AusChamps 2018

AusDBF Australian Dragon Boat Championships
3 - 8 March 2018

Thank you to our sponsors of the 2018 Australian National Dragon Boat Championships!

2018 AusChamps Race Results

Update - 11 March 2018

Thank you to all competitors, coaches, team managers, officials and of course our fabulous volunteers who attended the 2018 AusChamps! It was great to have so many 'dragon boaters' together again to enjoy this fabulous sport.

Some brief bits of information to keep people up to date:

The AusDBF board and the AusChamps organising committee (Dragon Boat Queensland) have just returned home from AusChamps. All efforts will be made to post the race results, answer emails and tie up any loose ends from the AusChamps as soon as possible. Please be patient, however, as we are all volunteers and for the last 10+ weeks many (most!) of us have been spending on average 4, 5 or more hours per night working on the AusChamps event, so we would like a day or two of rest and time to see our families again before delving back into the work. Everyone's consideration is much appreciated, and we will do our best to attend to everything and everyone quickly.

A big THANK YOU to all the sweeps and crews who worked so hard to get up to the start line and line up quickly on Day 5 of the AusChamps! It made a big difference and allowed the racing to progress ahead of schedule. Good work!

For those interested in understanding why the event was cancelled on Day 4, please read on. As Day 4 progressed, strong wind gusts were blowing across the course, which had the potential to capsize boats at the finish line (this has happened in the past). The winds at the pontoon were preventing people from being able to line up the boats properly. The pontoon then started to 'bow' (i.e. become a 'U' shape instead of a straight line), which created not only a dangerous situation, but also prevented the boats from lining up in a straight line. The gusts were also inconsistent; on several occasions the finishing tower was experiencing strong wind gusts while the wind at the start line was relatively calm. This would then switch back and forth, so suddenly the wind at the tower would drop, but at the start line the boats were being blown about. Options were considered and the Team Managers were advised of several changes to the race plan in an attempt to make the best of a bad situation and still have some fair racing, but the weather would not cooperate and we could not safely race. The risk management company employed for AusChamps was in direct contact with Bureau of Meteorology and received frequent wind and weather updates. The wind gust were predicted to increase, not decrease over the afternoon and the decision was made to cancel the event for the day. It was disappointing for many paddlers and teams, and it was disappointing for the race officials and all the people who had worked hard to organise the AusChamps, but conditions had become unsafe. The race officials and members of AusDBF worked together to come up with a contingency plan for Day 5 and made all efforts to ensure all Team Managers were notified of the potential changes and were aware of the need to attend the Team Manager meeting in the morning of Day 5. Team Managers and Coaches worked to modify their crew configurations to ensure paddlers were in seats 1 and 2 so boats could be properly aligned at the start line, and did an excellent job of working with their teams to get up to the start line quickly and line their boats up as best as possible. Due to everyone's hard work and some good luck with the weather, the race plan was able to be carried out as intended for all racing except the long-distance (2000m) event, which had to be modified to 1000m turn-racing to ensure the program could be completed in time before the weather upset the event again. The final race had just finished and only a few minutes later the wind and rain set in and conditions were unfavourable for racing. Thankfully, everyone's efforts allowed us to finish the Day 5 racing without any significant incidents or capsizes.

** NEWS FLASH ** IMPORTANT UPDATE **

Day 5 racing

Given the uncertain weather, it is important that all Team Managers attend the 7am briefing Thursday 8 March 2018, as the the race format may change.

AusDBF has been receiving regular weather updates direct from the Bureau of Meteorology. Winds over 33 km/hr are expected for tomorrow.

It is dependent on the weather tomorrow as to whether the race program will advance as written or a contingency plan will be used.

The contingency plan is to run timed heats (ie crews will get 1 race, which is timed and then ranked from all heats in that category), and the 6 fastest timed crews in that category will progress to the Grand Final.

Once the contingency plan is implemented, the racing will not revert back to the original race program.

Issues experienced today included significant wind gust speed discrepancies across the course (ie calmer conditions at finish line but strong winds at the Start, and vice versa). Unfortunately, racing could not proceed as per the program, or during calm periods, as the unpredictable nature of the weather did not allow the guaranteed completion of the program. Conditions at the Start Pontoon became unsafe for both the boat aligners and competitors. Gusty winds at the finish line increased the risks of boat capsizes. Despite trying various options to get the boats on the water, the day’s events were cancelled due to unsafe conditions.

Thank you to all team managers, competitors, officials and volunteers for great cooperation today in difficult conditions.

Reminder!

Paddlers are reminded to wear shoes (thongs will be accepted) through marshalling and to the boat. Shoes may be removed once in the boat, if desired. If you come to marshalling without shoes, you will be sent back to your tent to find some! Thank you for your cooperation.

AusChamps 2018 merchandise now available for online ordering!

Order your AusChamps 2018 event shirts, hoodies, caps and other fashionable merchandise via the online store! Note there is NO postal service, so you have to attend the championships to pick it up. Note their is no obligation to order online, however it will ensure that you get the item(s) you want... otherwise it is first come, first serve at the race event.

https://shop.teamelite.com.au/collections/ausdbf-dragon-boat-championships

Registration

Registrations are here. Alternatively, go to the "Events" tab (above), then click on "Events Calendar".

Bulletins

AusChamps - Bulletin #1 - 5 Dec 2018
AusChamps - Bulletin #2 - 12 Feb 2018 - version 2 (see below)
- Note: The bulletin says the due date for race draw comments is 16 Feb. Other information distributed has said the due date is 15 Feb. Please try to submit any race corrections by 15 February, if at all possible.
- Yes, the link specified for the Joeys (juniors) in the bulletin says '...2017' instead of 2018. Don't worry about it, it is the correct link (or just go here)
- There is a very minor variance between the Competitors and Team Manager Declaration form that was sent around with the bulletin and the form that is on the website. It doesn't matter which form you use, the critical content of both forms is the same.
- There was an error on p.3 -- it lists the date of the 'Meetings and Opening Ceremony' as 2 March, when it should be 3 March (Saturday).

Venue

Lake Kawana Sportsman Parade Bokarina Sunshine Coast

Accommodation

The Sunshine Cost has an abundance of accommodation. Booking enquiries can be made at https://www.visitsunshinecoast.com/accommodation

Timeline

Wellness Check

AusDBF and DBV urge paddlers to have a wellness check. This can identify hidden medical issues which may be aggravated by paddling. Paddlers undertaking wellness checks have found, and often corrected, some significant health issues.

Competition Regulations and Rules of Racing

The 2018 AusDBF Championships will be contested under the AusDBF Competition Regulations and Rules of Racing.

Volunteers expressions of interest

Volunteers are still required from 3^rd – 8^th March 2018 You don’t have to sign up for the full duration of the event, only the days you are available. Here’s the link: https://form.jotform.co/73350457899875

UPDATE: DBQ is currently working through the EOIs and all who have replied will be required for the competition days/times they have nominated with definite confirmation on bump in and bump out days to be confirmed. Further contact with individuals to come!

Submissions to race program

Deadline for submissions is Sunday 21 January. Please email your club’s biography (250 words), including achievements, history and aspirations to info@dbq.com.au. Please include a high-resolution jpeg photo as a separate attachment.

Joeys - all Junior racing team

The Joeys were developed in 2016 and endorsed by AusDBF to encourage racing opportunities for our youngest athletes. For more information and application details, please see this document: Joeys - information and application instructions

Training day - how to enter your crews

The AusChamps Training day is Saturday 3 March 2018. The training times are from 8:00am to 2:00pm, and the boats are available for 1 hr blocks, starting on the hour (e.g. 8am-9am, 9am-10am, etc.). There are 12 dragon boats available.

Crews will initially be allocated only one time slot. Depending on availability, there may be opportunity to book a second time slot closer to the actual date. Preference will be given to non-local crews in the first instance.

Bookings and enquiries - contact info@dbq.com.au (Danielle Ferrari) with your preferred time and one other time, in case your preferred time isn't available.

Corrections and clarifications

There was an error on the 'Events' page where the State vs State date was listed incorrectly. The correct date for State vs State is 4 March.
UPDATE: The information in Bulletin #1 did not originally align with the information in the exemption request form. The exemption form has now been corrected, as at 1 January 2018. The new form is available from the right-hand sidebar, under '2018 AusChamps Forms'.
Queries have been raised regarding registrations for U18 2000m Women's and Open races, which appear to be 'missing'. As per Bulletin #1, the available U18 races for the 2000m event are listed as Mixed standard and Mixed small boats. These are the races which are currently available for registration. This issue is being further investigated.
The Senior A, B & C Mixed 2000m races have now been moved from the bottom of the registration page into their respective categories. These races should be easier to locate now.
The U18 2000m races for Women and Open, both standard and small boats, have been added to the registration list. These races were inadvertently left off the list in the bulletin, which then led to the races being left off the early bird registrations. It is confirmed that the races are available for registration, despite what the bulletin says.
The BCS team entries are under the same link as the Junior/Premier events (days 2&3). The heading for the race day has been updated to reflect the BCS events.
The link to the competitor declaration form (waiver) found in the event registration (i.e. when one tried to enter races for AusChamps) became broken. It has been fixed, and a copy of the competitor declaration form has also been uploaded to the 'AusChamps Forms' section of the website; see the 'button' with the same name at the right-hand side of this screen.
The link, above, to the AusDBF Competition Rules and Regulations was inadvertently directed to the 2016 edition of the document. It has now been directed to the 2017 version, which posted in the 'Documents & Policies' section of the website. The document has some minor variations from 2016, so please be sure to use the latest (Edition 6) version.
See the new information added above for the Joeys, the Junior composite team.
See the new information added above for registering crew boats for training day.