Sunday, June 29, 2008

29 June 2008 - SDBF 800m semi-finals

Paps,

Today was the first time we appeared in the 800m semi-finals. Let me say this - we rowed like we were regulars in this competition. Against all-men teams, we showed what we're capable of - that we're not a 'bao1 jia4'* team. Yep - whoever wants to proceed to the Final, has to get past us first okayyy.

* 'bao1 jia4' = 'guaranteed to eat' = easy meat

This weekend was an awesome start to our race campaign! So let's keep the momentum going and push hard for a few more weeks. Our spirits are high, knowing that coming races will provide the stage for us to shine.

But make no mistake - Papillon will not be complacent. For CCG and JI, we will respect our opponents - that none of them are bao1 jia4s - and we will train well to win by being the better - no, make that BEST - team.

Papillons... are ready. ATTENTION now...

= Chief Editor signing off =

28 June 2008 - SDBF 800m race heats

Today... was just like training.

We arrived, milled around, did a quick warm up, and rowed - just like we trained the week before.

What a simple game plan - a game plan that worked.

Timing: 4min 51.46sec

Let's bring it up another notch tomorrow - and shoot for a slot in the Finals.

May our beat be as One, and strokes, Mighty.

= Chief Editor signing off =

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Blasts from the past - 2007.

Paps,

As we enter the Race period of this season, thought it'd be apt to recap our exciting exploits last year as a reminder of what we are capable of. (Good timing too - I've always wanted to post up my earlier summary masterpieces but Blogger.com doesn't support backdating.)

We were good last year - this year, we will be GREAT.

= Chief Editor signing off =

'Flashback' Episode 3: J.I. race - 04 August 2007

There wasn't any summary for this eventful day due to Chief Editor's memory crash. However, let me share some of the afterthoughts by then-V.Capt-now-Capt Jonathan and Coach Patrick (typos and all retained for original flavour - heck, it's the content that counts!)

_____________________________

(Email from then-Vice Capt Jon)

Dear Team,

As I reflect on the race that was over a couple of hours ago, how we would have gotten the long awaited Gold Medal and the Champion Cup for Mixed category, something popped into my mind which I will like to take a moment of your time to share with.

For many of us, today's loss was unbearable. It was an exact replica of disappointment and low morale that surfaced during our defeat in JI '06. As the saying goes "so close yet so far" . This statement is only half right.

If we ask ourselves truely, what drives us? What's our source of motivation? The answer to the questions cannot be found in medal chasing. The answer lies in our beliefs in one another, in that Papillon can surface as a true medal contender and win races. To prove ourselves! This driving force had fuelled us to continously challenge our limits and to scale greater heights.

Papillon had always been the underdog in races. For the whole of 2006, we were medal -less, only there to make up numbers. The wake up call was in JI'06 when we lost what could have been ours. We trained hard consistently over the next 12 months and achieve what we had thus far: Bronze medal in CCG and Silver medal just 2 weeks back.

In retrospect, Medals are only a token and a form of official recognition. Ask ourselves, had we not already attained that? The timings had shown it all. The photo finish had proved it all. We had fellow rowers telling us that we are the rightful champion in their heart. What else do we need to convince ourselves we had beat the rest? Are we going to dwell into not getting another piece of token?

Objectively , we had met what we set out as a team to achieve. Over the past few races, we had proved ourselves continously. We had came in 3rd position in CCG, 2nd Position in Charity Race and 1st position in JI race. 3 wins in 3 weeks. This is the testament of our achievements. In fact, we had obtained the recognition from our peers in the dragonboat community. In a short span of one year, we have became one of the top teams in the inter-corporate mixed category, a team not to be reckon with. For this, I am proud to be part of.

Here, I will like to thank Patrick for his time and effort in bringing out Papillon's true potential. (with our consent to the suffering of course). Papillon Unite, let's get over this episode and look forward to our nextrace.

Papillon ReadY~ Kiyak!

Your Humble Vice Captain,
Jonathan Yeo

_______________________________________

(Email from Coach Patrick)

Dear Pappillon,

We went thru a really pressing time last weekend, the scene of us being DQ at the finish line kept flashing thru my mind. I kept asking myself "Why did it happen?"

The whole course of the race seems to keep replaying like a tape in auto replay mode, then i started to collect myself n see things in a positive n constuctive manner. Yes i made a mistake by overlooking the lane marking n caused the team to be DQ. Such a small detail n it caused us the trophy we really wanted i kept brooding n blamed myself, but i realised i'm just stuck at the same point n not moving forward. The race can'nt replay again, what i can do is jus make sure of the lane marking before the start of any race set. This kind of mistake did'nt occur to me in my years of rowing before, i paid my dues n will learn from this painful experience. On hindsight, i'm glad it did'nt happen on a bigger stage like regatta or jun race where the loss would be more unbearable.

Overall the team is really showing depth n heading in the right direction we have proven to the rest we came in 1st the timing can'nt lie, the same cannot be said if we came in at the bottom n argued for bragging rights to be the top team. The faith n belief we have in Papillon is what really comforts me, where everybody stick thru highs n lows together always encouraging. Like always this experience makes me wiser n spur me to bring Pappilon to the next level for more success in the challenging races ahead. A very successful entreprenuer once said :'' It's ok to make mistakes it's how fast u learn from it n pick urself up that is of outmost importance."

Rdgs,

Coach Patrick.

_______________________________________

= Chief Editor signing off =

'Flashback' Episode 2: Charity Race - 29 July 2007

Papillons were once again very active on a Sunday morning. This time, the stage was set in the classy CBD, with Singapore River and the majestic Fullerton Hotel as our backdrop. The atmosphere was carnival-like with tents and milo goodie bags and people all around.

Papillons, by nature, can be categorized into two basic groups: one – the Punctuals; two – the Delayeds. On this day, the early arrivals blinked and yawned, struggling to not fall asleep. However, nothing beats a good, loud, totally unexpected last-call from the organizers to fall in: “… EXXONMOBIL, please gather at __ and get ready for heat (7?)” In a flash, everyone was wide-awake – AARH??? SO EARLY??!

The bunch of frantic Papillons scrambled for their life vests and paddles. Summoned by a phonecall, Ah Ben teleported from the nearby McDonald’s and was thrown straight into battle, ignoring his body’s calls to poo first then row. Due to the limited supply of EM beings around, we enlisted the help of Yew Thong to be our drummer – which the good fella gamely agreed to.

More drama was to follow – just as Papillon was about to push off, our Vincent Teo, Minister-of-Defence-Teo’s-possible-seventh-cousin-twenty-times-removed, appeared! A personnel overhaul ensued – Jessica swapped to be drummer just as Yew Thong managed to squeeze into the impossibly tiny life vest; while Vincent took Jessica’s position on the left.

With all stars in place, the troop of Jon, Desmond, Christy, Dawn, Freddy, Marilyn, Vincent, Ben, Ken, Patrick, Jessica drummer and Jackson coxswain set off for the starting line. Having switched on our Race-mode, the bump boats and tourists faded into the background. “ARE YOU READY. Attention…BORRRH” later, Papillon shot off to a pulsating good start. Seat by seat, we gradually pulled in front of our nearest competitor, finishing strong with half a boat length lead to book a place in the final.

Papillons disembarked feeling a little “high” and woozy after the overdose of adrenaline attributable to the chaotic pre-race happenings and the race itself. Shaking and stretching off the lactic acid and any residual shock, we were joined by a gleeful Dennis who exclaimed that the race was super exciting man!!!

After settling down, hunger pangs awoke and we heard random orders of “tau huay chooi” (soya bean milk), duck rice, “char siew rice” and “chwee kuey” to no one in particular – we -must- be woozy from that energy-sapping race.

The Sun then decided to take urgent leave without notice and went MIA as dark clouds rapidly descended upon us. The subsequent downpour created a very despondent sight indeed – a bunch of cold, hungry and pooped-out Papillons huddled on the floor.

Eons passed. We stared blankly at each other. Some chit chat. A giant can of Milo danced. …and finally, time for the finals, yipee! As usual, a couple of us dashed to the toilet. It was then, that Ah Biow appeared. I couldn’t quite remember what transpired; all I knew was - we all started chanting “Ah Biow, AH BIOW, AH BIOW AH BIOW…”, then Vincent stripped, Pierre swapped his top, Christy transferred to the right, and Papillon was all ready for the showdown against Tanker Pacific. As we rowed off to the starting point, in the distance, we saw that our Captain Su Li had arrived right on time and was on the river bank waving and cheering us on.

Perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer presence of such a large audience along the Singapore River, our coxswain attempted tricky maneuvers just to get our boat oriented correctly.

With all teams in place, the air-horn went again. Flanked by Stanchart and Tanker Pac, the pressure was on for Papillon. Nevertheless, we never wavered; we kept our cool and fought all the way to a photo-finish, capturing the second place! Pats on backs for yet another super performance, Papillons were jubilant as we achieved another significant milestone in the short span of two weeks. It was also a great experience having Coach Patrick row with us instead of coxing, as well as the cameo by good ole Vincent, and last but not least – great effort by Ken and Dennis!

Despite the long wait to get our medals, Papillons cheered wildly when Derk went on stage to accept a token for ExxonMobil’s sponsorship of the event, and went delirious when Jon claimed our medals. “Go GO GO! ExxonMobil GO!”

Couple of photos-with-medals later, we trudged to Han’s in search of our delayed lunch. The famished gang went on an ordering spree of steaks and salmon fillets, chicken chops and pastas; then wiped out the food almost as soon as they landed on the table.

Pierre then negated all the efforts of our gut-busting, fats-zapping 1min44sec and 1min32sec rows respectively by introducing sinful cakes and ice cream. Strangely, the desserts seemed to gravitate towards Dawn and Co’s table as many plates of cakes suddenly materialized from nowhere.

With the hearty lunch as a superb way to end off the day’s events, the team dispersed; no doubt with each and every Papillon harbouring a deep-seated conviction and determination to complete the three-week-trilogy with a Gold medal in the J.I. race the following Saturday.

= Chief Editor signing off =

'Flashback' Episode 1: CCG Dragonboat - 21 July 2007

It was a glorious Sunday morning. At 11am, most Papillons were fluttering around in the ExxonMobil tent at Bedok Reservoir. Something(s), however, felt amiss. AH – we were missing parts of our head and tail. Ah Jon (head) was still turning the refinery around and Ah Ben (tail) was simply MIA. Not to worry, we boast of a squad with depth – Freddy-ever-Ready would take us through the first race. (And fortunately, a flurry of phonecalls later, Ben-the-Man appeared from nowhere.)

After eternity, it was time to warm up! Led astray – sorry, away – from the hustle and bustle of the tents, the troop flipped-flopped-jogged along a lovely track that showcased intricate wooden architecture among the trees.The steps, burrows and whatnots suspended by ropes reminded one of some kind of SOC (standard obstacle course) – only, for monkeys.

Some side shuffles, back paddles, touch-the-ground-without-kissing-SuLi’s-ass-s and leaps later, we did a solid 2-minute drill of simulated rowing. With stinging palms as evidence of our superb coordination – never missing a slap - we were ready to rock.

And rock, we did. The boat was very rocky indeed when we boarded for our heat, threatening to spill a few Papillons into the water. With Jon appearing in time to cheer us on, the team was raring to kick some ass. Bearing in mind what Coach Patrick said earlier when educating us on the finer points of not losing out in a race, Marilyn was trying hard not to fall into the water as she reached for some imaginary buoy.

Holding our breath in anticipation of the air-horn after the call of “ARE YOU READY. Attention...,” we almost died of asphyxiation because the air-horn never came. Luckily our common sense kicked in and we rowed away on hearing “GO!!!” half-a-retard-second later.

Hard 10, fast 20… maintenance… “Hard 10 ready”, “READY!”, “GO NOW” – “one, two…nine, ten. Ki yah, KI YAH, KI YAH, KI YAH…!!!”

… with that, Papillon glided into the semi-finals with half-a-boat-length lead over the second-placed team. One down, two to go.

Feeling all confident and good, Papillons gathered under the trees, stretching and shaking the lactic acid off. In particular, one newbie was observed trying to fling her arms off. Anyway, Coach Patrick did a post-mortem and concluded we could do an even better job in the subsequent race – to which we agreed. The team then topped up themselves with some high-octane Redbull and H2O and bananas that appeared from nowhere - courtesy of the mysterious reservoir elf (Freddy!)

After forever, we reassembled again for warm up as semi-finals approached. After more stretches and smacking each others’ palms, we did deep-breathing exercises to calm ourselves down. It was obviously something we badly needed – seeing how most of us piew-ed to the toilet every 5 seconds.

With Jon and Freddy swapping the roles of “fervent supporter” and “superpacer”, Papillon did not miss a beat and confidently headed out towards the starting point. This time, the eagle-eyed officials spotted our drummer Marilyn without her white buoy, and we gostan-ed the boat a little to hand it to her.

“ARE YOU READY. Attention…” “BORRRRRHHH” – the air-horn went. Papillon did a good start set and finished off equally strong – way ahead of the rest. And hence a place in the finals was booked.

With each race, the tiredness started creeping in… fortunately, with our morale bolstered by the two good performances, Papillon oozed sufficient adrenaline to overcome any signs of fatigue.

More Redbull and bananas later, it was Showtime!!!

Papillon cruised to the starting point with William and Dawn frantically bailing to relieve the boat of any unnecessary weight. The officials’ eyesight was getting better with each race, so we did not try anything funny.

… for a final time that day, the air-horn went and Papillon rowed like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Police and OCBC rowed like there was no today, so they clinched the first and second placing respectively. Third place was secured by a relatively dark horse, which had never tasted medal before. It could only be… the one and only Papillon!!!

Slaps on the back for a good job done, we brought much cheer to the ExxonMobil tent with our star-shaped medals. Then it was off to Pierre’s palace for a joyous celebration!

The swanky place rocked to the beat of Queen’s – to which Christy delightedly grooved along. Pierre eventually decided to fast-forward a few tracks to get to the one he –really- wanted to hear. “Weeee are the champions, my frie-ends... and weeee… go on fighting till the end… We are the champions, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS; no time for losers, cos we are the championssss… of the world…”

Dinner was a feast of 2 delicious deep-fried sambal-chilli fish, 2 grilled frozen pizzas, and approximately 4 CEUs (chicken-equivalent-units), accompanied by beer, Pokka green tea and/or Sprite. Yes – we were HUNGRY. Meal time entertainment consisted of the interrogation of Coach Patrick and it was certainly a quick and efficient way to learn about our coach. Newbie Dawn was then showered with the same rapt attention as the whole team-minus-Dawn suddenly resembled a grand panel of matchmakers.

All in all, it was a fantabulous full-day affair which, I would think, totally made everyone’s weekend (and month… and 3Q07 YTD!) Well done Ah Ben, Desmond, Freddy, Jon, Su Li, Jessica, Christy, William, Yen Nee, Ah Biow, Dawn, Marilyn and Patrick! And not forgetting our trusty video-grapher Ken! And Samuel who was there with us in spirit! And Dennis too!

Papillon has come some way and we’ve entered a new era of title-chasing hopes and ambition. Seat by seat, race by race, medal by medal… we’ll get there. Let’s strive for a GOLDen era ahead!!

Next up – J.I. race – BRING IT ON.

= Chief Editor signing off =

Saturday, June 21, 2008

21 June 2008 - Found the elusive groove.

What can I say - it took us some time to get it. But when it arrived, it was SWEET. After weeks and weeks of tweaking and finetuning, we have finally discovered our very own Papillon... pace!

The day began with our usual warm up and the familiar sight of a frantic Joe bursting into the scene. Somehow, he always manages not to miss the boat - talk about uncanny timing. With Joe, we had a perfect 10 lineup for today's training in preparation for next week's 800m race.

Apparently, there were 战书s* issued among Paps, Vets and Lilies, to do pacing. There was some miscomm. about timing, so Paps set off to find and update the Vets. But, they were nowhere to be found. Conspiracy theorists speculated that it was a ploy to tire us out with an extended warm-up row. (Not true - they were just secretly practising in Cosy Bay - fair enough.)

*战书 = noun. 'written challenge to war', or, 'letter to challenge'

Just as well - in the distance covered to find the Vets, we practised our special-30 start introduced by Coach Patrick just the previous session - looking good. But the test of the mettle came during the 800m pace with Vets and Lilies...

Conclusion: It's good. We made our best timing and were way way ahead in the finish. (To be fair, our boat was at full strength while our worthy opponents were missing a few.) MOST importantly, we didn't collapse and die at the end of it.

Ever the thorough coach, Patrick wanted to double-confirm the 30-start's effectiveness, so made us do two 300m race sets with different starts, to compare. Again, 30-start showed an advantage. So... I guess - this is it! We have found our groove. Well, at least for the coming 800m race.

In such a long race, we need to stay fresh - the 30-start gives a steady and powerful start and allows us to breathe and recover well during maintenance in order to charge again near the end. Also, unlike with fast-short strokes, the chance of incoordination is lower.

The key lies in maintaining focus and keeping to our own pace with long, strong pulls, even if other boats press ahead at the start. We will definitely catch up - seat by seat, stroke by stroke - that's for sure. So Paps, just be cool, stick to our game plan - and things will pan out fine.

It's going to be one hard race... but when we hear that 'ARE YOU READY' next week - you can betcha we are.

= Chief Editor signing off =

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

14 June 2008 - The wonders of technology.

Yep, Coach Patrick has got a new toy.

It's a neat little gadget called GPS, which he proudly snapped onto his wrist and eagerly shooed us into the boat to test it out.

Today we were going to row full 800m sets in preparation for the SDBF race come June 28-29.

Coach also tuned the new stroke to become even newer - but more importantly, to suit our pace. Results from empirical tests showed that the slower but longer pull (now to the hip instead of mid thigh) allowed us to catch our breath while achieving similar speed to the fast-short strokes that make us woozy and lightheaded after each burst.

With this improved energy efficiency, Papillon should be better-prepared to take on one of the world's toughest energy challenges - the 800m DB race - without going kaput halfway through.

In between short sets of 30 strokes, we did 3 full 800m race sets, with Coach monitoring the speed gauge and prodding us to keep the pace up when the boat got sluggish.

Key takeaways:
  • We agreed that the slower/longer/stronger stroke is better for the upcoming 800m race.
  • Continue to 'kiyah' to the finishing line, but alternate the shouting so that we can still exert strength optimally (don't 'kiyah' and lose your breath!)
  • Training with GPS is useful for tracking and optimizing our pace at different phases of the race.
Thanks to Patrick for introducing innovative ways to enhance training and always looking to make Papillon better. Paps - together let's keep moving forward!

= Chief Editor signing off =

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

OUR BIG DAYS.... Photo Uploaded (some)

Dear folks,

I have upload some of our recent photos... mainly of our folks and their BIG day... Going forward, I will try to upload as frequent as possible. ^.^ Enjoy...

Sunday, June 1, 2008

31 May 2008 - A dash of poop.

This Saturday, Papillons were early and we did proper warm up complete with 80 push ups. When Coach Patrick arrived - surprise, surprise! - we already had our life vests on, all ready to board.

Dennis was promoted to the front left pacer seat for the day, after Jon was urgently called back to the plant.

While resting after a long warm up row, a most curious thing happened. A patch of creamy white was discovered on Dennis' bermudas as he was saying to Su Li "Can you talk to Emily... WHAT-THE-HELL?!?" Yep - Dennis has been struck by the poop bomb from a terrorist bird. In typical Singaporean fashion, the eagle-eyed ones among us immediately spied the bright yellow width/height limitations (15m, 26m) on the Sheares bridge: "Eh look - 15 26! Buy 4D ah!"

(For info: 1526 did not strike anything on Saturday evening.)

In a pace set with Lilies, we pulled away from them very quickly in the front and maintained our lead all the way. Seems like the new stroke works well! - We just need to work on the optimal pace where we are able to catch the water quickly and pull the boat forward, but not rushing and tiring ourselves out prematurely. Comes with more practice.

Pierre set a more specific goal for us for the SDBA 800m Corporate Open race - We will not lose to the NewUrbanMale team this time. A fair enough challenge I would say - let's do it!

All in all, it was a fruitful training - we rowed hard, no complaining, covered good mileage while working the stroke... Like the true Papillons we are, we're showing excellent positive attitude - great stuff!

So Paps, the fire's lighted now - let's keep it burning!

= Chief Editor signing off =