With paddles in hand, a group of Thornhill teens are ready to take on the world.
In the time the St. Robert Catholic High School dragon boat teams have been afloat, for the past seven years now, they have taken to the waters in numerous competitions. But next month, they will paddle in unison onto the world stage.
The Delta Club will go overseas to Penang, Malaysia to compete in the sixth Club Crew World Championships from Aug. 1 to 3.
It’s a first for the Thornhill school and, they are told, the first time a high school contingent has ever qualified for the international competition.
“To take part in this event makes us feel great,” Arian Khader said, a Grade 12 student and co-captain with Victor Davydov of the 23-member team.
The idea to try to qualify came from a teacher who coaches the rowers.
“We’ve had two high school teams for over seven years at St. Robert and every year they’ve been getting progressively better,” Khader said. “Last year, our coach Edith Low decided we should try out for the Club Crew World Championships to see if we had a chance.”
Adhering to Low’s suggestion, the crew registered their team with Dragonboat Canada.
Competing throughout the summer, the Delta Club paddled against teams who had the luxury of practicing on a daily basis. In contrast, Khader cited their school is limited in practice time to just once a week, out of Sunnyside Cafe Pavillion in Toronto.
Not helping matters, Khader noted, was the news Dragonboat Canada would choose just five teams to represent Canada for the championships.
If the St. Robert team hoped to reach their goal, they had to make their presence known at a competition staged in Calgary.
“If a team beat us there, we wouldn’t be able to go. But if our times stood better than theirs, we would qualify,” recalled Khader. “We managed to somehow pull it off and we were granted a spot to represent Canada.”
In preparing to compete against teams representing 21 other countries in a few weeks, Khader said their objective is to try and return with a medal, preferably gold.
To be successful, Khader said teamwork is critical.
“One person is never more important than another, and when we paddle it’s always as a collective group,” he said. “So although we may be individuals on the boat, we are one boat, one team.
“For us to win, we have to remain together, focused and strong,” he added. “Once we’re in the boat, it’s all mental, the training is beforehand.”
In tuning up for the championships, Khader said the team has competed in a couple of events so far. At the Milton Lively Dragonboat Festival in Milton, they won the Junior Division Cup. They also finished fourth out of 52 adult teams at the Pickering Dragonboat Challenge.
Khader acknowleged the trip comes at a steep price. Some $84,757 must be raised to cover expenses.
In an effort to offset these costs, Khader said they are seeking sponsors willing to provide assistance.
If interested, contact Khader at 416-505-6429 or e-mail him at ariankhader@gmail.com
The team’s race and workout coach is Dave Stewart and other members of the St. Robert team making the trip include Christina Jung, Ena Goquiolay, Erika Adams, Kathryn Kim, Michelle Chung, Rosemary Chiu, Sallya Aleboyeh, Samantha Poon, Terri Kwok, Torrey Sirdevan, Anthony Prosperi, Daniel Morson, Francis Granieri, Gabriel Swanson, Justin Lok, Malvin Seto, Nico Arezza, Ryan Sze, Sep Beigi, Stuart Maclean and Yao Zhang.