THANK YOU!

Well Bananas, our journey has come to an end…

We’d like to extend a gigantic THANK YOU to all of our alumni from throughout the years. It’s because of you that we’ve been able to keep this boat on the water for almost two decades!

Although it’s the end of our era, we really hope that you keep those paddles in the water and continue to participate in this wonderful sport. It’s through dragon boat that this team was able to bring together so many groups of amazing people, to share in the fun and excitement that comes along with paddling.

Together, we’ve been able to continuously improve and support each other – both on and off the water – throughout each season. This has led to many sore muscles, more than a few medals, countless laughs and, most importantly, lasting friendships.

We appreciate you all and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Thanks for everything,
Banana Boat

The 2017 season details are here!

Hey, Banana Boat!

Here is the updated schedule for 2017! Details about our pre-season events will be shared soon as well, so keep an eye out!

DATE	TIME	LOCATION
Sun, June 4	9:30 am – 11:30 am	Practice #1 @ Balmy Beach
Sun, June 11	9:30 am – 11:30 am	Practice #2 @ Balmy Beach
Sun, June 18	No Practice (Toronto Island Dragon Boat Race Festival)
Sun, June 25	9:30 am – 11:30 am	Practice #3 @ MCC
Sun, July 9	9:30 am – 11:30 am	Practice #4 @ MCC
Wed, July 12	6:30 pm – 8:30 am	Practice #5 @ MCC
Sat, July 15	GWN Sport Regatta
Sun, July 23	9:30 am – 11:30 am	Practice #6 @ TBD
Sun, July 30	9:30 am – 11:30 am	Practice #7 @ TBD
Sun, August 2	No Practice (Civic Holiday Long Weekend)
Wed, August 9	6:30 pm – 8:30 am	Practice #8 @ MCC
Sat, August 12	Woodstock Rotary Dragon Boat Festival
Sun, August 20	9:30 am – 11:00 am	Practice #9 @ TBD
Sun, August 27	9:30 am – 11:30 am	Practice #10 @ TBD
Wed, Sept 6	7:30 pm – 9:30 pm	Practice #11 @ TBD
September 9 & 10	GWN Dragon Boat Challenge Toronto
PARTY TIME!

Banana Boat is Recruiting for 2017!

I hope you crazy kids enjoyed the off season because Spring is just around the corner…

Banana Boat is recruiting for 2017! If you enjoy sunshine, the outdoors and don’t mind getting a little bit wet, then dragon boat is the sport for you!

If you have any questions about the team or are interested in joining, then please send an email to bananaboatdb@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

The full schedule for practices and races will be released in a few weeks, so check back later for more details.

Last stop, GWN Challenge!

Another season has come to an end, and there was no better way to finish it off than on our home turf at the GWN Challenge.

This two day regatta was our biggest and most anticipated race of the season, and also our final opportunity to pick up some hardware.

Although the day started off just peachy, Mother Nature quickly turned on us and that made for some difficult race conditions. We finished with times of 2:26 in our first heat and 2:23 in our second – there was some serious ground to make up on Day 2.

Sun’s out guns out on Day 2 – Mother nature was back on our side. Let’s go!

Our first heat on Day 2 was a 200m sprint and we finished with a time of 0:53s. This placed us in the C division Semi Finals where we threw down a time of 2:15.

C Division Grand Final, here we come!

The Final was another tough race and Gold, Silver and Bronze were decided by less than 1.7 seconds. We ended up finishing with a time of 2:17 and that was good enough for Bronze!

I think that deserves a beer!

Another season has come to an end. Great job, Bananas!

Enjoy the off-season and we’ll see you next year!

Making waves at Woodstock

Over the weekend, Banana Boat made our way down to Woodstock, Ontario for our second regatta of the season.

Despite the journey, it’s always a great event to be a part of, and the 4 boat races are a nice change.

Our team finished with times of 2:18.89 in our first heat and 2:19.87 in our second heat, securing a spot for us in the Gold Consolation Final.

In the Final, we crossed the line with a time of 2:21.88, but it wasn’t enough to bring home any hardware this time – it was a great effort and another step up in divisions.

Now our eyes are now on our last (and biggest) race of the season: GWN. We can’t wait to see you there! Paddles up!

 

Off to a great start!

Once again, Banana Boat returned to Hamilton for our very first race of the season. Lively Dragon always puts on a great event there, and this year was no exception.

It was a beautiful day – the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the competition was fierce.

We finished with a time of 02:18.57 in our first 500m heat and 00:53.48 in the 200m heat, which landed us in the B Division Final.

The final race was a competitive one, but we managed to finish with a time of 02:13.57, coming in second place. We’ll get ’em next time!

It was a great day of racing and there’s more to come. Next up, Woodstock! Paddles up!

2016 Season Schedule

Hey Bananas!

Our 2016 season is officially underway! It was great to see everyone out on Sunday, and we had a great first practice!

If you missed it, here are the season details. We’ll be sharing a Google calendar as well, but for now, go ahead and mark down the dates!

See you on the water!

DATE	TIME	LOCATION
Sun, May 29	10:00 am	Practice #1 @ Sunnyside
Sun, June 5	10:00 am	Practice #2 @ Balmy Beach
Sun, June 12	10:00 am	Practice #3 @ Sunnyside
Sun, June 19	No Practice (Toronto Island)
Sun, June 26	10:00 am	Practice #4 @ Sunnyside
Thurs, July 7	8:00 pm	Practice #5 @ Sunnyside
Sat, July 9	Lively Dragon Hamilton Waterfest Dragon Boat Race
Sun, July 17	10:00 am	Practice #6 @ Sunnyside
Sun, July 24	10:00 am	Practice #7 @ Sunnyside
Thurs, Aug 4	8:00 pm	Practice #8 @ Sunnyside
Sat, August 6	Woodstock Rotary Dragon Boat Festival
Sun, Aug 14	10:00 am	Practice #9 @ Sunnyside
Sun, August 21	10:00 am	Practice #10 @ Sunnyside
Sun, August 28	10:00 am	Practice #11 @ Sunnyside
Thurs, Sept 8	7:00 pm	Practice #12 @ Sunnyside
September 10 & 11	GWN Dragon Boat Challenge Toronto
PARTY TIME!

Banana Boat is recruiting!

What’s up Bananas!

We hope that everyone is staying warm and enjoying the off season because spring is just around the corner!

If you’re new to the blog, Banana Boat is a recreational team based out of Toronto, Ontario with members all across the GTA. We are a lighthearted group of paddlers who are out there to share some laughs, get some exercise, and give it our all when it counts! There are a few spots available on our 2016 roster, so we invite both new and experienced paddlers to join us this season in our quest for gold.

We are still working out the final schedule, but here are the details so far:

Team Fees: ~TBD (Includes 12/13 practices)
Season: End of May until Early September
Practices: Sunnyside Pavillion on Sunday’s
Regattas: Hamilton (July 9), Woodstock (Aug 6), Toronto GWN (Sept 10/11)

If you have any questions or if you’re interested in joining our team, then please email: bananaboatdb@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

More information will be posted soon, so keep an eye out for updates! Paddles up!

Banana Boat takes on the GWN Challenge!

Well folks, that’s a wrap on our 2015 season, and there’s no better way to finish it off than with gold. We returned once again to Marilyn Bell park for our final race of the year, and what a race it was!

Banana Boat took first place in the C Consolation Final with a time of 2:17.270, beating out the second place team by a mere 0.44 seconds!

Despite the cold weather, it was a great weekend of racing and we’re already looking forward to it next year.

Keep your eyes peeled for the end of season party details!

Banana Boat Wins Gold in Hamilton!

Banana Boat’s season is well underway and 2015 marked our return to the Lively Dragon Hamilton Waterfest. It was our first race of the season and what a return it was!

We clocked a time of 2:26.37 in our first 500m heat of the year, 54.03 in our 200m heat and 2:19.63 in our final, winning the C Division gold! We also participated in the always exciting 2000m race, and finished with a time of 11:26.77.

All in all, it was a great day of racing and an even better way to start off the season. Great job team – let’s keep that momentum going!

Also, just a reminder that there will be no practice this long weekend (Sunday, August 2nd), but there will be a weekday practice on Wednesday, August 5 @ 7:30pm. This is our last practice before Woodstock, so please try and make it out.

Have a great long weekend!