OUR COACHES
GABE DE PUYJALON
Evo+
Gabe “grew up on the water”, sailing, kayaking, sailboarding, SUP both recreationally and in competitive events…and more recently discovered the challenge and satisfaction of paddling an OC-1. Joining the Ottawa paddling community in 2015, Gabe has paddled, steered & coached recreational/semi-competitive and competitive Dragon Boat teams.
A Dragon Boat Canada certified level 2 Coach, Gabe is passionate about sharing what he’s learned, and will spend the rest of his life learning what he still doesn’t know…
JULIE ROBITAILLE
Juniors, Premier Mixed, Senior ABBA
Check back soon for Julie's photo and bio!
ISABELLE FRADETTE
Isabelle was co-founder of the original SportChicks team that started from a newbie rec crew in 2011 to capture bronze at Nationals in 2013 and then onto the podium at Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy in 2014. Since then, she has been instrumental in the success of Bytown, both in the the boat and behind the scenes off the water. She paddled with the Canadian National Dragon Boat Senior A Team in Kunming, China in 2017 and Pattaya, Thailand in 2019 and in 2021.
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Isabelle completed Dragon Boat Canada's Level 1 coaching course and started coaching dragon boat in 2021.
Senior ABBA, Senior C Mixed, Senior D
LIZ GILBERT
Evolution
Liz started paddling dragon boat 17 years ago on the RCMP’s recreational team, but got serious in 2017 and has since competed at Club Crew World Championships in both Hungary (2018) and USA (2022). In 2023, she paddled with the Canadian National Dragon Boat Senior B Team in Pattaya, Thailand.
Liz has been a certified fitness trainer since the 1990s, working with several high-performance youth teams, and has multiple instructor certifications, including Pilates, Spin and Yoga.
She began coaching Biathlon in 2016, progressing through Bronze, Silver and Gold community coaching levels to completing the NCCP Intro to Competition training in 2021. That year, she was one of 10 women coaches selected for Biathlon Canada's Women in Coaching Mentorship Program. She transitioned to coaching dragon boat in 2022 and has added Dragon Boat Canada's Level 1 coaching certification to her national coaching Multisport foundation.
Fun fact related to water: Liz served on a marine Search and Rescue crew as a volunteer with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary in her younger days.
MEGAN HOLTZMAN
Evo+, Evo Essentials, Senior D
Megan has paddled competitively for 25 years, racing or drumming at 5 Club Crew World Championships and with the Canadian National Dragon Boat Senior A Team in 2019 and 2025. As cross training for dragon boat, Megan also competes in triathlon, swimming, and OC-6. In 2017, she represented Team Canada at the ITU Age Group World Championships in Rotterdam.
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Megan has completed Dragon Boat Canada's Level 2 coaching course and is finalizing her certification. She conceptualized the Evolution program as the Program Director for the inaugural Evolution season in 2022. She is Chief Scientist at TritonWear Inc., a swimming wearables company, where she gets to spend time researching race-based sports performance.
MICHAEL BAIN
U24, Evo Energy
Michael discovered dragon boat in high school when a friend introduced him to a junior team in Woodstock, Ontario. After his first practice, he was hooked. He paddled with that team for three years and joined a competitive junior crew in St. Marys to train more often.After a break during COVID, Michael returned to the sport in Ottawa, joining Bytown’s U24 team while studying at Algonquin college. He has since paddled, steered, and coached with Carleton U24, EVO Energy, North Bay Women's Dragon boat through the North bay canoe club, and several community and corporate teams through the Rideau Canoe Club, including the Learn to Dragon Boat program.Michael is a certified Community Coach working toward his Level 2. He enjoys introducing new paddlers to the sport and helping them improve through encouragement. He believes dragon boat attracts open-minded people who choose to try something new, and he wants every paddler to find the same love for the sport that he did.
Michelle Lavoie has 25 years of dragon boat experience which began as a paddler with the Madawaska Hardwood Flooring team many years ago and progressed to competing in more than 10 World Championships (World Nation’s Cup and Club Crews). Michelle has been a strong member of the Canadian Senior A Women's Team for the last 14 years. Michelle says “that it's never been about the medals, but about the friends from across the country who share the crazy dragon boat addiction, the discipline, the hard work, and the racing with 22 souls all beating as one".
Michelle is a certified Level 2 Dragon Boat coach. She plans to share what she has learned about paddling, training and racing, how to believe you can be a World Champion, but most importantly how to have fun and kick some major butt.
When Michelle isn’t training, racing or coaching, she works as a legacy documentary producer, keeps her husband and fellow paddler Trevor in line and helps her two boys (who she is very proud of) make their way in this thing called life.
MICHELLE LAVOIE
SENIOR C WOMEN,
WENDY FOX
Para
Check back soon for Wendy's photo and bio!