NEWS

CYL 80th ANNIVERSARY

Our DB crew attended the CYL 80th Anniversary Dinner. The night brought together CYL’s sub-groups who showcased their talents in Lion & Dragon Dancing, Cultural Dancing, Chinese Opera, Tai Chi and Wushu. Of course, our dragon boaters didn’t go unnoticed putting the crowd through a full spine tingling cinematic experience of our 2018 Hungary World Champions Campaign.

There were lucky draw prizes throughout the night, a full Chinese banquet that we stuffed our bellies full and glitter… a lot of glitter. Happy 80th CYL!

End of season party 2018-2019

2018-2019 was another great season for CYLDB. All crew performed solidly throughout the season, with both mix and womens (10s) capping off the season by finishing top 6 at Nationals for 200m. The Opens crew remained 200m champions, winning their 5th Nationals 200m title in a row!

We are also proud to have had 12 CYL paddlers represent NSW and our even own coach, Chris Poon was part of the NSW coaching team.

Off the water, we had fun bonding over a high ropes course, stealing presents from each other at the Christmas party and singing our hearts out at karaoke nights. We are also very fond of exploring world cuisines together at our weekly after-training meals.

For our End of Season Party, we dressed up as our faviourite popstar and performed their hit song! It was a time to celebrate our outstanding paddlers and thank the amazing coaches and committee members who tirelessly volunteer their time to make CYL the great club it is.

We are going to keep training hard and having fun together to make 2019/20 just as great!

AUSDB Nationals 2019

At the AUSDB Nationals 2019, CYL opens crew claim their 5th national 200m title in a row! An achievement we’re incredibly proud. We have won the following titles in:

• Perth, WA

• Adelaide, SA

• Albury, VIC

• Sunshine Coast, QLD

Congratulations to all of our paddlers who have worked hard through thick and thin, whether it'd be through rain or 40°c heat, in order to produce the results at this year's Auschamps.

CYL Club results:

• Prem opens silver in 500m standard boat

• Prem opens gold in 200m standard boat

• Prem mixed 6th in 500m standard boat

• Prem mixed 4th in 200m standard boat

• Prem women 5th in 200m small boat

Also a huge congratulations to our NSW State team paddlers who took home all gold in 200 m and 500 m races making it a clear sweep for NSW.

World Championship 2018 - Hungary

CYL’s Premier Open crew attended the 11th IDBF Club Crew World Championships (CCWC) during July 2018 which was held in Szeged, Hungary. Here, the Opens crew had the chance to race against clubs from all over the world including Canada, Germany, USA, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Hong Kong and many others.

The crew departed Sydney on the 13th of July and travelled 20+ hours to the other side of the world landing in Budapest. From here, the crew were transferred by bus to the city of Szeged. The crew settled in the first night and then had two days of training to become acclimated to the new timezone and race site. Finally after one final rest day, the crew were about to commence their campaign starting with the 200m.

The first heat contained many strong crews from Canada and Germany, with CYL Opens ended up coming 4th during the heat. This meant the crew would need to repecharge in order to qualify for the semi-finals. During the repecharge, the crew fixed up their race and ended up coming first for the repecharge. For the semi-final, unfortunately the crew were only able to manage 5th which meant their 200m campaign was over.

Two days later, the 500m race day began with the Opens crew again having some tough competition within the heats managing a 4th place meaning again needing to repecharge. During the repecharge, the crew came 2nd which helped them qualify for the semi-finals once again. For the semi-final, again the class of the opposition crews showed with the Opens crew coming 5th and again missing out on the minor final.

The last race category was the 2000m turn race held on the River Tisza near the city centre. With the crew racing in the secondary heat, the Opens crew finished the campaign strong as 2000m is not the crew’s traditional strength. The end of the race marked the end of the 2018 CCWC campaign for CYL Opens. Although the crew did not attain the results they were after, many lifelong friendships and bonds were strengthened throughout the course of the campaign.

Road to Hungary

A massive thanks to Deepwater Dragon Boat Club for their hospitality over the weekend. The club was kind enough to lend us their boats so we could train, let us use their facilities to keep our boys warm and then they topped it off with a yummy BBQ for lunch!!

The crew then ended the weekend with a few team bonding exercises over a couple of drinks celebrating how far we have come and make sure the journey towards Hungary is enjoyable as a collective group.