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Paddles Ready is your go-to podcast for everything happening in the world of paddle racing.
Hosted by Dougie and Hando, the show brings you inside the sport with race reviews, real-time commentary, and conversations with paddlers from across the globe. Whether it’s breaking down major competitions, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, or hearing directly from the athletes shaping the sport, this podcast keeps you connected to the pulse of paddle racing.
From elite races to grassroots scenes, Paddles Ready covers it all, giving you insight, perspective, and the stories you won’t hear anywhere else.
What you’ll hear:
Honest race reviews and analysis
Conversations with paddlers and industry voices worldwide
Commentary on trends, performances, and competition results
Stories from the front lines of paddle racing
If you follow paddle racing or want to understand it better, this is where you stay informed.
👉 Visit paddlesready.com for more episodes and updates.
There's gonna be some exciting stuff where they're gonna be Paddles Ready members. Have your paddles ready.
So the first thing now I've gone and looked at in Taipei is how much is a beer? How much is a schooner? Oh, $1.50 Aussie. All over
it. Why are we so expensive here, then? After the racing you have a party.
Stop it. I'm getting FOMO. No. Why can't clubs market themselves properly? There is a
massive opportunity for marketing
within the paddlers groups. Such an exciting sport, but the marketing and the promotion is so dull. What's your thoughts?
Everybody, here we go again. It's that time
Paddles ready
This is Paddles Ready, the global voice of paddle sports. Live commentary, race coverage, athlete stories, and expert analysis from across the world of paddling. From dragon boat racing to ocean ski, this is where the competition, the culture, and the stories come together. Let's get into it
How you going, Hando? Welcome. We're back, we're back.
We are back. Welcome to the people tuning in. Welcome everybody.
It's great, great to have you, uh, here. We,
we- It is another day- Another day ... in the life and times of Paddles Ready with Big Dougie and Hando.
We've been around a bit the last couple weeks, haven't we?
Oh, my
goodness.
How good? So, like, uh, been up to Singapore, been to London. Um- The traveling world of- I, I went down to- ...
Paddles Ready ...
yeah, I went down to Adelaide. Um, it's actually been a lot of fun. Got sick, got better, went away again.
But I tell you what- Well, it's a change, it's a change of seasons. Imagine, mate, change of seasons everywhere, from winter to summer, and then summer to winter.
We were having a chat, um, we were having a chat off air, and Hando asked me what I, um, love the most about going up to Singapore, uh, the UK That Henley on the River
Henley-on-the-Thames
Henley-on-the-Thames. Sorry about that. I was getting so excited. That Henley-on-the-Thames, I tell you, Hando, it is one of the most beautiful, picturesque places I've ever been to.
Yeah, yeah.
And 200 years, like it dates back to the 1800s. I know we've spoken about it a couple times.
Was that the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race? No, that's different,
isn't it? No, that's different. That's
different.
That's different. And that's actually been moved up. That got moved up to London. Right. That one.
Yeah.
But, uh, the tradition and the history is, man, and, and the- there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I actually-- It wasn't a normal UK day. It was actually like an Australian, a Gold Coast day.
Well, they saw the paddles ready. One of the paddles ready commentators was on a flight, landed in London, you had beautiful sunshine.
It
was good, and it was just before the heatwave, but, um- The heatwave ... that Henley on the, Henley-on-the-Thames, that was phenomenal. Um, and getting onto the international feel and w- Hando and I, you know, we're, we're sort of like taking off the training wheels now, and, uh, the podcast is, it, it, the support we're getting from you guys- We're flying
yeah. Thank
you, guys.
The support we're getting- Thank you. Thank you. Thank you ... from you guys from around the world, we really wanted to dedicate, uh, our piece today to international paddling. Um- Yeah, right ... we've both had chats with, you know, n- numerous people and friends of the show who have been letting us know, um, just recently up there in Berlin, in Munich, had a European, what's the, um, uh, the European club ch- uh, European Champs that's just happened up there in Berlin.
That was, uh, that was the ICF
one, right? The ICF one, yeah.
So that was the canoeing, the, the canoeing for a mo- there, there's some, some amazing- So- ... results there. I was watching, uh- It was the C4s and also the, the C1.
Yeah, but there was the, the dragon boating. I was watching, um, I watched the medal presentation.
Hungary were there, Italy were there, the Poms were there. Um-
Wa- i- i- is, i- was that the, you mean the EDBF when they had the European Dragon Boat Federation?
That's the one I'm talking about. Ah, so
that's- That's the one I'm talking about. Yeah, no, that's- Um- ... that's, that's there.
Um, and then I was having a chat with someone from York Dragons last night.
Right.
So York Dragons hosts- Right
there, mate, up- Yeah,
they- ... up
Northern England.
They hold a two, three-day regatta yearly. It's, uh- You know, it's, uh- It's nice ... it's bigger than Bon Jovi up there in York. Um, and- Bigger
than The Beatles.
Bigger than The Beat- I don't know if it's bigger than The Beatles. Well, bigger than Bon Jovi, we'll stick with that.
The Beatles are from Liverpool.
Oh, they... Well, they are, aren't they? So I had, um- Pete Best's
from Liverpool,
I think ... someone from, you know, I was talking to someone at York Dragons. We promoted, I promoted on Instagram. Um, and it just looked like a beautiful day. And once again, teams from all around the world.
Um- Great. What else has been happening, Hando? So I've also wanted to have a shout-out one of our friends, one of our friends of the show, Lillian, um, and Lily from Singapore Dragons. Lily and
Lillian in Singapore.
Yeah, Lillian and
Lily
from Singapore. They've got some people- Hey. Hi, girls. How you going?
Hey, Lils.
The- they got some, some endurance stuff coming up, right?
One of the biggest endurance races, uh, in the world. Um, it's 10Ks But it's w- 10Ks It's 10Ks.
That's
not much. No, but what this is, it's on the Marina Reservoir.
Marina Bay Sands.
Yep, Marina Bay Sands in the background, and- How good ... the, the girls, O- OzChamp and Singapore Dragons, they're collaborating there and doing what they do, what they do best.
Um, and so- Singapore Paddle
Club or the Singapore Dragons? Singapore Dragons. Oh, it's all, it's all pretty
good. I think they're all sort of like, you know, they're all in it. Singapore's a beautiful
place. And, and, and when- when's that?
October 17th. October
17th. So after, after a lot of, uh,
a few of the world titles and stuff coming.
Yeah, so we go up to, obviously, Taipei. Um, I think the girls are going up to Hangzhou on the 30th- Mm ... with the, uh, ICF Worlds. Right. And then come October 17, um, you've got the 10K Regatta. So there's plenty going on, and then cross the Atlantic- Pan
American Games
You cross the Atlantic, Hando, the North Americas, it's coming into their summer, so guess what that means.
Beautiful days and fast racing.
That's it. Oh, Mitch, Mitch, remember Mitch was, uh, he was over in the, the Gorge race. 100%.
That's what, you know- Mitch
Zandstra ... you talk- How are you, buddy?
You talk about a, uh, reg- a-
Wow ...
um, what's the word I'm looking for? A long race, like a marathon. Yeah. What did he say that was?
36 kilometers.
Uh, may- was it more? Yeah, I, but it's- In, in, in the Gorge, in,
um- In the Gorge. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, the wind goes one way, the tide goes the other, which creates a wave.
And they go.
And they go.
Well, we, we've got some footage of that.
Okay. Well, 100%. Mitch sent something through, so- Mitch sent something through
we'll cut and paste that and we- So that's
out, that's outrigging. Yeah. And, and, and surfskis.
And surfskis.
The surfskis are there as well.
So we'll, we'll get Aiden to, uh, mash up a bit of stuff and, um- To, to
chop that. But
yeah- Chop that up, and we'll, we'll put that on so you guys can see, because it sounds amazing, and we've, we've seen some little clips that, um, uh, Mitch has sent to us, and I tell you, it's, it's like nothing else.
So-
And if you're tuning in, send the clips in. We know there's lots of people have been sending us in, and we're, you know, we're, we're, we're slowly growing- Yeah ... with, uh, with, uh, again, Aiden, Aiden Taylor, our, uh... And, and also-
Belly ...
B- Big Belly, our, our, our podcast. We're getting amazing content, and we're slowly getting up.
As, as we grow, we'll get more to you.
Well, as, as we go now, Hando What, what we're endeavoring to do is put more of the weekly regattas, put 'em, put 'em on the podcast. Yeah. So if we're talking ab- if we're talking about, you know, we're gonna, we're going to show we're off to Taipei, um, on the 27th of August.
Mm.
I think the regatta starts there on the 29th. Mm-hmm. So all these- We're
there for seven days.
Seven days, so- That's the
club crew-
Yep ... world titles. So everything that's happening now is leading up to that, and you've got teams going to the IDBF, you've got teams going to the ICF, but we're coming up to the world club.
Like this is the real deal now. This is, this is our Olympics- Yeah ... so to speak. And, and, and as you- You were about to say the Olympic word.
Yeah. As, as, as you were saying, you, you talk about preparation.
Yep.
You've, you've, you've just had the ED- the, the European Dragon Boat Federation Championships, which, which was a nations cup.
I think Cyprus were there, the UK were there, Germany, Spain, but ev- everyone was there. Then they go back, and they, they split back into their clubs. It's really interesting talking where you get some nations that can dominate, but do the nations dominate at a club level?
Yeah. '
Cause there's maybe a particular nation that has a, a lot more clubs to pick from, or is it a smaller nation that does better because their club is their national team almost?
Yeah. Gotcha.
You know, so they're in preparation.
You've got the pan- So what's, what's your preparation c- coming up? Like when you're coaching a team, are you paddling right up to the weekend of, um, or are you tapering? I mean, not- Of course you- When I was pad- when I was paddling back in the day- Yeah, we, we, we, we taper
we
would taper, and we'd taper for a week,
week and a half and- You'd, you'd, it'd all be structured, and it's, and it's... Look, different coaches, different horses for courses, how they prepare. Are they preparing for a 2,000-meter race? Do they... I wonder if that-
Hmm ...
do, do you, do you take... And, and that, that's all affordability.
Yep.
Do you take people to the club crews And I know for a fact you do- Yeah ... because if you've got a Prem's team and a Senior A, and then that club that historically hasn't sort of done well in the Prem's, but then suddenly they become Senior A's and they do, they do well-
Yep ...
because of the different of age.
Yeah, it's, that, that, that, that's interesting. But yeah, the lead up, the preparation from where you've come out of winter in the summer- Yeah ... obviously down here we're in winter going up. Yep. But it's all in preparation for that-
For what's coming up, end of August and September ... for,
in Taiwan.
Yep. I th-
I think there's-
Yeah, or Hongzhou
yeah, is it 170- '
Cause I know Lily was telling the Singapore Dragons, they're going up to Hongzhou. They're not going to, um- They're going to Huadu ... they're not going to Taipei. Right. But they just did Hong Kong. Hey, let's, talking about, um, what have you got for us, um, I saw the other day Claudio and Mary.
They were, uh, traipsing around at a, um- Oh ... at a regatta. You, well,
well, they were, they were, um- Hi
Claudio, Mary. Good, good friends of the show. Hi
Mary, Claudio.
Good friends of the show.
Gotta love the IDBF.
But-
But, but they were, well, obviously it was bringing IDBF back home. Yeah, back to
Hong Kong.
But they were in Foshan.
Yep.
And which we, again, great friend of the show again, we talked to Mitch about it. Um- When they were doing the, as I call it, the F1- Yeah, the Formula 1 of canoeing ... we've had, we've, we've, we, we, we've had that as a, as a, as a segment. I don't know, we, we've had an interview somewhere- Yep ... with Mitch, but that was...
Yeah, they were all up there watching that. Um, and, and because you, you, I know we probably mentioned a history of dragon boating again, but watching those races go in between the- Oh, the
photos were- That- The, the footage was phenomenal ...
oh my goodness.
And then just seeing all the, um, the culture and the eye dotting once again, you know.
Mm.
Great part of the sport, but seeing Mary and Claudio and, uh, Mr. Luau and-
Well, Mr. Luau's just traveling everywhere.
Yeah, they
were- He, he, he is... You, you know, talk about promoting the sport together. We're- Yeah ... I, I think in conjunction, we're just... It, it's just, we're just gonna blow up- Yep ... the sport. Well, not, not blow it up, especially not in the Middle East.
Yeah. So, um, you know you know, um- But, you know, I lived in the Middle East for a long, long time and, and there, there was teams across the
foreshore- Well, good- ... paddling ... other more good friends, the Dubai Diggers. Yeah,
yeah.
Hey, listen, I saw they, uh, had a good win. They, they had a great regatta just recently.
They went to Stanley in Hong Kong?
That's right. Uh, that was the other week.
That, that
was- Um, saw the boys. They've... Geez, they know how to party, don't they?
Sure. That's it. But fit, fit boys. They did well. Fit, I mean- Stanley Hong Kong would be, is, is, is, is a, is a, is a, is a great one. Um- Watching their- And, and you saw all the results from, from our- But watching
their results and watching, you know, just seeing those paddlers, you've got to earn a spot in that boat.
You can't just rock up down on the, uh, foreshore in Dubai and say, "I want to paddle." You probably could, but you got to work hard. The, the training regime that those boys... They're, they're whipped into shape, aren't they? Like they're, they're machines.
Yeah. And, but, and, and that's where the, that's where... When, when you go, like obviously you've seen it before at the Nations, but when we go to the club cruise, like Tommy said, he says he loves the club cruise because, yes, the Nations Cup is amazing, but then you get some club teams that outperform- Yep
uh, results, uh, because of their depth.
Mm.
I suppose dep- in, in depth in numbers, right?
Yep.
Like any sport, if you've got a club with 100 paddlers- Mm ... you've probably got depth.
Yep.
Then you've got training regimes and timing in the seat a- and all of that, but- Yeah, look, it's, it's, it's fantastic where it's going, where it's heading.
It's exciting. Um, and, and, and just the excitement in Asia that East vs West with what they're doing- Well, 100%. I'm- ... up, up in Hong Kong, China, and China, and then you just see it, well, you see it go global everywhere. Yeah. And for all you people tuning in, we love
it. Well, you, y- we've got a little bit of news, I guess, working forward for what we've got coming on for Paddles Ready, and- Oh
I'll let you... You know, it's been, uh-
Look, it's, it's,
it's- It's been, it's been work in progress, so to speak
It's not even a work in progress- But we will be- ... because you guys have pushed it to us.
100%.
There's gonna be some exciting stuff where they're gonna be Paddles Ready members.
Yep. You become a member of the show.
You become a member of the show. You, you get your own... You... Don't worry about it. It's exciting, but we're gonna launch something right at the Club Crew World Champs.
That's right.
At the IDBF World Club Crew Championships in Taipei.
Yep.
Where there's gonna be... Look, paddlers-
Giveaways ...
paddlers are travelers.
Yes.
When they travel, uh, you know, you talk about travel and leisure and where they have to go, they have to fly, taxi, bus, stay, accommodation.
Yep.
So then we thought, well, if we've got members, why don't we reward them?
Yep. But- But don't say too much because we wanna launch this.
We wanna launch
this. We wanna launch this, and it's going to be opened, what, to the first thousand.
First thousand... The first thousand very, very soon. Stay tuned
because- First thousand, uh, members. Stay
very tuned ... you're gonna get a chance to win a lot of good stuff as well. And there's
going to be a lot of stuff on offer. Um-
I like it. Have your paddles ready.
Have your paddles ready, and, uh, yeah, it's, it's quite exciting.
Should we QR code it? Oh. Well, it's your... You're, you're running the bus, so, uh, you can do whatever you want, but it's going to be very, very exciting. It's going to be, uh- But, but
it's, it's, it's driven because they're like, "Guys, keep this going." Like, we, we didn't know where we were gonna go. We thought we, we- Well, we thought we'd do-
a few podcasts because we love it and, and we just wanna be a voice. But- It, it
was going to be just a hobby in between our day j- jobs, so to speak. But now here we are once a week, we've got people calling us daily, sending us footage, and we're now turning it into something that was pro- Something out of
nothing
well, it was
a pipe
dream. No, no. It was a pipe dream. But- But, but, but it, it's, it's good to see, and I know we sort of segued off a little bit, but we will move back because it is gonna be the Club Crew World Championships coming up. Yep. And we are launching something special-
Mm ...
with that. So then you go, when you're thinking The preparation we've talked about of different events, how do you, how do, how do you prepare- Hmm
to go to an event which is y- like, it's seven days of racing. Yep. Then you put travel time into it. You haven't, you haven't got much change out of 10 to 12 days, which is almost two weeks, if my maths correct me.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I took carry-on luggage for seven days to Berlin.
Oh, did you? I couldn't be arsed carrying a suitcase. I remember my wife going, "You're going to the other side of the world and you're taking carry-on?" Fair,
fair. But, but, but, but, and they're, and they're, and they're trying times. It's, it, it's expensive to travel.
Yep. So-
Again, why we've got something pretty cool
for you guys
that's why we've got something coming up for you guys- Coming up ... that you can be, uh, part of our family, and, uh, hopefully with what we're doing, we can reward your family or your indi- as individuals.
Yeah, we
wanna build a community ... and, uh, just, just helps a little bit more, um- '
Cause it is an amazing community.
That- It is ... the paddling community, whatever you're doing, dragon boating, outrigger, surf ski, stand up.
So let's talk, um, China. It's coming up. You and I, we're on the Big Bird, 27th.
Eva Air, is it? Of August. Eva,
Eva? Eva, Eva? Eva
Air.
Um,
Taiwan. Straight into Taiwan.
Straight into Taiwan.
From BrisVegas. And, uh- Well,
we
have to prepare
kicks off on, well, we do, and I've started having a look now, and, you know, we gotta know what's going on, but-
We have to, we have, we have to get, uh, you know-
You know what
the first- ... flight clearance from our kites.
Yes. You know what the first, uh... I've got clearance, mate.
You got clearance .
Do you know what the first thing I saw?
'Cause I've just come back from the UK, and, uh, it was £50 for a jug of Pimm's and lemonade at the races and at the cricket.
Is that cheap?
That's 100 Aussie for a jug. It's crazy.
And how many, how many races- The price ... did you get out of that?
Four schooners.
Oh, goodness, me.
So the first thing now I've gone and looked at in Taipei is how much is a beer?
How much is a schooner?
Oh.
$1.50 Aussie all over it.
Why are we so expensive here then?
It's like most of the Western world, isn't it? Taxes, taxes, taxes. So $1.50, so we're gonna be fine. Go down to night markets. Oh. I'm dying to try the
n- Couple of things, death and taxes, and you know that concrete's gonna go what?
Exactly. Or
cement. But let's get back on to Taipei. So you got the night markets there. Yep. So if this is for... You know, I've done a little bit of research, and this is for the other paddlers who are going as well. So- We're gonna have the
live stream.
We're gonna have the live stream. Live stream. Uh, so beer, buck 50, Aussie.
Great.
Maybe we'll have a beer then.
We'll have a beer. Go down to the night markets and you do the dumplings, the wontons, the shumais- Ah ... and all that. You can go to Taipei, and this is just the research and also speaking to people, $20 Aussie.
Yes.
So what's that? 12, 13 bucks US. You can walk out of there full as a butcher's dog every night.
Cheap. Nice.
However, you wouldn't wanna be because you're paddling in the Club Crew
World Championships. Well, true. True, true, true, but I wanted to just get the, uh, the, the important things out of the way before we hit the commentary box. Um-
That's it.
I can't wait because- I can't wait, mate. I can't wait
you, you, you remember Berlin, we found the magical Greek restaurant. Yes, Costas. Imagine what we're gonna find over there. Costas. Costas, friend of the show.
Um, so you imagine what... 'Cause you and I both love our Asian food. You and I love Asia. Oh my goodness. Period. Oh. We both haven't been here before. We, we've, we've traveled all around As-...
I'm like a ki- kid in a lolly shop. Um, that's why I said, "Let's go a day earlier so at least we can have a look." But we need to prepare as well, 'cause I think paddling starts on the Friday. Um-
Training days.
Training days.
Paddling days.
Yep, yep. So, um- Think I
sm- almost yawned.
Yeah. I'm, I'm looking forward to it.
It's gonna be good fun. And then on the 30th of September, Hangzhou, which, you know, there's an opportunity to go up there. Whether we go there, whether we don't, it's, it's all good. But,
but, but hang on a minute. There's a lot going on. We missed something. Uh, we've just watched the, uh, Wallabies off Francais rugby.
Yes.
Mary's got the, uh, BC, the breast cancer paddlers. Oh, I
see, in France.
In, um, in France.
Yeah. 4,500 paddlers-
Wow ...
going up there. Oh,
you should nip up there before you go. Oh,
God, I don't know how I'd get that through. Wow. But anyway, no doubt about it.
Well, look, we, we, we've got... Hey, again, we're not gonna- There is-
we're not gonna give you too much. No, we're not. But, um-
But there's plenty going on over
the next eight weeks ... we- we've got plenty of people that wanna support us and get involved with us- Yep ... and flying us around.
Yep.
And, and we're like, "Well, no, we wanna share it with, with our paddlers."
Yeah,
100%. So, so stay tuned for that.
Really wanted to just talk about the international feel of the, uh, coming up in the, over the next eight weeks. Mm. Um, probably by the time this drops we'll be, uh, a couple weeks into it. Um, but wanted to shout out to the York Dragons. Um, it was great to speak to you last night. Um, to the- Henley-on-the-Thames
Henley-on-the-Thames. The English team, I had someone from the English team that was up there in Munich, um, reach out on the podca- on the, um, Instagram, so. And also we've just said hello to, uh, AusChamps and Singapore Dragons to the two Lilies. Thanks for your support up there.
Yeah, they're doing the big, they're doing that, um-
As we spoke at the beginning, the 10K.
Yeah.
The, the, the 10K. The
10K.
Sandra's been over in, uh, in the Gorge- Yep ... in, not Utah, in, um-
Portland, Oregon ...
in Portland, Oregon.
So yep, so Mitch, uh, thanks again for your support. So Hando, I think that's a wrap.
Yeah. Well, you
know- Let's, uh, let's get ourselves up to, uh, Taiwan, and let's get some good content, and also would call some good races.
Share, share. And, and the last one- So, share ... the last one that we forgot to mention about-
Yeah ...
was I just saw some footage of the, as, as you said, the, you know, the, the, the lovely guys went back to Hong Kong. But Stanley is just getting out of control. You should have seen- Oh, mate ... you should have seen the corporate teams there.
Talk about partying.
Really?
And, and I can't wait, because every club crew, right?
Yep.
From
Macau- Yeah ...
Hong Kong. Then when I was in, in, in Italy, in Ravenna You have a massive-- After the racing, you have a party Stop it. No.
I'm getting FOMO.
Yeah. So it's like-
I'm getting FOMO ...
so, so I'm, I'm thinking it's 3 to 4,000, maybe more.
F- I'd, I'd say at least 4,000 people-
Yep ...
in Taiwan as a festival on the closing night. How good's that gonna be? Food, DJs.
Are you organizing it?
No. I wish. I could. Put it out there. We-- Hey, we've got some great friends on the show that live in Taiwan. There's nothing you love get- There's, there's, there's Miel, there's PJ.
You love getting on the deck.
Peter Holmes. Yeah. They're DJs in Taiwan. We should hook them up.
Well, you do what you do best. Put people together. Hando Connect.
That's it. Well- And, and, and how good's Belinda from the IDBF? Yeah. Marketing wise there. She- What's
she been up to?
Oh,
well, well- I know you're on the phone to her all the time
well, well, she, she's, uh ... Talk about organization from your day job to doing what they're doing, because taking it back to Hong Kong. Yep. And then they're traveling everywhere to get it all done. The liaison, uh, she's fantastic 'cause she can bilingual. Yep. I think Cantonese, Mandarin, and Aussie.
And it's her day job.
As far as she can transform from doing her day job, like, to then giving all that experience- Yeah ... and all that expertise. So hi, Belinda. All that expertise to the IDBF, so, uh. Yeah,
so we're excited. Uh, you know, by the- I can't wait ... by the time, by, by the time, we're, we're, we're probably on a plane.
Yeah. I can't wait.
It's going to be fantastic. Bring on Taiwan. Bring on the next eight weeks, I say, because you're going to see some of the best paddling in the world.
Woo-hoo. Well,
I'm Hando. I'm
Dougie. And we are Paddlers Ready.
Okay. 60 seconds with Dougie. We're with Chris from the German Dragons. Yeah. And we're gonna go right straight into it. Chris, worst excuse you've heard for not turning up to training?
Oh, I'm jet lagged.
Downwind or grind?
Grind.
Early morning training or sleep in? Early morning. What's more important, fitness or technique?
Technique. Carbon fibre or wooden paddle? Carbon. Coffee before or after training?
After.
Biggest talker on the boat?
Charles, all the way.
Sprint or distance?
Distance.
Beers or lemonade after a regatta?
Well, I'm German. Beers. It
does seem to be a thing there with the Germans. Favorite regatta you have competed in?
Uh, probably CCW600. Advice you would give to a new paddler hopping in the boat for the first time? Uh, just pull the first gun. And Chris, if I wasn't a paddler, I'd be? Oh, probably
a cyclist.
Thank you. That's Chris from the German Dragon Boat team.
How are you, Hando?
Everybody, here we go again. It's that time of the episode. Hando's hot take.
Hando's hot take.
Hot take. What have you got for me today?
Why can't clubs market themselves properly? You know, we... I just notice-
Clubs as in dragon
boat clubs? Yeah, it's dragon boat clubs. Yeah, like, you know, y- every dragon boat club's got a PR person or, you know, a marketing person as far as, you know, that's their day job.
Right.
I just feel that, um- The marketing and promotion of Dragon Boat Club, I know it's all volunt- I know it's all for free and that, but, you know, the, the sport's such an exciting sport, but the marketing and the promotion is so dull. What's your thoughts?
Yeah, but i- I suppose it depends on what angle you're coming from, 'cause there's so many different clubs.
There's so many different-
Yeah ...
from, from the junior clubs to the pink paddlers, the breast cancer paddling clubs. Yeah. Then you're just the run of m- the run-of-the-mill clubs. And when it's marketing, and, and each different country, they all have different aspects.
Yep.
Uh, personally, for us, marketing, you know, has changed and evolved over the years, where you might still get the, the clubs that are doing the Bunnings sausage sizzle down at- Yeah
Scarborough.
Mm.
Which they do, to-
I just think we've got
all these tools ... influencers and Instagrammers that are going on. And, and, and, and what, w- w- what, for the hot take, what, what do you think they should do?
Well, I, I, I think, you know, we're, we're a sport of professional people. I just feel that, uh, the promotion of the sport could be so much better.
Now that-
But then it comes, I know it comes down to a time thing, and people are time poor.
Time poor- Mm ... where, or, or they just don't know. Well- Because I see globally there is a massive opportunity for marketing within the paddlers groups. 100%. I guarantee you clu- guarantee you clubs out there, you wanna get sponsorship, go within.
Ask yourselves. Yeah. They're too busy going, "Who are the local companies that'll sponsor?" 100%. You know, like, like your kid's soccer
team. Well, I was gonna have a chat to you about that later on today and, but now you've brought it up. When they're going for sponsorship, the sponsorship comes back, "Oh, we give you this," and we've seen it ourself- Mm
especially, you know, with what we do.
What's the return on investment? It's,
yeah. But the sponsor, it's, it's an easy way out for the sponsors, because the sponsorship comes back weak. Um, you're right. You, you have to go in-house. You have to attack it. Um, and I think that way you're going to get the sport more out there than what it is, especially your club.
Um-
Yeah, I think they try and do their best. You know? I get it. I get it. They've all got, they've all got Facebook pages, Instagram. And you know what I've seen? S- the last, uh, since Paddles Ready's been hitting it by a storm. Yeah. Have you seen the clubs doing a lot of videoing and self- Oh,
100% ...
self-mani- self-managed promotion now.
Yeah. And, and I'll take the wrap for that because why not?
Well, 100%. I mean, how many videos do we get sent a day saying- Oh, my goodness ... "Can you pr- can you promote us on your Paddles Ready?" Absolutely. Well, we can, and we're about to start doing that now. That's
what we wanna do. We're, we're, we're evolving.
We're new. And we're gonna start doing that. But yeah, marketing, marketing's a, uh, it, it, it is a... Look, you know, you're not, it's, it's not something that, um I suppose people are gonna pay, uh, uh- No ... a club's gonna pay a marketer, but- I don't
expect people to pay, but I expect clubs, or I, I don't expect, that's probably the wrong word.
I would assume clubs would tap into the professionals that are paddling who will give up a little bit of
their time. That's under- that's undervalued. That, that- 100%. That's where they should be going. Right, who ve- what actually professions, it's almost like a, a professional dragon boat networking. Yeah.
Yep. I mean, we're fortunate enough, we've got Aiden. You know, he's a paddler. Mm. We've tapped in on him.
Yes.
Our social media, our- And they love it ... it, it's now starting to, uh, you know, go boonta, as they say in the classics. Um- Subscribe,
like.
And then obviously we've got Billy, you know, he sits behind here and listens to us, and- That's it, pod pro.
That's it ... so we're for- we're fortunate enough.
Mm.
Um, but I just think tap into your resources, and the greatest resource you could have for sponsoring your marketing is someone who is in it, who is paddling daily with your club.
So that's The Paddles Ready advice.
That's a g- go back- Go back- Whether you take it or not is up to you
take it or,
go back to your club, find out what they do.
Yeah. Find out what- Two- ... each paddler does. Because- Find out what their careers are ... go old school ... what do they do. And-
Go old school. We actually find out what people do.
100%.
You're not swiping left, swiping right.
No.
Just swipe within, and you'll never know what you'll find.
So to finish it up, Hando's hot take, we can be better.
Absolutely.
We can be better. Um, and for a sport that is growing as fast as ours, there's no reason that we can't be better. Um, and it's up to the clubs to get out there, find out what your paddlers do. Tap into that marketing guy who might be just a rep for Schweppes or Cad- And come back to us.
Send it
in. Yeah. You know, uh, you might have a marketing guy who works for Schweppes or Cadbury, but he knows marketing.
Mm.
So use them, utilize them, and let's keep pushing the sport. If you- Some
great
content that we could get ... s- wanna send stuff to Hando and I, um, it's easy. You can send
it through to The Paddles Ready, um, - Website ... Instagram, Facebook, you know, download it, send it to our email address, and we'll put it up. Without a shadow of a doubt, we'll put it up, and we'll try and put it in with, um, you know, a story that we're doing. But anyway. True.
That's the marketing- If you've- ... hot take of the week
the marketing and, uh, sponsorship hot take of the week. Thanks, Hando. Whoo-ee, Hando. That was a big one.
Another one's down
I'm loving it. It's good. We, we, we- Kind of ...
you know
It's good. We're, we're on a roll ... we're good at this. Yeah. We're good
at this. There w- those hot takes were good as well. Mate. But hey, look, hey, everyone tuning in.
We wouldn't be here without you guys, so, um-
Keep subscribing, liking. Few of you are still texting me, which I don't mind.
Yes. But
that's what we need. Dougie- Mate ... it's
pretty good ... get on the s- get on the socials. The Facebook, organically, I know it's an overused word, it's pumping along. Instagram, we've got Aiden just absolutely just nailing it with his mashups and his split screens.
Um, we're trying to bring you as much content as we can in the paddling world. And, uh, yeah. That's it. I'm Hando. I'm Dougie. And we're out. And we're Paddles Ready. Thank you.
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