Shane Martin

Head Coach

Dragnum is lucky to have a coach who has raced on Canada’s National Dragon Boat Team! Most recently, he earned a spot on the 2023 National Team, marking his 4th time on Team Canada. He came home from those races in Thailand with 7 medals, of all colours. Prior to that, his 2017 crews raced in Kunming, China, and came home with 8 medals, including 4 gold. In 2015, the races were in Welland, Canada, and his crews came home with gold in all categories! He has always said though that his first time on National Team was the most special: Hungary in 2013, coming home with all gold and a bronze, but most importantly with eyes newly opened to the world of competitive dragon boat racing.

In addition to his commitment to the National Team, he has raced and coached at the Club Crew World’s in Italy 2014 and Malaysia 2008. He has raced at the Canadian Nationals several times, including with False Creek (FCRCC Premier) in 2015 and Pickering Premier in 2017. In addition to Nationals, 2017 also included the Dragon Boat Pan Am Championships in Puerto Rico, and then on to China for Worlds.

From these experiences, as well as the training he did to get there, he has had the fortune of himself being coached by the best coaches in the country. The experience he is able to bring to Dragnum as a result is invaluable.

Shane loves paddling, and in addition to his own impressive endeavours, has been a member of the Calgary Dragon Boat Society Board since its inception. The Society has spent countless hours behind the scenes to ensure that we have dragon boating in Calgary and have a festival to be proud of.

Shane looks for a great attitude, willingness to learn, and dedication in his paddlers. You can be brand new to the sport, but genuinely love being active and fit and want to learn. You can also be very experienced and looking for great workouts, skills improvement, and being a part of an awesome team!