Our paddling season starts tentatively early May and ends at the end of September. We practice twice a week, on Thursday evenings 6:15pm and Sunday afternoons 4:00pm. Practice time means on-water time, so we ask paddlers to arrive about 15-30 minutes prior to practice time as that gives us time to have a quick warm-up, gather equipment and line-up the boat. Practices are about 1 hr & 15 min. on the water but you should plan for about 2 hrs total including before and after.

We meet in front of the Calgary Canoe Club in North Glenmore Park.

Map

• Wear weather-appropriate clothing that can get wet.

• A hat

• Sunscreen

• Water bottle.

• Flip-flops or water sandals/shoes (your feet will get wet)

• You are welcome to use your own dragon boat paddle and/or PFD if you have them. Otherwise, they will be provided for you.

• Please leave any valuables locked in your car or on your person.

• There is a yearly fee of $150 to join the Red Eyes.

• Each festival you attend will have a fee (approx. $80)

• You’ll also need a team jersey (approx. $50)

• New paddlers can come to 3 practices to try us out before needing to pay.

• We do several fundraisers over the season to keep costs down.

We typically compete in at least 3 festivals per season, Lethbridge (end of June), Calgary (mid-August), and usually a third West Coast location in September. You don’t have to be able to attend all festivals but we do have sign-up deadlines for each one. Paddlers pay their own travel expenses, but we do our best to keep costs down by sharing rides/accommodation etc. if desired.

HAVE FUN! We know you're spending your off-time doing this and we want you to have as much fun as possible.  We encourage paddlers to try new things such as steering, and we sometimes will be able to try out other types of paddling such as outrigger or voyageur canoeing.  There are opportunities for team fitness activities in the off-season and we try to keep social activities afloat year-round to encourage team cohesion.  We always welcome suggestions on ways to improve your experience.