Australian Corporate Games, Melbourne, Saturday, 19th November 2005.
From all parts of Australia the IBM "Dragons on Demand" dragon boat team congregated in Melbourne to compete in the Australian Corporate Games. This was the first real test of the diverse IBM dragon boating team, made up of mixture of experienced and rookie paddlers, the team was striving to compete on a national level with the best paddlers in corporate Australia.
Awoken by a typical Melbourne morning of grey skies and rain, the team assembled for a pre-race meeting and intense carbo loading session. Following inspirational words from team captain Ingrid and video session of the latest Sugababes music clip the team became geared up for the days racing. Like radiant beacons of light greeting ships in the night, the team entered the arena of Melbourne's New Quay at Docklands with their new bright red IBM boat hats adorning team members heads. Surely if Gilligan had been equipped with these bright red hats they would have been off that island come night fall! Striding along the wharf it became clear to all other teams - the IBM Dragons on Demand were here to compete.
First up were 3 heats where IBM was required to finish a top of their group to advance to the finals. Boarding the dragon boat for the day’s first race it became quite clear that the team were out of the muggy green and brownish water they called Pyrmont home and in enemy territory as the Melbourne course had been shortened and the boats were of a different variety to those the team had trained in and become accustomed to. Very unstable and lacking in footholds the team were required to adjust to the new conditions to ensure they were able to race at the level they had trained for. The first race began and true to form the team raced out to an early lead on the back of its trademark start. As the race progressed it became clear that the change of boat was affecting the team as paddlers began to lose footing and as such timing and power became an issue. The challengers began to gain upon the Dragons On Demand lead until the team's fighting spirit kicked in and the team ran away with a 1 1/2 half boat length victory in a reasonable time. Satisfied with the win but disappointed in their first up performance the team still had two more heat races to improve and ensure entry into the finals. Back on dry land the team worked on methods to counter the unexpected racing and these adjustments worked a treat as the IBM Dragons on Demand team comfortably won their remaining heats to finish a top of its pool and advance to finals. It was time for the real competition to begin!
Having performed up and down throughout the day it became time for the Dragons On Demand step it up as from now on all hands were needed on deck and focused to take the team to heights it knew it could reach. The team needed to finish in the top 2 in the semi-final to move into the blue ribbon "A" Final of the regatta, racing against three other teams – one of which was the Royal Navy. Apparently the Navy team knew a thing or two about the water so it was definitely time for the Dragons on Demand to "switch on". Heading up to the starting line one could sense the team was destined to show corporate Australia and the gathering crowd that it too knew a thing or two about paddling a dragon boat. Ignoring the intimidation tactics of the Navy chants of "yes sir, ready sir" bellowing out with military precision the IBM Dragons On Demand were ready to race. The gun went and the flurry of paddles began. The IBM start came into play as the team and Navy team got a jump on other competing teams and as such it became quite clear after 15 metres this was going to be a race of two. As the race progressed the precision of the Navy team became apparent as they pulled away to a significant lead. Determined to put faith in its race plan and preparations, IBM did not panic and as the finish line began to draw ever closer, so did the spirit of this IBM dragon boat team. They raised the intensity of its stroke and to the amazement of the crowd had pulled up alongside the Navy in the space of no more then 10 metres. With bows going neck and neck on each stroke the IBM team had definitely made its mark and after a close tussle only 0.1 seconds separated the two teams as both progressed through the final.
The "A" final was where all competing teams wanted to be and the IBM dragon boat team were pleased to be one of the few teams to make it in to the prestigious race. Fellow competitors included Telstra, Royal Navy and Caltex. In a regatta that had been dominated by team Telstra from the outset, who were stacked with professional rowers, it came as no surprise in the final when, after a collection of solid starts from all teams, that Telstra pulled away from the field and took out victory in the final to be crowned champions of the day. The valiant IBM Dragons On Demands battled away with remaining crews to be rewarded with 4th placing of the race meet. Although the team missed out on 3rd place by 1/200th of a second, being honoured with a 4th placing out of the 48 teams that had competed, and earning the respect of their peers, the IBM Dragons On Demand declared their venture to compete in the Australian Corporate Games a roaring success.
In true IBM style, post-race team celebrations were had where the team sampled all the delights Melbourne had to offer before retiring late in the night, or early in the morning for some!
ACG Crew List
Ingrid Sumargo
Cindy McCutcheon
Mark Van Uden
Evelyn Lim
Peter Marcinasko
Kim Da Costa
Stephen Da Costa
John Carroll
Jenny O'Hearn
Karen Ko
Anthony Felsbourg
Julie Montgomery
Mitchell Seeto
Barbara Zapletal
Wa Mio
Scott Le
James Nguyen
Bang Duong
Mark Czajkowski
Kaye Mendez
Richard Tran
Frank Arraiza
On behalf of the IBM Dragons On Demand we'd like to thank the IBM Diversity Council for their continued support for all things dragon boat. And also to those all those team members who coordinated and contributed to making the Australian Corporate Games in Melbourne such a successful and most importantly fun adventure, where we were successful on the water but where the true measure of success was demonstrated with the team spirit that was shown out of the water.
Next up for the IBM Dragons On Demand is Christmas celebrations - to be followed by training sessions to recommence on January 8th to work off those Christmas puddings. With all attention to be focused on the teams next big race - Chinese New Year celebrations in Darling Harbour in late January.
For more information on joining IBM Dragons On Demand, please contact Evelyn Lim.
Article by Mitchell Seeto
