canberra titans

The Canberra Titans was initially formed as a group for those CDBA members, in the Masters' age category, to combine their efforts and compete in events outside of Canberra. From that start it has developed and been recognised as a new team within the CDBA.

On this page:
- Grand Masters Women's team Canberra Times
- Grand Masters Women's team heads for Penang
- showing their goods, the first hit out for the Titans
- the aftermath (or you really know who your friends are) - the tale of precioussh
- good enough to do it again - or it's not easy being green

Canberra Times 23/03/2008 (click on images to enlarge)

Jindabyne 10 Feb 2008

Canberra Titans: Grand Masters Women's team (click on image for more photos) Back row: Jan, Margaret, Lorraine, Marianne, Leigh, Amelia Centre: Jill, Jacqui, Sue, Nan, Teena, Carmel, Susan Front: Merilyn, Michele, Mary, Robyne Absent: Margaret T, Margaret W, Faye, Jennie, and manager Alf

Grand Masters Women's team heads for Penang

The Grand Masters (over 50s) women's team is into hard training for the World Club Crew Championships to be held in Penang, Malaysia, in August 2008. http://www.penangdragonboat.com/ccwc-updates-2008.html

They have also set up a blog page at http://canberratitans.blogspot.com/ so check it out to keep up on the latest events!

Many thanks to our sponsors:

showing their goods

The first hit out of the Titans was at the NSWDBF Regatta on 8 Oct at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith. A full boat gathered on Sunday morning after most enjoyed a night of team bonding at The Vines nearby, where unknown skills and abilities such as playing the piano were discovered, and some like singing and playing darts were best left hidden..

The Regatta, involved two heats and a final for the Masters Mixed Event. Five crews including the Titans were there, from Newcastle (Dragon Hunters), Nowra (Nowra WaterDragons), Central Coast (Central Coast Sea Dragons) and Sydney (DASzlers).

The first heat was a tough one for the team, in their first racing hit out and they finished the race in first place, just in front of the Dragons Hunters. The second heat was a tricky one with strong winds, and the Dragon Hunters came in first, with the Titans a close second.

This set the scene for the final, where the Titans lined up against the Dragon Hunters and the other teams. The Titans were ready, and the gun went off.

The results - as they say the scoreboard tells it all.

the aftermath (or you really know who your friends are) - the tale of precioussh

Spirits were high, members of the team had reached and exceeded their personal goals; they were ready to take on the world.

The illustrious organiser, mover and groover and den mother to many, Ameila collected the reward for the team.

The trophy, soon to be known as "precioussh" was handed around the members of the team, where for some it was their first regatta and their first taste of a win.

But, some were not happy with just that fleeting touch of the coveted "precioussh"; foul thoughts and deeds were afoot.

The Titan's coach Brendan (being that caring sharing sort of guy), sensed that there was some tension in the team, you know, nothing obvious, just those little things that tickle the back of your mind that something isn't right, and took charge of the trophy to prevent disharmony engulfing the team and wrecking that team spirit.

Then that tickle at the back of his mind became something more serious - like a paddle!

In broad daylight at the Yacht Club, a brazen theft took place and the trophy was lost to what police sometimes call 'a person of interest'. Descriptions of the assailant vary - depending who you talk to - sort of tallish with a short stature and blondish, redish straight hair, with a bit of a curl - but they all agree that the eyes were the thing that stuck in their mind. The look of a desperate woman.

Those nearby reported hearing a cackle and the words "precioussh, my precioussh" being repeated over and over.

Since that day, while no ransom demands have been received the authorities are sure that the trophy is being held at a secret location.

A fuzzy image appeared on a kleptomania related website that the authorities are analysing, and are 99% sure that the trophy in the centre of the photo is "precioussh".

Calls are being made for the person involved to return the trophy, no questions asked.

In the meanwhile the Titans are back at training every Sunday morning at 8.30am, in pursuit of their next victory, although ever watchful that a glint of gold might be spied just somewhere and that precioussh might come home to the team.

good enough to do it again - or it's not easy being green

The second opportunity for the Titans was at the NSWDBF Regatta, held on Sunday 3 November. The team followed the successful routine established at their first hitout, with team bonding at The Vines - although by mutual agreement and the desire to be in bed before midnight, a darts tournament was left out. There were a number of new faces in the crew, which added to the excitement and 'buzz' for the Titan.

An attempt as made to get a team song organised. One idea was to borrow from the old Queen hit, "We are the Champions.." We are the Titans my friends/We'll keep on paddlin' to the end.... but it seemed to fizzle out when it actually came to singing it.

Sunday dawned and the team lined up at Penrith, in their bright green (and I do mean bright - see right) team shirts. The other teams needed sunnies just to look at us. The racing this time was over 200 metres, but all that meant was it would hurt for a shorter amount of time.

The team faced many of the same teams that were at the earlier regatta, and caught up to a few of the paddlers from other teams who were at the recent PanPac's Masters at the Gold Coast. The racing started, and the Titans were a bit rusty out of the block but finished with a reasonable time of 56.41 sec. After that heat, the race was dissected and tactics were modified. In the second heat the boat started to get its 'vibe' and the Titans clocked 54.90 sec. Getting better.

The final was on, everyone was pumped and ready to go. The gun went off and the Titans were off and racing. The result? As the scoreboard shows, the Dragon Hunters won the day, but the Titans were there, snapping at their heels.