Tom Arnold, President
Tom Arnold, President
Tom Arnold, one of the founders of VI Paddling, has been involved in paddle sports for most of his life – in canoe, dragon boat, outrigger canoe, marathon canoe, and surfski. He is most accomplished in dragon boat, having competed with both the Premier and Senior A Canadian National Teams, and winning multiple medals at Club Crew World Championships in the Premier Mixed and Open divisions. As part of VI Paddling’s coaching team, he has developed the Gorging Dragons High Performance Program (Premier, Senior B and Senior C) and Flat Out Competitive BCS crew into perennial contenders at Club Crew World Championships, with this success leading him to become Program Director for the Canadian National Senior B Team. He has a passion for helping paddlers and coaches who want to take their skills to the next level, and has spent the last 8 years dedicating himself to VI Paddling as Club President. Tom can be reached at president@vipaddling.com for custom clinics, personal coaching, new program ideas, or if your team or club would like to join VI Paddling.
Will Slater, Vice President & Equipment
Will Slater, Vice President & Equipment
Will started paddling during the 2000 season with The Selkirk Serpents, switching over to The Navy Dragon Anchors in 2005, and has filled the position of Team Captain with the Navy team since 2009. In 2016, Will started assisting with the Gorging Dragons team in Adelaide, Australia for the World Club Crew Championships, and this has carried on until present day, now acting as Team Manager for the Senior program. The bug caught and Will started paddling with the Gorging Dragons Senior B team in 2018.
After retiring from the Royal Canadian Navy in early 2019, Will started assisting more with VI Padding and joined the board later that year. Will works around the dock and helps with the maintenance of the fleet. In addition, he was the lead for getting the Victoria erg gym set-up with all necessary COVID-19 safety protocols. Should you wish to contact Will about any equipment concerns, he can be reached at: vipaddlingmanager@gmail.com
Dianne Dennis, Treasurer
Dianne Dennis, Treasurer
After retiring from many years of accounting and bookkeeping jobs, Dianne started paddling with River Spirit in 2016 as a guest paddler. She joined Bravehearts in 2018 then became a full member of River Spirit in 2019. At a Celebration of Life ceremony for one of the River Spirit paddlers in the fall of 2023, she met Trish Crompton who encouraged her to check out the GD North team. She did and joined as a Senior C enjoying the competitive nature of the team. As a Senior D in 2025 she experienced her first National Competition and brought home a silver medal from Montreal. Dianne joined the VI Paddling board as treasurer in January 2026.
Janice Alexander, Customer Service
Janice Alexander, Customer Service
Janice joined VI Paddling as a member of the Civil Serpents, a corporate team, in 2012. She then joined the Gorging Dragons Senior B women’s team and competed in 3 Club Crew World Championships. Janice has been one of the managers for this team for about 7 years. She is also the Program Manager for the Canadian National Senior B team.
Janice has been a VI Paddling executive board member since 2018 and currently provides customer service for the club. She responds to a variety of emails and sends out information to individuals interested in becoming club members. She also assists members with setting up accounts; registering for programs, clinics and classes; and small boat rentals in Mindbody.
Please contact Janice at info@vipaddling.com with any questions about the club.
Jen Sawula
Jen Sawula
Jen first discovered dragon boating in March 2023 when a friend asked her if they could try the sport together. Looking for some motivation to get fit and try something new, she joined a local recreational team. The camaraderie was inspirational and she was hooked. When Jen heard about the opportunity to take the training and fitness to a higher level, she joined the VI Paddling team Flat Out. With a love for how competition inspires you to do your best, she later transitioned to VI Paddling full time. In 2024, she was lucky to have the opportunity to join the Flat Out team in Ravenna, Italy.
Jen’s goals are to support VI Paddling, to help get people into dragon boating, and to help the sport grow.
Trish Crumpton
Trish Crumpton
Trish resides in Nanaimo and started paddling in 2001 with a team called Dragon Slayers. 2003 was when Trish discovered her love of, and talent for steering. She joined the Gorging Dragons Senior B team in 2014 and has since competed with the Gorging Dragons Senior B and Senior C teams in four Club Crew World Championships and is well known for her skill steering those powerful boats down the race course. She has also competed in two World Championships with Team Canada’s Senior B team. She currently trains with and co-coaches our Gorging Dragons North paddlers at Comox Lake. She has sat on several not-for-profit Boards in Nanaimo and joined VI Paddling’s Board of Directors in 2024.
Mike Thompson
Mike Thompson
Born in the UK not far from Liverpool, Mike retired to Vancouver Island in 2012 after a 34-year career as an Analytical Chemist in the Oil & Gas Industry, with his last four years spent in the Sultanate of Oman in the Middle East.
In 2014 Mike was introduced to dragon boating through his wife who was paddling for the Comox Valley Flying Dragons all ladies’ team. At this time the team were looking for another steersperson, so Mike offered to try out. After a few failed attempts during his first outing, he began to enjoy being on the water & having control of a 40-foot-long boat. In 2015 he became the main steersperson for the Flying Dragons & a year later under the watchful eye of Andrea Keenan, started training with the GD high performance team on Comox Lake. This resulted in Mike spending some time down in both Nanaimo & Victoria prior to attending the National Championships in Regina in 2019, steering for the Senior B mixed team.
Mike’s sporting background history consists of mountaineering, rock climbing, kayaking & any activity that takes him into the great outdoors. It was kayaking that brought him to Vancouver Island in 2006 & persuaded him to move here in 2012. He is Paddle Canada Level 2 certified & a Paddle Canada basic kayak instructor. Mike’s main passion from a young age was cycling, having competed in numerous Time-Trails & Road Races of different lengths, Criteriums & Hill Climbs & it is still his passion today.
Mike can be found helping to coach new steerspersons in the Comox Valley, helping other local teams when they do not have a steersperson available & sometimes can be seen paddling to help mixed teams. He is also the Assistant Coach for the Flying Dragons
Dinah Marks
Dinah Marks
Dinah began paddling in 2014 with the Bravehearts in Campbell River. In her first few years with the team, she served as fifth director, safety representative, and vice president.
In 2017, she was invited to join Comox VI Prevailing Winds, where she continues to paddle today. She is also a member of VI River Spirit in Campbell River and has previously served that team as safety representative and president. Before retiring, Dinah worked as an administrative assistant for a nonprofit Child and Youth Development Centre.
Dinah’s love of paddling has inspired her to volunteer at several regattas and events, including Canada Dry Victoria regatta, Nanaimo Maffeo Park, Race the River and the BC Senior Games.
Dinah continues to develop her paddling skills through VI clinics and hopes to one day earn a place on the high-performance team.
Ben Pearce
Ben Pearce
Ben resides in Victoria and joined the Gorging Dragons Premier team in 2022. Ben joined the Board of directors in 2024 and currently acts as co-secretary and web master for the VIPaddling.com website. Ben’s background is in Technology Sales and Marketing.
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