Fuyang Race Report

On September 16th 2011 the first ever “Fuchun River Kayak Challenge” was held in Fuyang City, Zhejiang Province, China. This event was the realization of a dream that began over 5 years ago for Mr Tyrell Impson and Mr. Jincan Zhang, General Manager and Production Manager at Hangzhou Epic Boat Co. It was back in 2008 that the Chinese government first announced its plans to transform Fuyang City into the Water Sport and Recreation capital of Zheijiang Province. Since then Tyrell and Jincan have aspired for Epic to work with the local government to organise a paddling race in Fuyang.

The race was well supported with around one hundred entrants, some of which had travelled from distant provinces to participate, and at least five times as many spectators! “There were so many people at the river when I arrived that I found it extremely difficult to count them all” said Mr. Keshan Zhang (a.k.a. “Davey”), Quality Control Manager at Hangzhou Epic Boat Co. and one of the 13 staff members from the Epic factory who were sponsored by the company to participate in the race as “Team Epic China”. The team trained hard together in the weeks leading up to the race. “We discussed our experiences, taught each other and took care of each other while training. I thought to myself, ‘Surely we could not lose the race with such a team!’” said Mr. Lou Guocan, a Carpenter at Hangzhou Epic Boat Co. The team was led by Jincan, who brought his first trophy home to the company in 2010 when he won the Xiamen Kayak Marathon, held in Fujian Province in the South-East of China.

While the members of Team Epic China seemed mostly confident on the day of the race, there was definitely a nervous excitement about them as they checked and re-checked their boats before the race. “I cleaned my boat time after time” said Mr Lou. “I loved the boat I was using not only because it was the best boat in our team, but also because our manager, Mr. Jincan Zhang, used this boat to win in Xiamen! That gave me great confidence.” Mr Lou paddled the race in an 18X.

Then it was time for the boats and the team to be put to the test! “It was a really hard race” said Peter. “Every paddler went all out from the start, especially Team Epic! They paddled like a group of tigers waiting to ambush their prey, together and at full pace!” Most of the members of Team Epic had never paddled in a public race before the Fuchun River Kayak Challenge and yet that fact seemed to only enhance their sense of unity as they pushed on to complete the 21km race. “During the race, no matter how tired I got, I always told myself that I couldn’t let myself down or the kind guys from our factory who had worked so hard” said Davey. “Throughout the race, I saw the spirit of the hard-working Epic Team who pushed on bravely” said Mr Lou. “It made me think I must try my best to paddle fast during the race so that I don’t hold the team back”. It turns out the team spirit was so inspiring and Mr Lou so determined that he was actually “surprised” when he came in at first place overall by setting the fasted time over the gruelling 21km up river race! “I could not have got to first place without our factory’s boat or the help of my workmates” said Mr Lou.

Jincan placed second in that category and said he was happy with his performance as it was a hard race for him. He added that he was also quite excited at the fact that some of the other members of the team had paddled so well even though they had never been in a race before. In total, Team Epic walked away with 9 trophies including first place in 3 separate categories. We placed 1st in the Plastic Singles, 1st in the Plastic Doubles, 1st – 11th in the Open Composite Class and 5th in the Ladies Short Course. Not to mention the fasted over-all time for the race.

After the race various boat manufacturers had an opportunity to display their products to the public. Among the stands was of course that of the main sponsor of the race, Hangzhou Epic Boat Co. According to Davey, the guys from the factory were fighting each other for a chance to be the next person to introduce the boats to the customers! “We were all so proud of the reaction our boats got after the race” he said. “People from many different parts of China had gathered around our kayaks and they were all full of praise.” “Some people bought our boats immediately” added Peter. “So it seems our boats are more popular than the competition who didn’t sell any. I believe we will have a big market in China in the future” he said. Jincan agreed, “I am happy that we can now sell our products in China because I believe that there is a good future for Epic in China and also because it has been my dream to see kayaking grow in China. I believe that through our support it will grow fast.”

Thanks must go to Charles and the rest of the Epic management for allowing a dream to become a reality. And we hope we can continue to have success in production as well as on the water.

Tyrell Impson

General Manager EKH

Click on the thumbnail for an enhanced view of the team.

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