(Re: ‘Dragon boat event too loud to have at Barrie’s waterfront,’ in the Aug.
27 edition of the Examiner) This is in response to the reader who wrote the dragon boats were too loud for a Saturday morning in Barrie. I am writing to tell you that it was my day off as well, however, I chose not to sleep in to peace and quiet, but to be on the lake at 7:30 in the morning to participate in a dragon boat race. First and foremost, it was not for the ‘love’ of the sport, as the reader chose to state. Trust me, I would not sign up for this sport on a regular basis. It was a lot of hard work by myself and teammates, as well as all the other participants out there. I am choosing to think all the hard-working people were out on the lake with paddles up on Saturday, and not home in bed. I was there for one reason — to support and raise money for charity. What better reason to be out on my day off, listening to people screaming and cheering each other on and having a great time. I hope the writer of the letter who thought the dragon boats were too loud never needs to rely on the funds and support from the charities represented on Saturday, because without events like these in Barrie, finding cures will be a long ways away.
This was my first dragon boat event and not my last.