WED, AUGUST 24 - CANCELLED PRACTICES A handful of NDC teams were treated to a spectacular lighting show to the north of Sunnyside last night before being driven off of the water as the storm came closer. For over an hour lightning was striking off in the distance with brilliant ground and building strikes as teams continued to practice. Near 8PM it became too dangerous to continue on and teams were called in and credited for their practices. After the boats were put away the real show started as the storm moved overhead and produced some fierce wind and rain to go along with the spectacular lightning activity. This photo was taken by ZensLens from the buildings to the west of Sunnside and shows a surreal bolt of lightning striking the water right off Sunnyside.  This is a great opportunity to remind paddlers that lightning in the immediate vicinity will cancel all practices at Sunnyside. If the lightning and thunder are within 10 seconds of one another there are less than 3KM to the strike making paddling unsafe. In this scenario teams are instructed to seek immediate cover at a nearby club or return to Sunnyside if it is safe to do so.  Teams are also reminded that if there is lightning activity of any kind they will be offered a voluntary cancellation wherein they can continue practicing or reschedule for a later date.  Teams are always invited to call our weather information hotline at 416-910-2563 or check back here to see if practices have been cancelled for the evening.  If you have any questions about our weather cancellation policy contact us in the office.

WED, AUGUST 24 - CANCELLED PRACTICES

A handful of NDC teams were treated to a spectacular lighting show to the north of Sunnyside last night before being driven off of the water as the storm came closer. For over an hour lightning was striking off in the distance with brilliant ground and building strikes as teams continued to practice. Near 8PM it became too dangerous to continue on and teams were called in and credited for their practices.

After the boats were put away the real show started as the storm moved overhead and produced some fierce wind and rain to go along with the spectacular lightning activity. This photo was taken by ZensLens from the buildings to the west of Sunnside and shows a surreal bolt of lightning striking the water right off Sunnyside. 

This is a great opportunity to remind paddlers that lightning in the immediate vicinity will cancel all practices at Sunnyside. If the lightning and thunder are within 10 seconds of one another there are less than 3KM to the strike making paddling unsafe. In this scenario teams are instructed to seek immediate cover at a nearby club or return to Sunnyside if it is safe to do so. 

Teams are also reminded that if there is lightning activity of any kind they will be offered a voluntary cancellation wherein they can continue practicing or reschedule for a later date. 

Teams are always invited to call our weather information hotline at 416-910-2563 or check back here to see if practices have been cancelled for the evening. 

If you have any questions about our weather cancellation policy contact us in the office.

Practice Time Shift

Paddlers should enjoy their last week of practices at 5:00PM, 6:00PM, 7:00PM and 8:00PM. Beginning next week, beginning Monday, August 29th all practices will be shifting up or back to 5:30PM, 6:30PM or 7:30PM to accommodate for the falling light levels. 

If you are wondering when your team may be scheduled to practice, check out this link to our practice listing by team.

With only three weeks left in the regular practice season it’s time to jam in all you can to rack up your kilometers for 2011!

This Saturday at Noon will mark the first practice of the season for the Spirit Challenge teams who will be participating in the Toronto International Dragonboat Race Festival. Helping this group of paddlers with developmental disabilities through their practices is a momentus undertaking and requires all the assistance possible. As this program is a club-wide initiative we are reaching out to all teams to assist the practices over the next three weeks. Practice is from noon-2PM.  If you’re scheduled to practice on Saturday or if you’re available to come down it would be great to see you! Please RSVP. Subsequent practices are scheduled for Saturday, June 11th and June 18th from noon-2.

This Saturday at Noon will mark the first practice of the season for the Spirit Challenge teams who will be participating in the Toronto International Dragonboat Race Festival. Helping this group of paddlers with developmental disabilities through their practices is a momentus undertaking and requires all the assistance possible. As this program is a club-wide initiative we are reaching out to all teams to assist the practices over the next three weeks. Practice is from noon-2PM. 

If you’re scheduled to practice on Saturday or if you’re available to come down it would be great to see you! Please RSVP. Subsequent practices are scheduled for Saturday, June 11th and June 18th from noon-2.

Registration and Payment

Before beginning practices all teams training with NDC are required to have their accounts paid in full and in good standing. Most teams have followed the payment guidelines but there are teams out there that are still unpaid. Any unpaid practices are considered available to other crews and teams who haven’t paid run the risk of losing their practice slots to teams offering payment. If you haven’t already, please forward your payment by cash, cheque or credit card via paypal to lock-in your practice times.

Membership & Registration

Spring/Summer 2011 Membership Registration is now fully under way with over 20 crews already taking advantage of the opportunity to get their 2011 practice and race seasons in place. Over 450 practices have already been scheduled for this summer. The usual hotspot, Thursday 7PM practices have nearly all been snapped up, Tuesday and Wednesday are still available but filling up fast. To accommodate the influx of membership requests, membership registration has been extended by one week until Monday, February 7th, 2011. At that time NDC will be accepting 2011 practice requests from all interested teams. 

Our first year offering membership has been a great success for the club allowing members to book practices more equitably while at the same time balancing practice schedules and saving teams money. In addition to the cost benefits of membership, many teams opted for membership to take advantage of our High-Performance, Development and Learn-to-Paddle drop-in crews available to members at no cost. These crews will be continuing into 2011 as the recreational and representative programs, training all week long down at Sunnyside. Paddlers from membership teams are invited to join the practices for free and are invited to race at half cost. 

LAUNCH - The 2011 launch is scheduled for April 9th at 10AM at Sunnyside Pavilion, everybody is invited to come down to the beach to participate in the eagerly anticipated event. After launching the boats, crews and individuals are invited to head out for an open-practice session on the water with our coaches. We’re all looking forward to getting on the water with regular practices at Sunnyside starting the following week; Saturday, April 16, 2011. 

LAUNCH - The 2011 launch is scheduled for April 9th at 10AM at Sunnyside Pavilion, everybody is invited to come down to the beach to participate in the eagerly anticipated event. After launching the boats, crews and individuals are invited to head out for an open-practice session on the water with our coaches. We’re all looking forward to getting on the water with regular practices at Sunnyside starting the following week; Saturday, April 16, 2011. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS - Here we are again, wrapping up another great year at the club with many thanks going out to the NDC membership and all 2010 dragonboat participants. Your enthusiastic support for our beloved sport has helped to bring thousands of people down to Sunnyside and has engaged people of all varieties in a fun, physical, outdoor activity. In 2010 NDC hosted close to 3,000 hours of practices across 200 teams including 60 member teams and was able to donate over $5,000 in services and in-kind sponsorship to various other non-profits, charities and similar worthwhile causes. In 2011 we hope to continue to grow the club by continuing to offer competitive deals on training and encouraging new groups into the sport. As well, we’ll be offering opportunities to try other types of paddle boats and programming including our brand new Premier Representative and Recreational crews. CONGRATULATIONS ON A FABULOUS 2010 and best wishes for a successful 2011!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS - Here we are again, wrapping up another great year at the club with many thanks going out to the NDC membership and all 2010 dragonboat participants. Your enthusiastic support for our beloved sport has helped to bring thousands of people down to Sunnyside and has engaged people of all varieties in a fun, physical, outdoor activity. In 2010 NDC hosted close to 3,000 hours of practices across 200 teams including 60 member teams and was able to donate over $5,000 in services and in-kind sponsorship to various other non-profits, charities and similar worthwhile causes.

In 2011 we hope to continue to grow the club by continuing to offer competitive deals on training and encouraging new groups into the sport. As well, we’ll be offering opportunities to try other types of paddle boats and programming including our brand new Premier Representative and Recreational crews. CONGRATULATIONS ON A FABULOUS 2010 and best wishes for a successful 2011!

2011 Spring & Summer Registration

Registration for teams choosing the non-membership option opens February 1st, 2011. While many coveted practice times will be snapped up early there’s still plenty of opportunity to book great times once registration opens fully. Crews should spend the time between now and Feb. 1 deciding on a set of potential practice times as well as a few backups. Remember, 7:00PM and 7:30PM both have a $15 premium fee; if you can train at 6/6:30 or at 8:00 you can save $15 per session. Will you require coaching? If so, NDC offers a broad array of coaches who regularly put teams on the podium. With careful guidance and technical know-how proper coaching is an invaluable asset for any team. NDC coaches are available at a variety of rates from basic services to high-performance coaching. Speak to someone in the office for more information.