fill boats for these races, but please make sure that all participants are rostered with a registered team.*
Here’s the rundown and the requirements for each and who has already marked interest on their registrations or otherwise. No need to confirm unless your plans have changed.
Women’s GrandMasters Race – all paddlers must be women 50 years of age and older.
Mixed Grandmasters Race – all paddlers must be 50 years of age and older with at least ten female paddlers.
Women’s Masters Race – all paddlers must be women 40 years of age and older.
Mixed Masters Race – all paddlers must be 40 years of age and older with at least ten female paddlers.
Junior Race - All paddlers must be between 14 and 18 years of age, inclusive.
Corporate Race - The team should be named after a sponsoring corporation. It is desired, but not required, that team members be employees of or otherwise affiliated with the sponsoring corporation as well.
Cancer Survivors Race - All paddlers should be cancer survivors and at least 14 years of age. Based on agreement of the participating teams, all paddlers must be women.
Open Race – No restrictions (i.e., a boat full of men is OK).
I really need those participating in the open division to let me know 1) if you are still participating, 2) what team(s) you are combining with if you aren't part of a bigger club with multiple teams registered, and 3) what your team name is (if different). Based on continuing and increased interest in the open division, I am sure it will be on the agenda for next year's planning committee whether to have a full open division as part of our race!
On to other items…
We are again providing all teams with 10x10 canopies (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you). The canopies will be staked and this is your assigned location. You may set up additional canopies, but please do not move from your assigned area. If you are hosting a visiting team, you will be next to each other. If your teams are part of a larger club, you will be next to each other. If you sent in a special request because of shared paddlers, coaching, or the like, you will be next to each other. It's quite the puzzle to figure it all out, so please send any (reasonable) last minute requests to us now and please don't ask us to move you once the map is published.
You may bring your cases and cases of water, but we will have water at the race site for all participants. We are again providing to all teams 5-gallon water dispensers (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you) that can be refilled on request all weekend. Please remind everyone to bring a refillable/reusable water container (we will also have some race logo water bottles for sale) to cut down on waste. Please consider bringing a table to put your water dispenser on.
Finally, just a reminder that the safety of our paddlers on and off the water is our top priority, thus we ask that all participants understand and abide by the Race Rules published on our website. Please take time to review (or re-review, as the case may be) them before race weekend. To ensure that all participants have a rewarding and competitive experience, our second priority will be fairness—we hope that all participants walk away from this race satisfied with how it was conducted. With these two goals in mind, please bear with us if extra time is required to maintain safety and fairness.
That's it for now! Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be in touch with you all again after this weekend.
Hello and welcome to the 2016 Portland Dragon Boat Festival. Hard to believe that the races are just over week away!
We're working hard to get everything in order for another great weekend of racing. We have 64 Registered Teams (26 women, 38 mixed) and a tentative Schedule of Racing was posted on our website today. We will likely be making updates to the schedule for the Specialty Division races in the coming days and we will have a final schedule out with the brackets out by Monday, but don’t expect it to change too much from what we just published.
You should all be finishing up collecting your waivers and finalizing your rosters, if you are not done already. We do check to make sure these are all complete before race weekend, that’s why we need them now (and you’ll hear from us when you check-in, if not sooner, if there are any issues). If you need to make changes to your Roster document after it is set and locked, please use Add/Delete tab in the Roster document.
As in prior years, we will be running 4-boat heats with two 500m seeding races on Saturday, and two guaranteed 500m races on Sunday (semi-finals then finals/consolation races). In addition to all of this, we have quite a few Specialty Division races plus our 2000m Races Around the Bridges.
What’s a Specialty Division race? We have eight of them, and it’s not too late to register for them if you haven’t already (subject to available space). No extra cost, but please be reasonable in your selections as some races may be running back to back. Teams are permitted to pair with other teams to fill boats for these races, but please make sure that all participants are rostered with a registered team.*
Here’s the rundown and the requirements for each and who has already marked interest on their registrations or otherwise. No need to confirm unless your plans have changed.
Women’s GrandMasters Race – all paddlers must be women 50 years of age and older.
- DragonMax
- Golden Dragons Women
- WAM
- Wasabi
Mixed Grandmasters Race – all paddlers must be 50 years of age and older with at least ten female paddlers.
- DragonMax
- WAM
Women’s Masters Race – all paddlers must be women 40 years of age and older.
- Alameda DragonFlyers
- Bridge City
- DragonMax
- Team Survivor Sea Dragons
- WAM
- Wasabi
Mixed Masters Race – all paddlers must be 40 years of age and older with at least ten female paddlers.
- Alameda DragonFlyers
- Bridge City
- DragonMax
- Dragin' Tails
- WAM
Junior Race - All paddlers must be between 14 and 18 years of age, inclusive.
- SunDragons (*the race committee is considering whether non-rostered paddlers may race for this entry)
- Wasabi Kraken
- Zamboanga Aquarockets
Corporate Race - The team should be named after a sponsoring corporation. It is desired, but not required, that team members be employees of or otherwise affiliated with the sponsoring corporation as well.
- Concord Pacific Flying Dragons
- Phoogoo's Fire Breathing Blowfish
- Grainger Portland Dragons
- KP Dragon Fit
- KP Dragons
- KP Thriving Dragons
- Tsunami USA (Providence)
Cancer Survivors Race - All paddlers should be cancer survivors and at least 14 years of age. Based on agreement of the participating teams, all paddlers must be women.
- Club SAKE Survivor
- Pink Phoenix Spark
- Pink Phoenix Spirit
- Team Survivor Sea Dragons
- The Unsinkables
- Wasabi SOAR
Open Race – No restrictions (i.e., a boat full of men is OK).
- Bridge City Men
- DCH Dragon Boat Club
- Grainger Fuel
- Kaiser Permanente teams
- Mountain Home Canoe Club
- SOL Dragons
- Space Dragons
- SunKen Rockets
- Team Fusion
- WAM
- Zamboanga
I really need those participating in the open division to let me know 1) if you are still participating, 2) what team(s) you are combining with if you aren't part of a bigger club with multiple teams registered, and 3) what your team name is (if different). Based on continuing and increased interest in the open division, I am sure it will be on the agenda for next year's planning committee whether to have a full open division as part of our race!
On to other items…
We are again providing all teams with 10x10 canopies (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you). The canopies will be staked and this is your assigned location. You may set up additional canopies, but please do not move from your assigned area. If you are hosting a visiting team, you will be next to each other. If your teams are part of a larger club, you will be next to each other. If you sent in a special request because of shared paddlers, coaching, or the like, you will be next to each other. It's quite the puzzle to figure it all out, so please send any (reasonable) last minute requests to us now and please don't ask us to move you once the map is published.
You may bring your cases and cases of water, but we will have water at the race site for all participants. We are again providing to all teams 5-gallon water dispensers (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you) that can be refilled on request all weekend. Please remind everyone to bring a refillable/reusable water container (we will also have some race logo water bottles for sale) to cut down on waste. Please consider bringing a table to put your water dispenser on.
Finally, just a reminder that the safety of our paddlers on and off the water is our top priority, thus we ask that all participants understand and abide by the Race Rules published on our website. Please take time to review (or re-review, as the case may be) them before race weekend. To ensure that all participants have a rewarding and competitive experience, our second priority will be fairness—we hope that all participants walk away from this race satisfied with how it was conducted. With these two goals in mind, please bear with us if extra time is required to maintain safety and fairness.
That's it for now! Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be in touch with you all again after this weekend.
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