Tom Arnold

"Like a lot of Canadians, I grew up canoeing, but I'd never even heard of dragon boat until my first job after university, when I was asked to join a corporate team. I said ‘yes’ just to make friends in a new office, but I fell in love instantly, and the more I paddled, the more I wanted to.

With the help of some great coaches, and a whole lot of luck, I quickly found myself paddling at IDBF Club Crew World Championships, and then with the Canadian National Team. I was also introduced to outrigger, marathon canoe, and surfski in order to continue developing my paddling knowledge.

Now I focus primarily on coaching, so I can pass on what I’ve learned and help others realize the amazing opportunities that I’ve found through dragon boating.

One of the things that I love about dragon boating is how there are opportunities for people to compete and strive for big goals at any age. I’ll never forget the first time my Senior C (paddlers aged 60+) crews won gold medals at Club Crew World Championships.

Some of our paddlers competed in sports when they were young; many did not. And after decades of working and raising families, none of them had imagined they’d ever have the chance to compete at an international level (in anything). But over the course of a few years, they kept getting better, and we kept setting bigger goals as a program to strive towards.

For them, winning was the culmination of a journey that made them realize they were (still) capable of so much more than they’d previously believed. They were athletes. They were champions. And, as one of our paddlers put it, ‘I’m an inspiration to my grandchildren. I never thought that could happen!’ To hear that as a coach was a pretty special feeling.”

[Tom Arnold (Victoria, BC, Canada), coach of the Gorging Dragons and Canadian Senior B national team.]

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