SURPRISE!

that's not all the news we have for you... next one coming up in a few hours!

~boss~

seven things i love about Team OneStroke

without giving too much away, change is coming to Team OneStroke. 
however, before the changes are made known to the rest of the world... here are seven things that i love about our team (and you are missing out on...) anyway, it's seven cos it's my favourite number!
1. family: every team claims how close they are to each other but i think there is nothing like the ties we have within the team. it's always interesting to see teammates progress from being single to getting hitched then married and finally having children. of course, not every relationship is a fairytale but i'm glad that we have our fair share of 'happily ever afters' as well.
2. we work hard: well, at least to the best of our abilities... given the diverse composition of the team, i salute how everyone really tries. whether it's in their daily gym work or the weekend water trainings. every other week, we would hear of someone having to leave training early or rush off the moment the clock strikes 12pm. is it easy to be absent from training or call in sick? you bet it is but we don't. we try our best.
3. we play harder: i remember the occasions when the team hits the clubs, it's like a full mobilisation. beyond the partying, the team trip to universal studios, organising our own version of 'running man', cable skiing in batam... the team never fails to bring something fun to our otherwise hectic (and mundane) schedules.
4. the team name: what's not to love about OneStroke? oh the nuances kills. haha! but every mention of the name reminds me of our first coach and our humble beginnings. we are OneStroke because we are taught how to paddle with one stroke and 'don't anyhow go and change my stroke!' i'm sure the more *ahem* senior *ahem* people will remember this line.
5. merchandise: what can i say? our apparel speaks for itself... haha. 

6. my management team: i always say this... we may not be the best management team around but we sure work our butts off. i know that i am a strong personality (aka hbic) but each day, i'm thankful that i have the support of my coach and captains (past and present!) without fail, they deliver!
last but not least,
7. our online 'presence': it's always fun to see facebook status updates, tweets, instagram posts about the team. i mean, try to beat us at #hashtags
well, in just a few hours, life in the team is going to get interesting. where it would take us, i don't really know but one thing is certain: i'm glad that i'm a part of it.
~boss~

OneStroke... SA!

hey everyone, 
just wanted to put it in writing: hang in there! jiayou! don't give up... the encouragement may take many forms but you get the message. although we have to commit to training for another month, thank you for being a part of the team. 
the postponement has messed up a lot of our individual plans (mine included hence you won't be seeing me around much) but somehow we will make it work. this is our third sdbf and let's make it the best one yet. it's not just the results that i'm looking at but more importantly, how we approach this race as a team, a family.
~boss~

men's talk!

so technology (actually it's called whatsapp) allows for all the men, boys, guys, males to be in a single chat... here's a glimpse at their conversation (by the way, all names are withheld to protect the annoying and downright ugly):
6.18pm: ZOLEKWNSNSKDICKDS
6.20pm: Must be alien's language
6.21pm: Unless you speak sh*t like him, you won't understand
6.24pm: Shut up la / You and your face are 70kg
6.28pm: Can you be a bit more creative? / Come on man put in more effort into this
6.28pm: if I use myself as a benchmark all of you are fat #justsaying
6.29pm: Hahaha / (name) DOTA 29?  [writer's note: i know right!!! random much!]
[writer's note: and the battle begins...] 6.35pm: You are so fat even Dora can't explore you
6.36pm: That's funny but no / You're so fat it take(s) 365 days to walk around you
6.38pm: You're so fat that when you sit on your iPhone it turns into iPad
6.40pm: that's not original
6.40pm: Your face is not original
6.42pm: yes yes. you are 100% authentic since no two pieces of sh*t looks the same
6.42pm: You're so fat thy dedicated a whole season of "Biggest Loser" just for you. And the contestants are the parts of your body
6.43pm: lol gd one (name) 10 points to gryfifindor!
6.44pm: You're both so fat my phone is now at freaking 3% battery and i'm not home yet so can you just shut the hell up? 
6.45pm: this one... you're so fat that dubai taps on you for her economic growth.
6.46pm: You are so fat that you have more chins than china's phonebook
6.46pm: Here is an extension: You're so fat the US invades you for oil
6.48pm: You're so fat the Rebel Alliance mistook you for the Death Star
6.49pm: You are so fat an African family can survive eating you their entire lives [disclaimer: team onestroke does not promote or condemn cannibalism.]
6.50pm: U r so fat that u r distrusting [think the texter meant disrupting] the train service
6.50pm: Not just one... could probably solve the world's problem on hunger
6.50pm: You are so fat that you were the cause of orchard flood last year
6.53pm: You're so fat when you fart it causes Global Warming / You're so fat when you fart you can cause a nuclear explosion
6.53pm: You're so fat you cause sea level rise just by peeing
6.54pm: You are so fat that when you go to heaven (you) drop to hell
6.56pm: you're so fat that they call your mouth the Bermuda Triangle.
6.57pm: You're so fat your anus is the new Black Hole
6.58pm: you're so fat that it took captain jack sparrow four lifetimes to sail around your waistline.
6.59pm: People used to be able to fall in love, but you are so fat you fell in love and broke it
7.00pm: Nice one (name) 10points to Hufflepuff because you're as fat as the mascot
7.01pm: Hufflepuff's mascot is a badger
7.01pm: you're so fat that when you went for a heart bypass, they built the london tube.
7.01pm: Fattest amongst all [reference to the mascot]
in case you read the whole post and wondered how the mascot looks like, here it is...

see you at sdbf 2013

it took me a while to decide if i wanted to write this post. beyond the writing, it was also a huge struggle about content. should i talk about the races that gone by and give some insights or is it wiser to just move ahead? 
well, here's my take about our performance as a team thus far: every victory, big or small, is facebook-ed, tweeted or instagram-ed not because we are proud of our achievements. it is not a celebration of our sporting might but a stamp on our treasured memory bank. so do pardon us for splashing our joy all over because it's not everyday that we get together and have an opportunity to do what we enjoy.
anyway, sdbf 2013 will be our next BIG race. it's not an easy race for most of us in the team but we are going to try anyway. team is going to be shaken up a little, a couple of familiar faces will become memories. 
what do we do then? 
we do what our coach taught us. we look forward and give 10% more. let's face sdbf 2013 together and do it with a smile.
~ boss ~

life of a dragonboater

it's not an easy journey but i am ever thankful that along the way, i have a family of brothers and sisters who are there to support me and guide me. in case i miss an opportunity to look you in the eye and say the following to you, let me put this writing.
thank you for making this road a lot easier to travel.
~boss~

in all things, be excellent!

race season is officially upon us. a year on, much has happened within the team. we finally completed our first race of the year: MR500 2013. last year, we raced in three events but this year, the decision was made to just focus on what we can do realistically. 
as the team manager (or 'boss'), i always like to reflect on everything that brought us to this point and looking back, i must say that i truly appreciate my management team for their wisdom. let it be known that i didn't think that the boys will shape up in time for the race and i'm a firm believer of return-on-investment (ROI), so i was ready to sit the team out of MR500. however, the captains fought for the participation and i'm glad for their faith in the absence of mine.

so what made this race special for me? 
1) excellence: we really don't have the biggest biceps. we are unable to train at the kind of intensity that we want to. does that make some of us feel horrible? yes it does but when the time comes, we try our best. that's excellence! do we want to be the best? i truly think we do but much of the joy is in the journey.
2) relationships: every team has its fair share of politics, whether good or bad. however, it is always encouraging to see all of us from different walks of life sitting down, chatting, sharing and of course, gossiping. of course, special mention goes to the members of our DWC (dragonboat widows club)! other than 'lending' us their other halves every saturday and sunday for training, they are ever supportive of the team even though they don't understand the sport.
ultimately, when i took over the reins as manager, i set specific objectives for myself and guidelines for the direction of the team. i'm glad that i have stuck true to most of it and we have gathered a team who believes in the essence of Team OneStroke. 

how will our 2013 chapter end? only time will tell but i'm glad that this is not written just by me but by everyone who make a conscious choice to commit our cause. 
~boss~
ps: anyway, if you are interested in photos, here's the link. i'm pretty sure that our coach will update his blog in due time about his mr500 experience as well. i'll share the link once it's up.