OUR COACHES
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 A, SENIOR B,
& SENIOR C WOMEN,
SENIOR C MIXED
GABE DE PUYJALON
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…
Carleton Ravens U24
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.
LIZ GILBERT
Evolution
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.
Isabelle completed Dragon Boat Canada's Level 1 coaching course and started coaching dragon boat in 2021.
Evolution
MEGAN HOLTZMAN
Evolution
Megan has paddled competitively for 23 years, racing or drumming at 5 Club Crew World Championships and with the Canadian National Dragon Boat Senior A Team in Pattaya, Thailand in 2019. 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.
Megan completed Dragon Boat Canada's Level 1 coaching course and was 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.
MARK SINGER
Mark has been a member of the Rideau Canoe Club for more than 25 years. During that time, he represented Canada at Junior Worlds in Japan and won 8 National Championships in Sprint Canoe. He has raced with Team Canada at the International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships in Kunming (2017) and at the World Cup in Chongqing (2018).
Mark has many years (>15 yrs.) of experience coaching crews on and off the water ranging in ability from beginners to seasoned paddlers. He coached the Bytown Dragon Boat Club’s Senior A Women’s crew to a Bronze in the 2KM final at the IDBF Club Crew World Championships in Szeged, Hungary (2018). Mark coached athletes on Team Canada’s Premier Team at the IDBF World Nation's Championship in Thailand (2019).
Mark also has a passion for strength and conditioning off the water and developing the power endurance we use in Dragon Boat. He has earned a CrossFit Level 2 Certification and when he is not on the water, can be found training and coaching at Rideau CrossFit.
A huge congratulations to Coach Mark Singer for being inducted into The Nepean Sports Wall of Fame. You can find his photo displayed at the Nepean Sportsplex.
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