Save Sunnyside Paddling Club

WHO ARE WE?

Sunnyside Paddling Club (SPC) is Toronto's Original Dragon Boat Club.
Better known in the 90's as Greater Toronto Dragon Boat Club; we provided training and coaching services to teams competing at the Toronto International Dragon Boat Festival (TIDBRF)  held at Centre Island every June. In 2006 we incorporated as a non-profit under the name National Dragonboat Club (NDC) and focused on growing Toronto's dragon boat and paddling communities by providing high quality paddler and team based training and coaching services. This approach proved successful resulting in more than 120  teams and 2,500 members, and producing the foundation of dragon boat teams at events and festivals across the GTA and Ontario. In 2012 we changed our name to Sunnyside Paddling Club to better reflect our location and range of services offered.

At SPC it doesn't matter if you have a sprint canoe background, outrigger background, dragon boat background, or no background in paddling at all; if you have a positive attitude, passion for paddling, and want to contribute to a team that can make a difference for your community; as a paddler or coach, then we welcome you with open arms.

The timeline at the bottom of this page shows SPC's history and it's huge impact on Toronto, and the global dragon boat communities.

The Issue - Spring 2017
This season has been rough. At Sunnyside we depend on the breakwall to protect our teams from wavy Lake Ontario conditions. With Lake levels at all time highs the 100 year old breakwall was underwater for most of the season providing no protection whatsoever. We lost our prime training season as a result. Because of our amazing location so close to the city, it's expensive to operate out of Sunnyside, and these expenses have not changed. On the other hand our 2017 revenues  decrased by more than 65%. We are now at the point where we must seriously consider the feasibility of continuing operations at Sunnyside.



Fundraising for What?
Fundraising dollars will be put towards 2017 equipment maintenance, practice site operations and administration.

The Plan Going Forward?
Assuming our fundraising is successful, going forward we will be incorporating a robust contingency fund and plan into our club's business model. We have been working with neighbour clubs to work on solutions that will help protect us from future high and low water levels. We all need to continue to push for improved shoreline protection in the city so people in the GTA can continue to enjoy recreational use of Toronto's world class shoreline and waterfront.

What Can You Do To help?

GoFundMe Campaign - We encourage everyone to donate and share this web page with as many people as possible. There are thousands of people in the GTA dragon boat community, and even more across Canada and USA. Help us reach as many people as possible with this campaign so Toronto can continue to be a leader and contributor in the dragon boat world.

Share this message and these links with your network to help spread the word.

And thank you so much to anyone who has sent in individual unsolicited donations during this time!

We are confident that with the help of Toronto's paddling community and this GoFunMe campaign, SPC will be back in 2018 even stronger!




Our Members & Programs
SPC is proud to be home to a diverse and supportive paddling community. From our novice and recreational teams to our most competitive world champion crews, SPC provides a supportive and friendly environment for people in the GTA to participate in paddle sports.

SPC sponsors programming for local at-risk youth, teaching them the importance of teamwork and cooperation. And our Spirit Challenge program is dedicated to youth and adults with physical and developmental disabilities. SPC also sponsors a university team that is subsidized and given an opportunity to race in China. Some of our grassroots teams provide important community services and networks for cancer survivors and patients. SPC is about being with friends and fellow paddlers and moving toward a common goal. Our tagline pretty much sums it up: SPC, where teamwork equals success!



More about Sunnyside Paddling Club
SPC’s original mission was to promote the benefits of dragonboating to everyone, and we're proud to say that the original mandate from 2006 still holds true. SPC is about teamwork, inclusivity, accessibility and positivity.



TIMELINE