On Goal Setting - Making our Bests Even Better - Adam van Koeverden (Sat 30 Jun 2012)

Joanne, Jenny and Geoff - 2009 State Titles / SIRC / Penrith (Sat 21 Mar 2009)
On Goal Setting, Adam van Koeverden (*) writes (*):

my goal is always the same.

I just want to race my very best.

I want to cross the finish line knowing that I couldn’t have gone any faster.

I want to be sure my tank is totally empty, that I executed a perfect race with great, efficient technique and made all these thousands of kilometers in training worthwhile.

That’s why we train so hard, to make our bests even better.

[ I wrote the following late last Sat Night after observing the 3rd Anniversary of Jenny's passing. I decided at the time not to post it, but I figured I need to stop worrying about what people might think of my writings here. This is from my heart and I hope it shows. We are lucky to be doing what we are doing and I am thankful the opportunities and experiences that we make for each other. ]

Today we fly out to Hong Kong for the 2012 World Club Crew Dragon Boat Championships which start on Wednesday and finish on Sunday. This will be my 9th International Event and the third with my Club. So here are a few Thank You's and Observations.

Hong Kong has been a long term goal for many people in the Club. We virtually have everyone going, so to me that indicates we are a unified group that believes in and supports each other. This is true essence of a strong Team and being a Team Player.

It has been fantastic for us to train with purpose and intent with full crews for the last 11 weeks or so.

With a handful of our paddlers flying out yesterday, Thursday night was our last full strength session of the campaign - I was a little sad as we paddled in at end of the session, knowing that it will be a long time before we will train, as a Club, as we have during this Campaign.

I thank my coaches and team mates for their dedication to the Campaign.

The logistics of the campaign have been handled seamlessly and brilliantly from where I sit. Those involved know who they are and I thank them for their amazing job. To organise 60 or so people is no mean feat. Well done.

We have been coached brilliantly and we have trained hard on and off water. The squad is our strongest to participate at a World Club Crews since our first in Penang in 2008.

I hope for many, your goal for Hong Kong is to go and create a fantastic experience for yourself and ourselves. We are creating memories to last a life time.

For some it will be their first International event, while for others, it will another of many. We can all inspire and learn from each other no matter who we are.

There will be different experiences for each one of us and how we respond to them defines who we are and who we will become. Some things will go our/your way and others will not. There is a randomness to it all. There will be feelings of elation, disappointment and every emotion in between. This is what Dragon Boating is all about and big international events like this can magnify these emotions and their impact. My experience (and I have felt it all) and advice with all of this is to be mindful of others and to remember the Sport and our Club is based on the spirit of team work.

I can say that I go with an open heart and mind. For Jo and I, Jenny guides and inspires us from above and she is there for every stroke and moment along the way.

Finally, have fun and in the spirit of Adam's words above, lets put our best races on the water and make our bests even better, no matter what Team you are in. That would be just reward to all for the effort and sacrifice we (and our Families and Friends) have made to able to participate in our sport, against the best in the world, at such a high level event.

Go the Mighty PD's.

Pacific Dragons - State Titles - International Regatta Centre / Penrith (Sun 11 Mar 2012)
Pacific Dragons 500m Mixed - 2012 AUSDBF National Titles - Docklands / Melbourne (Mon 02 Apr 2012)
Pacific Dragons 2km Mixed - 2012 AUSDBF National Titles - Docklands / Melbourne (Tue 03 Apr 2012)

2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Fri 21 Dec - Sun 23 Dec 2012)

2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012) 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad (Left Crop) - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012) 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Squad (Right Crop) - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Sun 23 Dec 2012)
Note to self. A personal guide for the Campaign and beyond ..

A few photos and words from my heart following the 2013 Auroras Senior B Selection Camp in Canberra from 21-23 Dec 2012.

Congratulations to all that put themselves forward for selection for the 2013 Auroras Senior B Dragon Boat Squad which will participate at the World Dragon Boat Championships in Szeged, Hungary in late July 2013.

Putting yourself up for selection and having dreams, hopes and goals is always a risky business as they can all be dashed in a moment.

For those whose journey for this campaign ended at the selection camp, you have my admiration and respect. My heart goes out to you, but I also know that there are future opportunities and with a plan, determination and perseverance you can achieve everything you want out of paddling and life. We have a number of role models in this regard and I encourage you to follow their lead. The camp will have given you perspective and a path forward to realising all your dreams and goals. It's a decision you make and it is all in your hands.

For those successful in selection, I congratulate you and I feel your elation in the trust the coaches have given us to represent Australia as the 2013 Auroras Senior B World Championship Dragon Boat Squad.

I thank those from the 2011 Auroras Squad (*) who have come back to give it another go. Your experience will be invaluable as we all learnt so much about ourselves, the importance of teamwork and what it is to compete on the world stage against the best the world has to offer.

The competition is intense and goals are achieved through your commitment to the training programme; trust in yourself, your team mates, managers and coaches.

Having done a few campaigns now, my advice is to savior every moment of the campaign. There can be feelings of elation, disappointment and every emotion in between. That is the nature of paddling at this level and I have learnt it is how we handle and respond to these emotions, that will mould who we are and who we will become. You have to an awareness of yourself and those around you - to be emotionally strong not only for yourself, but more importantly for the team, since our sport is the true essence of team work.

There are few words that stick in my mind from all my experiences in paddling and life. They are Trust, Belief and Risk.

Trust - Trust yourselves, your team mates, your managers and coaches. Remember the first time you stood in dragon boat in the standup paddle drill at the selection camp. Serge and Blair would not have asked us to do this if they thought we could not do it. They trusted us, as we trusted them. I saw no hesitation from either side. This is the kind of trust we need to find, particularly when we are uncertain. We just need to go with it and it will happen.

Belief (*) - You have to believe in yourself, and your supporters in paddling and in life. Most importantly you have to believe in the campaign, the process, your team mates, managers and coaches. I find this quote (*) gives me perspective, understanding and strength:

If you believe, you are stronger and the light will shine on you.

Risk - by getting to this point, we have all proved we are not averse to taking a risk or two. At this level, the stakes and emotions are heightened. There are risks all round as we step into the unknown to compete against the best in the world. We have control of many things and this is our focus, but there are others things which we don't, for as you see, I have learnt there is an underlying randomness to it all. This is where adaptability comes in, as we respond in a measured and considered way to the random events that are tossed our way and that which we may confront. Take nothing for granted, success is not attained easily. Often, time and persistence is required.

Finally, be prepared to let go of everything you know and to start from zero (*). It would take me a long time to learn this one and it only came to me in Busan (*) at the 2012 Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Sep 2012. Ask Paul Langley as we learnt this together in the Mixed 10's (*). I became the paddler and person I always wanted to be on that hot sunny day in Busan.

We have an amazing blend of enthusiasm, hardened experience and raw newness at this level. Focus on what you can control, trust and believe and the rest will look after itself. I feel privileged to share this experience with you and look forward to what lays ahead.

2013 Auroras Grand Masters Selection Squad Camp - Lotus Bay / Canberra (Fri 21 Dec - Sat 23 Dec 2012)

Five One Hundredths of a Second - 500m Premier Opens Final - AusDBF Nats / Penrith (Fri 19 Apr 2013)

Five One Hundredths of a Second - 500m Premier Opens Final - AusDBF Nats / Penrith (Fri 19 Apr 2013)
Once, twice or, maybe three times (if you are fortunate enough and willing to take the risks) in a paddling career you do something unbelievable. Something you just can’ t explain, though sometimes it worth giving it a try. Here goes ..

You are happy you have made the major final. You know you are up against strong teams. The favourite, the team directly on your left, you have not beaten in three years. In fact you have not been within a boat length, over 500m, for the last two years. Against the odds, and your failing self-confidence, you still somehow believe that we can still get across the line first. To be part of of something great. There is always hope at the start. It is a chance to create who you want to be. You don't get your hopes up too high, as you have been disappointed in the past. You don't think about all of this too much at this point. The focus is putting your best race on the water and seeing how it compares to the others when you have all crossed the line. You are not overly nervous, but you are excited and proud to be there. A supportive and encouraging tap on the knee for those around you. Remember it is a 30 stroke start. Just focus on the first 3 strokes and take it one by one from there. Clean water. Hand out of the water. Blade buried. Make sure you feel and stay connected with the water with every stroke. The starter aligns us and we ready. "Paddlers, are you ready, attention please" .... the gun does not fire for some reason. This has happened a few time before over the years. Keep your focus, no distractions. We will be away soon. Refocus, lets do it again - 30 Start, first 3, deep and clean - feel the water. "Paddlers, are you ready, attention please" ... "GO". You Go on the "G". 1-2-3, up, up, .. 10, up, up, .. 20, up, up, ..7,..30, reach, reach, hinge, hinge. The boat is up and running and there is something there. We are hingeing and driving through the stroke. The boat is more than running, it is been driven through the stroke like it has felt in training over last few weeks, except this time it is race intensity, not level 4, Remember this Geoff, Remember this moment. We are there next to them, where usually they pull away here, but we talked about staying connected. Give it everything to the 250m and refocus. Somehow, we are sttil there at the 250m. Refocus and reinvent yourself, I think. Drive, Drive is the call, We are still there, connected. You have a 6th sense (and good hearing) and you know without looking that our drummers are side by side. Passing the 200m start hut and the little red lane marker buoy. There is something uplifting in our Sweep's voice - "you are doing it". The lane buoys turn to red - we are 100m out. We have done everything our training has given our bodies - it's amazing to find that something extra that the sport scientists say should not be there. Mentally, prepare for the lift home. This is the most crucial part of the race - they are probably a nose ahead. We are going to have to do something amazing - something the other teams have pulled on us often over the years. "do it for the gold (or was it girls?)" is the call. We lift. We lift. The rate comes up a touch and the boat becomes light as we surge forward with every stroke - narrowing the margin. It is all clear as day, those last few strokes. You give it everything you've got when there is nothing to give. You cross the line, you hear the finish horn blast away in succussion. You look across and you know you have done it. The look in your competitors faces tell you that they know you have also done it and you take a few quiet moments to take it all in, while some of the others around you show their elation more jubilantly. Gasping for air, you touch the same knees as you did before the start. This time the "ritual" tap is to acknowledge your team mates efforts and the fact that you have done something that does not happen that often in a paddling career. "Three cheers for the other crews" is the call from our Drummer - three "hip hip". and a breathless "hooray". We bring the boats in and we all get off. Back slaps and hugs all around. Not even a second thought who won that one as you make your way through the other 180 or so paddlers you have just competed against. You smile and for some reason laugh. This kind of win does not happen that often - "take it in", "take it in" you say to yourself. You see many familiar faces as you walk through the line. They are happy for you. Many you have experienced some amazing experiences around the world in Australian Campaigns past and you hope that the journey with them will continue. Somewhere along the way you hear that we did it by five one hundredths of a second. You know the course well and you smile that you can pick such a small amount of time moments after crossing the line. What a race. You think to yourself, "it's not that we won it, it is how we won it" – it's just not what was expected by many (including yourself) and that is the beauty of dragon boat racing - the randomness and uncertainty to some extent. The boat has never felt like that out of the start and into the transition. You think to yourself, you have never paddled like that before. You feel fortunate that you took the risk to be there, you did the training, the testing, you've put yourself on the line time and time again. You have been crushed by the ramifications of defeat and oddly enough, those one or two other once in a life time victories . At the end of the day you know that it is worth the sacrifices you make to do what you have done, do and hope to do. Maybe this is not the end, but a new beginning ..

I will leave this unedited. It’s just a stream of thought that came out of my subconscious in the last 20 mins. Hope it makes sense and it will be fun to read, many year’s into the future.

Five One Hundredths of a Second - 500m Premier Opens Final - AusDBF Nats / Penrith (Fri 19 Apr 2013)

Any Given Sunday - Inch By Inch Speech by Al Pacino

Al Pacino's Inch By Inch speech from Any Given Sunday
The background music is "Peace", by Paul Kelly, on Soundings in Film

One of my team mates from Prague 2009 had this on his Notebook. Before we got off the Bus at the race site for the 200m races, he played this to the Team. I enjoyed it and it seemed to do the trick. Somehow we squirmed into 3rd place in the final for a completely unexpected Bronze. Thanks Rick. Just a memory from Prague 2009.

Rick Lambe and Gary Quartermain - Senior Open 200m Final Presentation - Racice/Prague - Fri 29 Aug 2009
Inch By Inch Speech by Al Pacino

I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes
to the biggest battle of our professional lives
all comes down to today.
Either
we heal
as a team
or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch
play by play
till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen
believe me
and
we can stay here
and get the sh*t kicked out of us
or
we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.

Now I can't do it for you.
I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces
and I think
I mean
I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh....
I pissed away all my money
believe it or not.
I chased off
anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately,
I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know when you get old in life
things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life.
But,
you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game
life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know
when we add up all those inches
that's going to make the f*ing difference
between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.

I'll tell you this
in any fight
it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know
if I am going to have any life anymore
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch
because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.

Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy
who will sacrifice himself for this team
because he knows when it comes down to it,
you are gonna do the same thing for him.

That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?

A Story About a Camera - 2015 Inspire Award Reflections (Fri 27 Aug 2015)

Memories of Jenny - The Time of Your Life (youtube)

This is my 2000th post here at eljeiffel.

I always try to write something for the Annual Presentation of the Inspire Award. Most times it is just for me, but sometimes I share it with a few people. So here it is, unedited from the time it was written on the evening of Fri 27 Aug 2015. I think it is a pretty good way to mark the milestone.

As many will know, I have another obsession in my life - Photography.

I started out buying a small digital camera for our Dec 2000 trip to the Cook Islands to visit Jenny and Jo's Meditation teacher, Barbara, who had moved there to help setup a refuge for women . We didn’t know a thing about paddling back then.

I had bought the camera hoping I would be able to capture our memories. It was a tiny digital camera by today’s standards, 1 Mega Pixel and it cost $1600 duty free and a 64 MB compact flash memory cost more than $300.

I did not flinch and I thought it was all worth it, as my credit card was swiped at Ted’s Camera Store the day before we flew out. 15 years later I can tell you here that it was one of the best things I ever did.

My motivation for the camera came from that fact that Jenny had 11 tumours in her lungs and I did not really know how long we would have together. In the end we had just over 9 years of married life. Given Jenny’s condition, a miracle really ..

We were married on 30th April of that Sydney Olympic year and we honeymooned on Lord Howe Island for 10 glorious days in May 2000. Jenny had a film camera and she took many photos.

On our return flight to Sydney, I remember a conversation we had at the Departure Terminal with an older couple from Whyalla who congratulated us on our marriage. We had briefly met them at dinner at one of the small restaurants on the Island.

They told us they had been married for many years and the trip to Lord Howe Island was a way of creating another experience in life and expanding their memories. Better than [running a busy business or] sitting at home and watching the Telly, they said.

This conversation and piece of simple worldly wisdom has stuck with me and I remind myself of it constantly. It was my main motivation to buy that small expensive digital camera for our December 2000 trip to the Cook Islands.

I took many photos that trip to Cook Islands, even of the Outrigger Canoes in the lagoon at Aitutaka, we had no idea what they were – who would guess our future.

Shortly after our return, Jenny and Jo found Dragon Boating. And over the ensuing years many experiences and memories were created, dutifully captured by our cameras.

I documented the many dragon boat campaigns here and abroad, and ensuing holidays that followed each event.

In the process of this documenting I came to realise the power of photography, not only its visual power, but its ability to record our experiences and remind us of things we have done and who we were. We were doing selfies before the term was even invented. We called them “Holdouts” and I think this might be the main cause of Jo’s shoulder injury.

In those last few weeks at St George Hospital in Jun 2009, I captured the last moments of our lives together. They are the best I ever made.

After Jenny’s passing, It took me a while to pick up a camera again. I had lost my purpose and will. I was hurting and numb all at once but paddled through for a year or two – it helped a lot to be busy and in the company of friends. New experiences were created and I even smiled [for] a little [while].

Lost in the enormity of what had happened so quickly, though it was not a surprise, I found my first moments of comfort and hope, when I decided to start looking at some of the photos from our lives together. It made me cry, but it also made me smile. I was so happy that I had this archive of bits and bytes to remind me of Jenny, Joanne, myself and who we were.

It was only after Jo told me to organise my photos and my Mum said I should start making photos again, that I started to move forward. I was completely broken but I took up their advice and kept myself busy again, organising and photographing again. I am still broken but I live with it better now, it is part of me and who I will always be, but I am happy, optimistic, naïve and creating more experiences.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that we have to go out there and make our memories through the experiences we create for ourselves. And this is what I love about PD’s, we are always out there doing something. This time last year we were in Bologna on our way to Ravena, this year we are heading to Hawaii in the next week and month, next year Adelaide and who knows where after that.

Finally, in our lives we have loss, grief and bereavement. It is a part of living. You make a choice when it knocks on your door. And we have chosen to live in the Afterglow of our loss of Jenny – to remember and honour and be guided and inspired. Accept it and live with it and make the most of it, even let it inspire and motivate you. And that is what Jo and I have done, I would like to think.

“Believe in Hope” as the graffiti’ed wall in Cleveland Street said for a few weeks in July 2015.

Believe in Hope - Cleveland Street / Chippendale (Wed 29 Jul 2015)

With this post it is time to let go of a lot things, including the photos of another time and life. I have shed my life here (and Facebook more recently) like a snake sheds it skin and there is nothing left but to start over again. Time to move on, but it is hard to let go .. but I will.

Trying to make a new start here (arotlt.com) with photos from this point onwards. There will be the occasional post at eljeiffel to mark the odd moment in our lives that are relevant, but for now thanks for coming along for the ride these last, almost, 7 years.

symbolically the black rose suggests death, or the completion of a long journey (Trent Parke’s moving Black Rose photo exhibition at Art Gallery of SA ) - Black Rose / Fitzroy Street / Newtown (Sun 29 Nov 2015)

I have learned (by unknown)

I found the following piece while poking around Paulo Coelho's myspace page (he is on every social media site :-). Anyway, I like this and thought I would put it here to share as well as remember. What I have learned. There is much wisdom here:

I have learned (by author unknown) ..

• I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.


• I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back;


• I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.


• I've learned that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts;


• I've learned that you can get by on charm, for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something;


• I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.


• I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.


• I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person that I want to be.


• I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may b the last time you see them.


• I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.


• I've learned that we are responsible for all we do, no matter how we feel.


• I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.


• I've learned that no matter how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take it's place.


• I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.


• I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.


• I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.


• I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're downhill are the ones to help you get back up.


• I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.


• I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.


• I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean that they don't love you with all they have.


• I've learned that maturity had more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.


• I've learned that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't biological.


• I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.


• I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to forgive yourself.


• I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.


• I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.


• I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.


• I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.


• I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.


• I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.


• I've learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will get hurt in the process.


• I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.


• I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.


• I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.


• I've learned that the people you care about the most in life are taken from you too soon.


• I've learned that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe.

'Angel's Hand and Wing' - A Church / Brussels - Europe 2009 - A Second Look - 11 Sep 2009 (picasa)

Grand Masters Crew Leader Speech - Australian Auroras Team Dinner - Tampa / USA (Mon 01 Aug 2011)

On behalf of the Grand Dragon's I would like to congratulate everyone here on their achievements in reaching this point in their Climb to Tampa 2011.

We are just about to summit and the reality of our training and efforts over the last nine months will soon become crystal clear. This time next week, Tampa 2011 and your efforts will come the most recent addition to the history of Australian Dragon Boating at International Events, in this case the 2011 IDBF World Championships here in Tampa.

In talking about Dragon Boat History, on behalf of us all I would like to acknowledge all of those people, teams and squads that have become before us. They have shown us the way forward and they have demonstrated that anything is possible.

I would like us to reflect briefly on previous Australian Squad Members who have left this world and who inspire us from above. They are:

• Margaret Cantwell - IDBF Worlds (Berlin 2005)


• Jon Taylor - IDBF Worlds (Berlin 2005)


• Jenny Petterson - IDBF Worlds (Shanghai 2004, Berlin 2005, Sydney 2007) and Asian Games (Macau 2006)


• Maurice Cowan - IDBF Worlds (Shanghai 2004, Berlin 2005)

On your behalf, I would also like to acknowledge and thank your "supporters in paddling" - your coaches, managers and team mates.

In particular I acknowledge and thank your "supporters in life" - your understanding families and friends who have no doubt made many sacrifices to see you here representing your country at the highest level in your sport.

As we sit here now, I would like you to think back that very moment you decided and were inspired to become part of the 2011 Auroras Squad. As you reflect over the time from that decision to now, you should be truly proud in your achievement and transformation as a paddler and a person.

At this moment, I would also like you to think of those people in your life or who have been a part of your life and are not on this world now. I would like to remind you of the pride they must have to see you here now and to be racing in the Green and Gold on the water over the next five days.

Today as I watched the Aurora Teams from all Divisions go through their last training drills, I was truly moved by what I witnessed. On the water, I saw a squad unified in technique, drive and purpose. Off the water, I saw teams united in arms and I felt truly proud to be Australian, in a way I have only felt a few other times.

For those who have put in place this National Selection System, there should be a hugh sense of satisfaction in the results that has been achieved as we sit here now. Dragon Boating in Australia continues to move forward from the top via the AusDBF decision making process and from the ranks, through the coaches, managers and paddlers.

Change and the willingness to try new things is always a tricky and difficult process - Who moved my Cheese (*) - (that one is for you Nicola who was there for me when I had my own fears). It is hard to move away from our comfort zones even if the we are willing to change, for you see change is a step into the unknown - a "leap of faith" some would say - and this is always a risky business.

In the end acceptance, willingness and a committment to change is the only way to improve.

To achieve longevity and success in any sport requiries an acceptance of change and adaptability. So for those who have experienced campaigns past, I congratulate you. You are role models.

For those, who this is your first campaign, I also congratulate you on accepting the change and challenges in sitting here today.

I will leave you with a quote from Cadel Evans, winner the of the 2011 Tour de France, Sunday week ago. He said in an interview the day before the now famous Stage 19, which included the famous Alp de Huez Mountain Stage:

"All you have to do is stay calm and go as hard as possible from the start to the finish. It's quite simple, [..] You are only riding a bike from point A to point B."

But as we all know through our own sport and experiences over the last nine months, there is more to it than that. He expands:

"but in terms of technique there is so much in terms of peddling and breathing, and there is the corners. Just concentrating on riding out beyond limit is very taxing."

In closing, just like Cadel, I want you to realise that you are an elite sports person. You represent your country with "Pride, Power, Intensity and Passion". You are at the top of your sport at this very moment in time.

I wish you all the best as you put in place everything that you have learnt in this campaign, in your paddling career and your life, to achieve your personal and team bests, because afterall that is all we can ask of ourselves.

Happy 100th Birthday - Den lille havfrue / Copenhagen (Fri 23 Aug 2013)

Happy 100th Birthday - Den lille havfrue (*) / Copenhagen (Fri 23 Aug 2013)
We are in Copenhagen for the last stop on our Europe 2013 (*) Adventure. I wanted to come here because of the numerous Danish TV Series, Unit One (Rejseholdet) (*), The Eagle: A Crime Odysse (Ørnen: En krimi-odyssé) (*) and more recently Borgen (*), that are so well crafted and are shown on SBS (*) with excellent subtitles.

For some reason, I love the Danish accent and it is a language I like for some reason. It is very easy to identify and they all seem to have deep voices and it almost appears that it is spoken from the middle/back of the mouth and tongue.

Australia now has a close connection with Denmark, through Mary, the Crown Princess of Denmark (*), or our Mary, as we Australian's fondly refer. And of course, there is the late Danish Architect, Jørn Utzon (*), who designed the Sydney Opera House (*).

We learnt in Amsterdam that today would be the Den lille havfrue (*) (The Little Mermaid) 100th Birthday. A visit was always planned, but it would be a special visit. Joanne had first seen her in 1984 with Jenny on their first European trip, and Joanne and I had seen her in Shanghai in the Danish Exhibition at the 2010 World Expo (*), following the 2010 Asian Dragon Championships in Wujin (*)

Today Joanne and I rose early to see the sunrise on Den lille havfrue (*). It was quiet when we arrived following a short walk from our Hotel, which through good fortune was only a 5 minute walk. There were the street cleaners making sure she would look her best, which is something I am sure is done everyday.

A couple of local TV Crews were in attendance and preparations were underway to interview a couple of people.


We made a few photos amongst ourselves and couple of others who were randomly passing and offered to photograph us. Little did they know they would end up in the photo with us.



We decided to spread some of Jenny's Ashes in the water near the Statue. It was nice to see that a little bit of Jenny would remain here and that we can think of her here and the wonderful moments she had with Jo in 1984 as well as the time that Jo and I had today.


Shortly afterwards we were asked if we would like to be interviewed by one of the TV crews. We more than happy to agree and we gave our little story as outlined above. On reflection, I feel I may have given them the impression that we travel the world to see the Mermaid wherever she maybe. While we don't explicitly do this, maybe there is a connection, as Jo and Jenny are of Swedish descent, I would like to think that maybe it is just good fortune and maybe a special implicit relationship that draws us together for small meetings every now and then.

Geoff, Maree Louise, Kristian and Joanne - Den lille havfrue / Copenhagen (Fri 23 Aug 2013)
A couple of moments I will remember, and touched me, as they showed me the fondness that the Statue has to the people of Copenhagen.

The first was a local runner, a little older than myself, pulled up from his run, stepped down to the rocks we were standing on and then stepped across the watery gap to touch the Statue on her tail. As he passed us, he said with a smile on his face, "it is her 100th birthday". We smiled back and said, "yes, we know".

The second moment was a local rowing crew, who we had seen putting there boat on the water, on the our way to the Statue, passed her on the way out for their training session. They stopped and removed their oars form their rollicks and raised them to acknowledge her special day. They did same thing on their return.




I have another lovely story to tell in a later post, maybe tonight.

There are all kinds of celebrations today, including 100 Mermaids entering the water near the Statue at 4pm and fireworks this evening at 9pm.

Better get going. Last day here and for our trip (*).

The Time of Your Life ..

Memories of Jenny - The Time of Your Life (youtube)

As many of you will know, I have another obsession in my life beyond paddling - Photography.

I started out buying a small digital camera for our Dec 2000 trip to the Cook Islands to visit Jenny and Jo's Meditation teacher, Barbara, who had moved there to help setup a refuge for women . We didn’t know a thing about paddling back then.

I had bought the camera hoping I would be able to capture our memories. It was a tiny digital camera by today’s standards, 1 Mega Pixel and it cost $1600 duty free and a 64 MB compact flash memory cost more than $300.

I did not flinch and I thought it was all worth it, as my credit card was swiped at Ted’s Pitt Street Camera Store the day before we flew out. 15 years later I can tell you here that it was one of the best things I ever did.

My motivation for the camera came from that fact that Jenny had 11 tumours in her lungs and I did not really know how long we would have together. In the end we had just over 9 years of married life. Given Jenny’s condition, a miracle really ..

We were married on 30th April of that Sydney Olympic year and we honeymooned on Lord Howe Island for 10 glorious days in May 2000. Jenny had a film camera and she took many photos.

On our return flight to Sydney, I remember a conversation we had at the Departure Terminal with an older couple from Whyalla who congratulated us on our marriage. We had briefly met them at dinner at one of the small restaurants on the Island.

They told us they had been married for many years and the trip to Lord Howe Island was a way of creating another experience in life and expanding their memories. Better than [running a busy business or] sitting at home and watching the Telly, they said.

This conversation and piece of simple worldly wisdom has stuck with me and I remind myself of it constantly. It was my main motivation to buy that small expensive digital camera for our December 2000 trip to the Cook Islands.

I took many photos that trip to Cook Islands, even of the Outrigger Canoes on the shore of Muri Lagoon - we had no idea what they were – who would guess our future.

Shortly after our return, Jenny and Jo found Dragon Boating. And over the ensuing years many experiences and memories were created, dutifully captured by our cameras.

I documented the many dragon boat campaigns here and abroad, and ensuing holidays that followed each event.

In the process of this documenting I came to realise the power of photography, not only its visual power, but its ability to record our experiences and remind us of things we have done and who we were. We were doing selfies before the term was even invented. We called them “Holdouts” and I think this might be the main cause of Jo’s shoulder injury.

In those last few weeks at St George Hospital in Jun 2009, I captured the last moments of our lives together. They are the best I ever made.

After Jenny’s passing, It took me a while to pick up a camera again. I had lost my purpose and will. I was hurting and numb all at once but paddled through for a year or two – it helped a lot to be busy and in the company of friends. New experiences were created and I even smiled [for] a little [while].

Lost in the enormity of what had happened so quickly, though it was not a surprise, I found my first moments of comfort and hope, when I decided to start looking at some of the photos from our lives together. It made me cry, but it also made me smile. I was so happy that I had this archive of bits and bytes to remind me of Jenny, Joanne, myself and who we were.

It was only after Jo told me to organise my photos and my Mum said I should start making photos again, that I started to move forward. I was completely broken but I took up their advice and kept myself busy again, organising and photographing again. I am still broken but I live with it better now, it is part of me and who I will always be, but I am happy, optimistic, naïve and creating more experiences.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that we have to go out there and make our memories through the experiences we create for ourselves.

In our lives we have loss, grief and bereavement. It is a part of living. You make a choice when it knocks on your door. And we have chosen to live in the Afterglow of our loss of Jenny – to remember and honour and be guided and inspired. Accept it and live with it and make the most of it, even let it inspire and motivate you. And that is what Jo and I have done, I would like to think.

“Believe in Hope” as the graffiti’ed wall in Cleveland Street said for a few weeks in July 2015.

Believe in Hope - Cleveland Street / Chippendale (Wed 29 Jul 2015)

Seven year ago today.

We remember Jenny. She (as they all do) lives on through our memories.

Inspire Award 2012 - Pacific Dragons - Tony "Mouse" Pound (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

Geoff, Tony (Mouse) and Joanne – Inspire Award 2012 / PD’s Award Night - AB Hotel / Glebe (Sat 21 Jul 2012)
Inspire Award 2012 - Pacific Dragons - Tony "Mouse" Pound (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

A few words (*) and a short video (*) after Tony "Mouse" Pound was presented with the 2012 Inspire Award ..

Joanne and I would like to thank Pacific Dragons (*) for Honouring Jenny’s Memory (*) with the Annual Presentation of the Inspire Award (*) – this being the 3rd time it has been presented since she left us (*) on Tue 30 Jun 2009.

We congratulate Tony Pound ("Mouse") the 2012 Inspire Award Recipient.

We know Jenny would be smiling from above and would no doubt be wondering, like the rest of us here "How’s Mouse's Mother's Chooks" are.

We also like the direction of the award has taken.

Being an Annual Award it becomes something of an Anniversary for Joanne and I to celebrate and remember Jenny's life, as the Club and its Members recognise the Achievements of one it's member - Mouse for the 2011/2012 season.

We hope it is also an opportunity for all of us to remember and honour those that have been close to us and have influenced our own lives but are no longer with us.

We also hope it is a time to acknowledge those close to us who are facing their own challenges in life. We hope Jenny's life can be an example as to how to live a fulfilling life with a life-threatening illness as well as provide some hope, belief and inspiration to face the challenges and changes that lay ahead.

So, as it is with all Anniversaries, it is a time reflect on the year just passed and to celebrate on what has been achieved and so tonight we celebrate Mouse's Achievements since coming to the club two seasons ago.

I think, more importantly, for Anniversaries, it is a time to look to the future and set new goals.

This can be challenging as often the path is full of obstacles as well as self-doubts. It almost always requires change, which can be step into the unknown. This is all risky business and the fear of failure and making mistakes can quickly put a stop to all good intentions.

I think those people who inspire us often overcome these obstacles and fears, with the common theme in all of their actions, being the word Belief (*), which is something Jenny had plenty of.

Belief gives us a purpose and intent as we strive towards a goal.

A photographer I follow recently wrote [Alex Coghe (*)] about belief in the context of photography, but it can be applied to all aspects of our lives. It is succinct and goes:

"If you believe, you are stronger and the light will reward you."

Basedy on my own life experiences I know this to be true [A longer version here (*)].

We congratulate you all on another great year with Pacific Dragons.

Finally, we thank you and the Club for the Amazing Experiences that are created for us and we share together. For you see as Seth Godin wrote:

"The experiences we create [and share] are the moments that define us."

We look forward to the season ahead and we hope you are having ..

"The Time of Your Life."

We Remember Jenny - The Time of Your Life..

Remembering Jenny - Time of Your Life / Greenday - Youtube (Sat 21 Jul 2012)
Live Long and Prosper .. Geoff and Joanne (Sat 21 Jul 2012)

Postscript (Mon 23 Jul 2012): I wanted to add the following quote (*) into the video but did not have the time to work out. So here it is ..

Give me the courage, tenacity & positivity to change that which I can... (with a smile on my face!) (15 Jun 2009)

Give me the serenity, humility & tolerance to accept that which I cannot... (16 Jun 2009)

And give me the wisdom, humbleness & strength to know the difference. (17 Jun 2009)

Sandhill Warrior (Rob Rowland-Smith)

Labels: Belief, Inspire Award, Pacific Dragons, Sat 21 Jul 2012, Remembering Jenny, Jenny Petterson, Sandhill Warrior, Change

The Lucky Ones

This is a work in progress. It has been in my head for a long time now, but it has been hard to write. Hopefully, it will make sense. I expect to modify it a bit over the next few weeks, but at least it is a start.

A few months before Jenny died, I read Lance Armstrong's book entitled "Its not about the bike". Jenny had been given a copy by a long time friend, Mena, not long after the book was first published here in Australia (sometime around 2002/3 I am guessing). She read the book quickly and I know she got a lot from the pages. For some reason I did not read the book until early May 2009.

Geoff, Jenny, Mena, Steve and Joanne - Natation DB Titles - Kawana / Qld - Sat 25 Apr 2009 (picasa)

I bought my own copy so that I could read the book that meant so much to Jenny. I think I was motivated by the fact the Jenny was progressing to the final stages of her Cancer (at least that is reluctantly what I quietly started to think - she had just been diagnosed with multiple tumors in her liver on the 11 Mar 2009 - not a very promising situation). I thought I might find something in the pages to understand her and our situation.

I read the book, intermittently over a few weeks, at my local coffee shop before work and on the train to work. There was lots of the book that resonated with me, particularly his encounters with cancer. One part in particular struck a chord with me. It was about a half through, where he writes about what he felt during chemotherapy following neurosurgery to remove a beign brain tumor.

What is stronger, fear or hope? It's an interesting question, and perhaps even an important one. Initially, I was very fearful and without much hope, but as I sat there and absorbed the full extent of my illness, I refused to let the fear completely blot out my optimism. Something told me that fear should never fully rule the heart, and I decided not to be afraid.

I wanted to live, but whether I would or not was a mystery, and in the midst of confronting that fact, even at that moment, I was beginning to sense that to stare into the heart of such a fearful mystery wasn't a bad thing. To be afraid is a priceless education. Once you have been that scared, you know more about your frailty than most people, and I think that changes a man. I was brought low, and there was nothing to take refuge in but the philosophical: this disease would force me to ask more of myself as person than I ever had before, and to seek out a different ethic.

A couple of days earlier, I had received an e-mail from a military guy stationed in Asia. He was a fellow cancer patient, and he wanted to tell me something.

"You don't know it yet," he wrote, "but we're the lucky ones."

I'd said aloud, "This guy's a nut."

What on earth could he mean?

When I read this, I stored it away in my mind, eagerly awaiting Lance's own answer to this question - lucky .. What on earth could he mean?. It would come quietly on the last page of the book.

"You don't know it yet, but we're the lucky ones," my fellow cancer patient had written.

I will always carry the lesson of cancer with me, and feel that I'm a member of the cancer community. I believe I have an obligation to make something better out of my life than before, and to help my fellow human beings who are dealing with the disease. It's a community of shared experience. Anyone who has heard the words You have cancer and thought, "Oh, my God, I'm going to die," is a member of it. If you've ever belonged, you never leave.

Jenny had often indicated that she felt lucky (I think in both aspects - that of surviving an aggressive cancer and oddly enough, having had had cancer). She said this in the Australian Story Episode, "In the Pink":

'I don't understand how things work out, and why things work out the way they do. I feel like I've been lucky. I don't understand how cancer works, I don't know why I've been blessed the way I have been.'

Jenny - Australian Story - "In the Pink - Kirrawee - May 2004 (picasa)

and in her Talks:

'I feel I am so lucky and have a wonderful life. I have had some great opportunities through breast cancer to meet some very inspiring people. Geoff and Jo have been a constant source of support for me. Breast cancer has totally changed my life but for the best.'

Relay for Life 2007 - Jenny - Survivor Representative - Sylvania Waters - Sat 28 Apr 2007 (picasa)

The Rainbow Connection - Phil, John, Marj, Jenny, Liz, Noel - Phil passed away shortly after this photo was taken - he often spoke to Jenny about how luck seemed to play a big part in how things worked out, but sometimes you make you own luck - Rely for Life 2003 - Sylvania Waters - Sat 31 May 2003 - (picasa)

As Jenny's International Dragon Boating Career started, she came to the attention of the Media and in the first Newspaper Article she featured in, she was even compared to Lance Armstrong:

Don Iverson, Director of the Health and Productivity Research Center at the University of Wollongong, said that Ms Petterson could be compared to Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France after fighting testicular cancer.

'It's almost superhuman,' he said.

Cancer wont slow rowing champion - Sydney Sun Herald - 2 May 2004

She was a little embarrassed by the comparison, but Jo and I were very proud of Jenny and her achievements in her treatment, her sport and her life as breast cancer survivor.

Geoff, Jenny, Grace, Lynn, Betty, Thomas, Grant, Joanne and David - Relay for Life 2007 - Jenny - Survivor Representative - Sylvania Waters - Sat 28 Apr 2007 (picasa)


After Jenny's passing, I had an encounter in the Intensive Care Unit where Jenny left us. Joanne and I had gone back to thank the staff at the St George Hospital and to pickup some scans that had been lost in Jenny's move from the Level 1 to ICU. We spoke to the head ICU nurses (they were between shifts) and we knew both of them from Jenny's time in ICU (and I was well known to them as I had fainted in ICU on Jenny's second day in ICU after the neurosurgery). We talked a little and I mentioned that Jenny did consider herself lucky to have had cancer - as she said herself - it had changed her life for the better. One the nurses questioned this statement and she made me feel a little uneasy for saying what I had said. She could not believe anyone with cancer could consider themselves lucky. Maybe, she had seen too much of the cold harsh reality of cancer in that ICU. Maybe she was right. It did not seem too lucky now that Jenny was gone?

This conversation stuck in my mind for a long time, and I started to question many things. It was not until I came across the following blog post by Doug Miller that I found some peace. Here was a man who had recently been diagnosed with Cancer. He was articulate and in many ways his post offers so much more than Lance's writings on Cancer and Luck. This is probably the most moving piece of writing I have read in my life. I don't have cancer, but I have lived a shared life with it and it's consequences. I can truly emphasise. Here it is. My heart is with you Doug ..

Doug Miller - Colorado Trail San Juan Mountains - 1994 - A Single Path - (blog)

The Lucky Ones by Doug Miller (Wed 23 Sep 2009)

[..] a friend [..] pointed me to Lance Armstrong's book entitled "Its not about the bike" I picked up a copy and quickly read through it. I liked it.

It had a bit much detail focusing on cycling, but that was an aspect of the man that could obviously not be separated from the larger reality of his battle with cancer.

There were portions though that left my mind spinning. Armstrong's description of his diagnosis and the roller coaster of emotions that ensued was painfully raw and hit the mark with a clarity and similarity I could not deny. I myself am walking those darkened and fearful paths as I write these very words.

Out of all the pages a couple simple statements that he made resonated with me in a powerful way.

Armstrong tells of a letter that he received. It was from a man he had never met before. He himself had battled cancer. He wrote Armstrong to acknowledge his support and positive thoughts. As he finished the letter he made a strange statement that confused Armstrong. He wrote, "you probably do not understand this right now, but we are the lucky ones".

What? How is anyone with cancer lucky? It is devastating. It not only has the potential to steal your life, but also has the destructive potential to steal your Hope. Those words are haunting. Lucky? We are the lucky ones. This brotherhood of suffering is somehow lucky..........blessed?

It is diametrically opposed to any sort of sane thinking that those outside of this brotherhood would agree with. It actually is an almost dangerous statement. As if you say it as you are waking off a cliff without a safety net. A statement such as that redefines everything. Life. Death. And even Hope.

But as I walk this path, and simultaneously encounter life in all its beauty and harshness, I find myself agreeing. "We are the lucky ones". I am lucky. I say those words with a part of me screaming, "how dare you, how can you say that". But it is true. The perspective that cancer gives to life is unbelievable. It has the power to refine you. Your thoughts. Your direction. Your focus.

It is as if you look at life for the first time. Everything is different. Nothing is the same. Everything is turned on edge, revealing a freshness and an urgency that is not seen outside of cancer. If this clarity does exist in our normal lives, it is missed. Overshadowed by the busyness of life. By worthless and empty pursuits.

Another quote from Armstrong's book was this: "Cancer is not about dying, it is about living" What a statement.

Most would argue against it. But those that walk this path find it to be true. Life after diagnosis becomes "alive". It becomes real. It is as if you can grasp it with your own hands, breath it in, consume it.

Oh if I could have had this view earlier in life. I knew that it existed. I sensed it. I chased it. Through the mountains. Through relationships. In the woods and fields of my youth. It was a whisper in the words of poets. And a reflection on the horizon as the sun slipped out of view. But i did not catch it until cancer became my reference. My reality.

We who are members of this brotherhood and sisterhood of suffering are the lucky ones, because now we can truly live. And Love. And Hope. And I dare to say Dream. They are painful dreams, haunted with the shadows of uncertainty, but they are vivid dreams. Passionate dreams. Dreams that leave your heart aching, your soul longing. We are released from the fear of death. Our finite lives are bared.

We come face to face with our mortality and realize that life is looking back at us. Raw and uncertain. But ALIVE none the less. There were days before cancer that I despaired. At times despising my life. But now I am hungry to live. I long to live. Whether that time be long or short, I hold tight to life and all of its glorious agony.

Posted by Doug Miller at 9:11 PM

The Pacific Dragons 2013 Inspire Award in the Memory of Jenny Petterson - Glebe/Sydney and Dubrovnik/Croatia (Sat 03 Aug 2013)

Jenny - Suzhou / China (Tue 16 Nov 2004) Petar Hektorovic (*) - Tvrdalj Fortress (*) / Stari Grad (*) / Hvar (*) (Wed 31 Jul 2013)
First, a thank you..

Here we are in Dubrovnik.

Croatia, is just beautiful and the highlight has been a small courtyard in the small Fortress of the 16th Century Croatian Poet, Petar Hektorovic, in the tiny town of Stari Grad on the Island of Hvar, two hours by Ferry out of Split. Jo and I spread some of Jenny's ashes there and it was one of the most peaceful places (*) I have experienced and his words (*) seem quite relevant and profound.

We feel privileged and lucky to have the ability to make and have these experiences.

Caitlin, Lisa, Jo, Kaizer and myself have just competed at the 11th World DB Champs with the 2013 Australian Auroras Squad. It was a great event and we have some amazing memories.

The Hungarians have shown the world how to host a modern World Dragon Boat Championships, which have become carnival like because of their size.

It was also great to paddle on a course so rich in paddling history.

The highlight of the championships for me was watching Jo, carry the Australian Flag and leading the whole Australian Squad at the Opening Ceremony.

Joanne, Jenny would be so proud of you as we all are. A tribute (*) to Joanne and those those have supported her in paddling and life will follow the presentation.

On behalf of Caitlin, Lisa, Jo, Kaizer and myself, we thank you all for supporting us in paddling and life. Pacific Dragons provides the home and base which nurtures us as paddlers and people.

A little about Jenny now ..

Jenny said to me towards the end, when the destination of her disease became more real, that she would miss the travel adventures with us - no doubt in travels and in life.

It is just over 4 years ago that she said those words and it would be a few short months later she left this world.

She did not feel sorry for herself in saying those words. She always had a strong sense of reality about her life, her cancer and her purpose in life.

This was one of the inspiring traits I would take from her and one we can all take from her as we face the uncertainties which will become the certainties of our lives.

When she did die, I had already decided that I should live on in her "Afterglow". This was much easier to say than do and for a long time I thought my life purpose had been served and honoured.

Those early days were the hardest of my life and it would take a long time to find my confidence, to start living my life again. That there was a purpose. All I could really do was paddle. In some ways, it was during those days I found myself.

Jenny loved travel, a globe and atlas and it was no surprise that geography was her favourite class. Had she been born in earlier times, she would have a been great explorer - and without doubt, Captain Petterson, as I would call her, would have been an important name in our history books and classes, along with Columbus and Cook.

So, whenever we decided to travel, she was also the navigator, along with Jo, of course. With a sheet of paper and pen in hand, they would thumb through the atlas and rotate the globe charting our path and planning our itinerary.

Croatia was Jenny's choice for our Europe 2009 trip following the World DB Champs in Prague. However, she would not make it here, passing away 9 weeks before the Worlds.

We did not travel to Croatia in 2009. In the haze of grief and bereavement, I can't remember why now.

So for this 2013 Hungary Campaign, we decided that Croatia would be our first stop, in order to honour Jenny's wishes.

As it is with everything now, I feel a sense of guilt that I am alive and experiencing life and Jenny is not. That I am experiencing this trip, Szeged and in particular the Croatian coast and our current port Dubrovnik.

However, these feelings of guilt are balanced with the thought that she inspires us to continue our lives to the full, including creating these experiences. It is what she would want us to do.

Maybe in some ways I feel that when we meet again, I can tell her all the great things we have done.

So while there are feelings of guilt, I balance them with those of inspiration, intention, innocence, naviety and awe. In this way, a perspective on life can be found and along with a sense of empathy, it can give your life a solid foundation even during the toughest moments.

I talk about this because I have come to realise that others have or will have these moments and this is just one way, my way at least, to respond. This is life.

So to the 2013 Inspire Award ..

A common word used in all the presentations over years is the word "Belief". It seems to pop up all the time.

Last year I spoke a little about belief, in the sense that inspiring people seem to have a belief in themselves - we call it self-belief.

So I started to think about where does self belief come from?

I would find an answer a month after, via a blog post by Spencer Lum, a New York based wedding photographer, of all people. His words made it crystal clear to me. He wrote:

[..] if you’re willing to take a gamble, I’ll bet on you. If you’re willing to put it out there, if you’re willing to fail, if you’re willing to let go of it all, thumb your nose at the world, and do it your way, I’ll believe in you. [..]

"I’ll believe in you." Spencer wrote. There it was. The answer was so simple - self belief first comes from others who believe in you.

Often it takes some time to have the confidence to believe in one self. Initially, more often than not, the belief comes from others. Those who support and love you for who you are.

It is only with time, experience and the support of those others who believe in you, that you can find your own self belief and you start say things to yourself like

• yes, I can do that,


• you start finding reasons why you can, rather than you can't, and


• when you question yourself with "why?", you are able to say "well ,why not!"

It is then that things start to happen.

As time goes by, you become stronger, more independent and not afraid to give things a go, even if it means making mistakes and / or failing. You know that the risk is worth the reward of at least trying, whatever the outcome.

So what does this have to do with the 2013 Inspire Award?

The recipient of this award realised her own self-belief this year, initially through the support of her coaches and those that have paddled with her since joining the club.

Something happened this year for her. She had been making changes and steady improvements over the years, but she realised she needed to start believing in herself. It was a natural progression.

I was lucky enough to sit next her one week night dragon boat training session going into CNY. She trained strongly and between sets we chatted briefly. She told me that she needed to start believing in herself and that she was almost there. I was impressed. This is the stuff I had been thinking about.

The next weekend she made this very visible to her coaches, paddling buddies and most importantly, herself, by performing a stunning 4km OC1 time trial out of Dobroyd Point. This was the turning point, the starting point to self belief.

It was fantastic to witness that very moment.

I have seen it time and time again in our club. Coaches and others believing, paddlers changing and then suddenly something remarkable happens. They start believing in themselves. It is the great thing about our club and it is what I love about PDs.

So the 5th and 2013 recipient of the Inspire Award in the Memory of Jenny Petterson is Cath Gale.

A big congratulations to you Cath from Jo and myself. You are an inspiration.

Have a great night all. We will be thinking of you all and we look forward to getting back into it all on our return in late August.
Water - Courtyard Pond - Petar Hektorovic (*) - Tvrdalj Fortress (*) / Stari Grad (*) / Hvar (*) (Wed 31 Jul 2013) Incriptions - Petar Hektorovic (*) - Tvrdalj Fortress (*) / Stari Grad (*) / Hvar (*) (Wed 31 Jul 2013)