The team, together with family and friends (including guest dragon boaters from Yarra River Dragons, Melbourne Flames and Southern Storm), gathered on a fine Sunday afternoon at the Morocco Lounge in Prahran to celebrate the end of what was a very successful 2016/17 season. Over canapes and drinks, presentations began with a warm welcome from club president Crispy. This was followed by a short presentation of the Captains Perpetual Trophy. Crafted by the Twins, the trophy pays particular recognition of service from all our club captains - past, present and future, putting in context the rich history of the club dating back to 1985 when we started competing in Victorian regattas.

Coaches, Captains and Committee (CCC) awards

Leadership Award: Cat Besido, Carlos Diz 
Coach's Choice Award: Cindy Li, Benny Teoh
Captains' Award: Tina Wee, John Moffat
Commendation Award: Vicky Chung, Chris Phoumsavanh 
Appreciation Award: Thi Tran, Angie Alethea Fu Enqi

Service

In recognition of the service of committee members, past and present, those in attendance were presented with a Chinese script banner (re-purposed from another project by Crispy and Thi).

"United in strength and spirit, wielding paddles for victory"

Club awards

(as voted for by our coaches, sweeps and by you all)

Most Valued Paddler: Vicky Chung, Eric Cham
Best Paddler: Mandy Li, Eric Cham
Most Improved Paddler: Cindy Li, Yuan Soon
Best Rookie: Poh Young Tan, Kai Yan Lin
Team Spirit: Mandy Li, Fung Lay

Fun and games

Masterminded by Vicky and Tina, fun and games followed which was a lot of fun, particularly with Shen as the 'fabulous' announcer. Special awards (such as 'best checkered shirt) were given out, which meant a cheerful catwalk by the winner, accompanied by an ever so bubbly presenter assistant Poh Young Tan. The game of Truth-Lie trivia was also played. This saw Connie Li (a protege statistician with a PhD to boot) vie for the title of winner against an 8-year old (Hamzeh's daughter). The question related to how many prime ministers Australia had had over a certain span of years. Connie is good at maths so won by senior's advantage.  

Thank yous

Thank you to you all for a great season. A particularly thanks to those involved in the night's organisation and presentations:

• Vicky Chung and Tina Wee (all so important event organisers)
• Shen Loh and Poh Young Tan (event entertainment)
• Cat Besido (club awards coordinator and vote counter)
• Fung Lay (CCC awards)
• Committee members (everything behind the scenes)
• Eric Cham (season wrap-up and motivational video compilations)
• The Twins (Captains Perpetual Trophy)
• Crispy and Thi (Chinese script banners)
• Our special guest award presenters (David Abel, Eliza Campbell, Tom Key and Carmen Lau)

More photos on the club's Facebook page.