32nd Annual Great White North Tim Hortons Dragon Boat Challenge – September 12th & 13th 2026
Aaaand we’re back downtown Toronto! If you remember, last year didn’t go all that bad, with Wahine taking the Premier Women’s Division A Championship. Could this weekend be a repeat?
Hmm, not so fast, because Wahine isn’t participating this year. In stead, Tribal showed up with 3 teams: Wilcox Warriors, Tribal Aloha & Tribal Maui (Sharon’s team). And boy did they all clean house.
The venue was as it always is, pretty well organized with over 100 teams participating, plenty amusement and sustenance options, live music and gorgeous weather. Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Aside from the parking situation though, as on Saturday that turned into a complete clusterfuck. I don’t know what happened, but it appeared some wedding at Liberty Grand near Medieval Times reserved a bunch of parking lots which had us park all the way over at BMO Field – but not with any help. Signage and parking officers were completely absent and/or useless, until race day was done and wedding guests were arriving.. What a headache to start the day.
As usual my own corporate team was there to compete as well, but we didn’t see much of them except the first 500m race against Maui. As I’m deeply invested in Sharon’s racing I only socialized a bit here and there with my colleagues (and the Betty)…and focused on Maui instead. And my home-made sandwiches + coffee + lounge chair + music. Man’s gotta have some creature comforts, eh?
Over the weekend, beginner boat Wilcox Warriors managed to get themselves their own gold medal. How amazing is that? With brand-new fill-in paddlers, even! They have learned so much, it’s quite amazing to see. Tribal Aloha did nothing less than move up a whole division from last year, with a new 500m record of 2:19.99. Unfortunately this year that didn’t turn into metal, but it’s still an achievement to be proud of, for sure.
Maui had a great start on Saturday, with second place in both races. But being that good (muhahaha) also means that you’ll likely end up in a finale with very good teams. This is fantastic, of course, but it also may diminish chances on metal. Nevertheless, this is not the team that sandbags their heats so they went full-out every time – and ended up in the Division A Consolation Finals. Which they won. By .12 seconds. I mean what the heynonnynonnyandahohoho! The team was overjoyed and moved to tears…they gave it their all and they won. All that hard work, training and persistance paid off.
Yes, there are a lot of pictures – a lot happened this weekend! But be sure to check out the latest YouTube video – and see if you could spot who won the last race because I sure couldn’t make the call.
Day one, here we go! 
A lovely morning it is 
Morning team meeting 
Maui gets going 
Soooo close! 
Checking time postings 
The team is now blessed 
Food run 
And just like last year, some punk thought it’s a good idea to park their tonka boat mid-race in a no-parking, no-loading zone. Assholes. 
Go Aloha! 
Perfect synch, Maui! 
And that’s a wrap for day one! 
Day two! 
There were so many wasps that we brought wasp-killers 
The encampent for the weekend 
Wilcox at work 
Yah. Just because I can. 
Aloha is done for the weekend. Great job! 
Off Maui goes for the last race 
Big crowds at the last finals 
Can you see who won? I can’t! 
A great feeling after a great race 
A coachs’ hug 
Emotions running high 
Tense moments…is it gold? 
A winning team! 
The girls won gold! 
If not for these 2 gents, Sharon would not have gotten the dragonboating bug 
Winner!