Sync Or Swim take on the FGPC Pentathlon ‘26!

A weekend of grit and determination ….
with little bit of “Holy * did that just happen?!”

Vancouver Island Dragon Boat Festival Is a 2 day event in a pentathlon format:

A cumulative weekend of racing: 500m, 200m, 100m, the famous flag relay, and a show-stopper guts and glory followed by a final 500 for the top 3 finishing women’s and mixed teams

Times are added up over the races to give the final aggregate times overall, and see who gets to the top of the leaderboard and into that coveted women’s Grand Final…. Spoiler alert… SOS made the grade!

But let’s just rewind a bit and see how they got there:

Saturday July 25th, 2026.

Race one - 500m:

Lined up in lane 2, in between WBDBC Willamette River Dragons and EDBRC DBZ Dragonfly for the first race of the event, and SOS came out swinging. Finishing in first place with a time of 2:31.372… Off to a great start!

Check out the video 🎥

Races two and three - 200m and 100m:

Back to back races starting with a 200m sprint and then straight back to the start for a 100m crazy dash!
Sharing the water with FGPC Vic Vixens and DASA Coulee Classic Dragons, SOS took first place in both races with times of 0:57.973 in the 200m and 0:30.229 in the 100m.

Check out the videos here 🎥 and here 🎥

The afternoon races were in the form of knockout rounds featuring the top 6 women’s and mixed teams from the morning’s races going head to head in 100m sprints. These races didn’t contribute to the developing aggregate times, but were for fun “Bragging Rights”.
SOS took 3rd place in the first round with a time of 0:27.177 and straight back to the start line with the remaining 3 teams for round two. A time of 0:28.601 was close, but no cigar, and so SOS headed back to the dock with their heads still held high!

Check out the videos here 🎥

SOS finished Day 1 third overall in the women's aggregate, nipping at the heels of False Creek Masters and Catch 22 Tsunami. Time to head home to refuel and sleep ready for…..

Sunday July 26th, 2026.

The 1500m Guts & Glory!

The big one… the Boss level…. the one all that endurance training during practice was for.
The Guts & Glory is a 1500M wide-oval race with two big turns over one full rotation of the course.
SOS lined up in their group of the event’s fastest 6 teams based on accumulated times from day 1; FLCC Iron Maidens, FGPC Vic Vixens, EDBRC DBZ Dragonfly, Catch 22 Tsunami, and FCRCC False Creek Masters.
Each team leaves the start line in ascending order of pace every 15 seconds, heading around Halkett Island, along the straight towards and then under the Bay St Bridge… and this is where SOS made their move…. catching up to the team ahead and then passing them to power into the home straight!
It was exciting to watch and was a real achievement for the team too!

Up against this incredibly tough field Sync Or Swim took second place with a time of 8:13.396 to much celebration and high spirits as, unless something drastic occurred they’d just absolutely secured their place in the Grand Final later on in the day!

Check out the video here 🎥

The 500m Flag Relay.

This race is definitely one of the most unique and exciting events of the entire weekend!
Teams are matched up by placing the top-seeded teams on the aggregate times leaderboard with teams on the other end of the standings.
Sync Or Swim were paired with the fantastic DASA Coulee Classic Dragons from Lethbridge, Alberta.
The Coulee Classic crew kicked off the first half of the race by sprinting 250m to the giant orange buoy where SOS were waiting.
As they approached, Sync Or Swim’s steer gave the command "Ready Ready" and as one, the team buried their paddle blades and held position… imagine race cars revving their engines at the starting line…. like that!
The pressure is on for the drummers during this nerve-wracking handoff - Coach Lesley definitely gets a bit anxious leading up to it, but she executes the drummer-to-drummer, starboard-to-starboard flag exchange flawlessly!
As soon as the flag changed hands, Sync Or Swim powered into the final 250m dash back across the finish line to wrap up a brilliant combined 500m effort with the time of 2:34.998.
Both teams celebrated their efforts on the dock after the race:

The Coulee Classic Dragons Sync Or Swim Mash-up!

Check out the video here 🎥

This amazing weekend culminated in…. Drumroll please…… The 500m Grand Final!
This high-stakes showdown where Sync Or Swim lined up against some of the most formidable competitors on the water: FCRCC False Creek Masters and Catch 22 Tsunami.
Going into this race, the sheer speed and pedigree of those accomplished crews was undeniable, but rather than being intimidated, Sync Or Swim rose to the occasion; digging deep right off the start line, maintaining focus and holding their own in a phenomenal display of grit and determination.

When the spray finally settled, FCRCC False Creek Masters took gold and Catch 22 Tsunami claimed silver. Sync Or Swim surged across the line to secure a proud third-place finish and the bronze medal with a hard-fought time of 2:21.099.
Earning that spot was a massive achievement for the crew and while Sync Or Swim may not race in the premier, high-performance division, crossing the line with a time like that proved they are a force to be reckoned with - and unafraid to throw down with the powerhouse crews!

Check out the video here 🎥

Oh, and just one small detail….

While earning bronze in the Grand Final was a huge victory in itself, the accomplishment becomes even more impressive when looking at the overall event standings.

For this festival, final overall rankings weren't just decided by a single finish line; they were determined by an aggregate score - the combined total time of every race added up over the weekend.
Maintaining the goal of focused consistency across the 100m and 200m sprints, and the 500m and 1500m endurance-testing courses was definitely achieved.

When all the times were tallied, Sync Or Swim locked in 2nd place overall out of a competitive 24-team field, earning the second-fastest overall time of the entire festival with a cumulative 14:47.968.
Receiving those Grand Final medals and securing second overall in total aggregate time proved that SOS wasn't just fast for a single push, but remarkably consistent, relentless, and strong all weekend long.

A few special thank-yous are in order….

Behind every successful weekend on the water, there are essential people working together to make sure Sync Or Swim can get out there and race at their best.

A special thank-you goes to Coach Lesley for her leadership, guiding twice-weekly on-water practices and calling the race from the drum seat to guide SOS through every hard-fought course.
Gratitude also goes to Vince, Sync Or Swim’s Steer, whose steadfast dedication in the boat during practice sessions, and supporting the team at events, while often answering questions from newer steers, he keeps the team building power and moving forward.

For this festival, SOS was also fortunate to welcome Sean Dupuis of VIP PANDA as their guest steer.
Sean’s wealth of experience, skill and calm confidence allowed everyone to focus on what they do best – putting maximum power and commitment into every stroke. His ability to read the crew and keep everyone settled under pressure was great, and SOS were incredibly grateful to have his expertise and encouragement in the boat.

Finally, SOS extends a warm thank-you to the guest paddlers who stepped in to assist when needed—we are incredibly grateful for their generosity and support on the water.