Dragon boating first in Israel

CAROL ORECK AND RUTHIE ROSS

A year and a half ago, while walking on the Seawall, as we have together for the last 30 years, Carol mentioned that a group of Lion of Judah women from Jewish Federation of Ottawa were planning a Canada-Israel dragon boat festival.

Dragon boating is the fastest- growing team sport in the world with its appeal to all ages and abilities. Until recently, dragon boating was an unknown sport in Israel and a Canada-Israel festival would be a great opportunity to introduce the sport to more people.

Carol had agreed to organize the Vancouver team, but having no dragon boat experience, recruited her friend Ruthie, a seasoned dragon boater, to help out. After bringing the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver (JFGV) on board, recruitment for a team began. Flash forward to May 18, 2012, when 24 paddlers from Vancouver on team Pacific Chai became a gold medal-winning team.

Pacific Chai members included Carol Oreck, Ruthie Ross, Gary Cohen (captain), Celina Dunn, Jenny Silver, Jason Kliman, Rose Mikelberg, Fred Mikelberg, Hy Ross, Mo Milstein, Sheila Milstein, Liisa King, Morgan Banwell, Moshe Blank, Ellen Miller, Dari Fisher (coach), Estelle Blank, Glen Shaw, Sandi Lowe, Estelle Blank, Monique Kliman, Mike Kliman, If’at Eilon-Heiber, Brad Bowen and Jan Lipetz.

Israel beckons

After leaving rainy, cold Vancouver, we experienced nonstop hot and sunny days, the beautiful weather enhancing the excitement that we felt upon our arrival in Israel.

We really gelled as a team when we met at our bus overlooking the beautiful beaches of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean in glorious sunshine. This was really happening. We were competing in Israel. It was the climax of months of practise and we were all revved up, remarking on the changing scenery as we traveled on the bus from Tel Aviv to the Kinneret. We sang Hebrew songs that we had practised in Vancouver, but now, in Israel, they really meant something.

We built on this initial warm feeling when we practised on the warm waters of the Kinneret. It was a thrill for those of us who had been to Israel many times as much as it was for those who were experiencing it for the first time – because we were doing it together. We had a feeling of pride to be part of this event, held in this beautiful region of the country.

The following day, we met at the race site at Kibbutz Ma’agan, which is about five kilometres south of Tiberias. The site was ablaze with Dragon Boat Israel (DBI) banners. Dressed in our team T-shirts and hats – looking so impressive that others thought we were professional – we got to try out the brand new dragon boats that had recently arrived from China, donated to Israel thanks to the generosity of several North American families. These new boats, called Championship, were not as stable as the boat in which we had practised on Burnaby Lake.

We paddled through our nerves under the command of our coach, Dari Fisher, a competitive canoe/kayaker. We made it through practice without tipping over and then climbed onto a bus for an afternoon guided tour of the Galil. We visited a local winery and goat cheese producer, where we had a wonderful lunch overlooking the vineyards. Next, we visited Beit

Vancouver, a community centre in Kiryat Shmona financed by Vancouver donors and the JFGV annual campaign. From what we saw, Vancouverites can be very proud of the programs provided there for local youth, including Net@ and Youth Futures, both programs for disadvantaged youth in the north, which will benefit from the $53,000 raised across Canada by festival participants. These programs were chosen by the DBI organizing committee as beneficiaries of the fundraising component of the festival. That evening, 1,000 paddlers and volunteers had a celebratory dinner in the beautiful setting of Hamat Gader, the site of a natural hot springs. Nineteen Canadian teams and 20 Israeli teams were treated to a festive evening of delicious Israeli food and local entertainment.

Race day

The site was perfect – large enough to fit all 39 teams but small enough to feel like a community. The races were set up to go directly in front of the beach, for easy viewing. Races started at 7 a.m. to avoid mid-day heat and mid-afternoon wind and waves.

Lining up for our first race, we were excited and nervous. Most of us were first-time paddlers. We paddled out to the start line wondering if we could do it. The horn went off and we never looked back, placing first in a heat of three boats. The thrill of winning our first race kept our energy up, in spite of the 38-degree heat. Winning became our theme for the day.

Our second win put us in the Division C finals. Not knowing how we would place compared to other teams, our first two wins gave us the confidence for a come-from-behind victory and a gold medal. We had joked throughout our practices that we were going for the gold, not really believing that we could actually do it. Needless to say, when we realized we had won by 22/100ths of a second, there was hugging, cheering and generalized euphoria all around.

Participating with the 20 Israeli teams was very special. Though Israelis hadn’t even heard of dragon boating just a year before, they took to the sport with their native enthusiasm and competitive spirit. Many teams were made up of local youth who had a new outlet for their energy. Other crews were made up of businesses and companies in the region, wishing to show their support for the festival. In fact, there was so much excitement generated by the event that there was a waiting list of teams wanting to take part. The boats will remain at the Kinneret so that Israelis can continue to practise and hone their abilities for next year’s festival.

The race results really reflected the joint Canada-Israel spirit of the festival. Medal-winning teams were almost evenly divided between the two countries. This Canadian initiative brought the world to Israel, as well as opened up the world to them, and Israeli teams can now compete in regattas internationally.

Planning has begun for next year’s festival, to be held May 9-10, 2013. Contact If’at Eilon-Heiber at JFGV by e-mail, [email protected], or by phone, 604-257-5100, for information.

Carol Oreck is a native Vancouverite. Now retired, she worked for many years with seniors services at Jewish Family Service Agency. Ruthie Ross has lived in Vancouver since 1973. She is semi-retired, working as a consultant in preschool speech and language. Both are former chairs of what is now called women’s philanthropy at Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.

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