About

False Creek Racing Canoe Club is a multi-disciplinary paddling club located in Vancouver, BC., which offers a variety of paddling opportunities. This includes training and racing in Dragon Boat, Outrigger, Sprint Canoe and Kayak, Surf ski and Marathon canoe. All ages and skill levels welcome; programs or teams are available in all disciplines from novice to experienced; recreational to competitive; youth to seniors. The mission of the club is to facilitate the development of paddling racing sports.

The club was founded in 1985 and currently has 464 members, 32 dragon boat teams, 10 outrigger programs, and 10 flat water programs. One of the founding members was an Olympic Gold Medalist in Sprint Kayak; who helped bring the sport of dragon boat to this country, making FCRCC the home of the first dragon boat team in Canada.

DRAGON BOAT: We are home to several speciality dragon boat crews including; an Abreast in a Boat crew (AIAB was the first breast cancer survivor team in the world), Gift of Life (transplant recipients and family members of donors), O2P (kidney dialysis patients and supporters) and Off Balance (Multiple Sclerosis).

At the IDBF (International Dragon Boat Federation) 2014 Club Crew World Championships held in Ravenna, Italy; FCRCC finished first place in standard boat, second in small boat. Winning over competitive teams from over 35 clubs across Canada and worldwide, including Russia, United States, China, Australia, Dubai, Netherlands, Germany, just to name a few. August 19-23, 2015 at the 12th IDBF World Nations Championships in Welland, Ontario, Canada's national teams lead the world in medal standings. 64 in total (56 of them gold). National teams are comprised of paddlers from across the country; which includes FCRCC members.

FLATWATER: Olympic Sprint Canoe and Kayak (otherwise known as Flatwater) has become a vastly growing sport at the club. Our Flatwater programs started just 2 years ago; with only 2-3 paddlers. Now; with over 30 kids (ages 8-15) in our well-established Youth Flatwater programs, over 170 kids in our CanoeKids summer camps, and many more in our adult programs, our paddlers have been hitting the podium at every regatta and more people are learning about the sport. In 2014 we brought 6 athletes to the BC Summer Games in Nanaimo which culminated in many podium finishes. Most recently one of those athletes; Anna Zhang, made the Team BC squad and competed at the Western Canada Summer Games, taking home 4 bronze medals. Other kids in our programs have been competing in local regattas every month against kids from all over BC, setting personal bests every time. At the end of August this year, Anna and her coach from the club will be attending the Sprint Canoe/Kayak Nationals in Ottawa for the first time; to race against some of the fastest paddlers in Canada; and, the world.

OUTRIGGER: At the US Iron Outrigger Championships this year in San Diego our woman place 4th. Several members are training to take on the US Long Distance Championships in California, September 2015. Recently, we raced the inaugural Sproat Lake Long Distance Change Race in Port Alberni, placing 2nd in the women's division. The women's program has welcomed many new members this year and intends to build towards a strong competitive year in 2016 with more international racing in Hawaii.

The Men's outrigger program is sending two crews to Pailolo this September to tackle both the 'iron' and 'change races' within the race. This big water race crosses the channel that lies between the islands of Maui and Molokai and is always an exciting and challenging event racing against some of the best paddlers in the world.

In order to provide safe, effective, and technically sound training, we must provide good equipment and expert coaching for all of our programs. Funds are needed to continue to supply a growing need in membership; maintain equipment, and replace aging equipment.