Victoria’s New Boxing Gym Offers Introduction to the Sweet Science

Victoria’s Capital City Boxing has teamed up with local veteran boxing coach and president of the Greater Victoria Amateur Boxing Association, Chris Jones, to start a new amateur boxing program out of the gym.

“This will be the only Amateur Program running out of the City of Victoria right now although there is one in the western community,” says Sandy Ibrahim, owner of Capital City Boxing. “I’m thrilled to have Chris’ expertise head up the team and look forward to a great year. Chris and I come from pretty different backgrounds, but we are both excited about how well we work together.” Jones, who is in his 60’s, started boxing in his teens and Ibrahim, 40, took it up 5 years ago training out of Cappy’s Gym in Seattle. “We look forward to developing a team of boxers that can compete with other Island boxing clubs as well as those elsewhere in B.C.” Read more

Victoria Classic Boat Festival Showcases the Most Beautiful Vessels in the World

The 31st Victoria Classic Boat Festival gets underway on Friday in Victoria’s Inner Harbour with a welcoming reception held at the Maritime Museum of BC in Bastion Square followed by the annual rowing regatta starting from the Gorge Rowing and Paddling Club. The race finishes at the Undersea Gardens in the Inner Harbour.

On Saturday, the festival continues with the popular steamboat parade and on Sunday there will be the Sailpast in which all vessels participating salute the festival’s salute vessel. The salute is made by “dipping” or lowering the boat’s ensign to one third from lower end of the hoist. (US vessels, which do not lower the U.S. flag, dip their yachting ensigns instead.) The festival’s honorary Commodores, John and Diane VanDerbeek of Seattle, will be aboard the salute vessel, HMCS ORIOLE, a 101-foot yacht and the longest serving ship in the Canadian Navy.

Victora BC from Under the Sea (Ogden Point)

More than 90 Teams Compete in Victoria’s Annual Dragon Boat Races & Festival August 15-17

More than 90 paddling teams from across North America will converge on Victoria’s Inner Harbour August 15-17^th for the wildly popular annual Dragon Boat Races and Festival.

Dragon Boat Festivals – “Duan Wu Jie” in Chinese — are traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Most believe dragon boat festivals were established to commemorate a great Chinese patriot poet, Qu Yuan.

In Victoria, the annual Dragon Boat Races and Festival are an enormous celebration of Chinese culture and life that bring thousands downtown to the Inner Harbour. More than seven dozen teams from Victoria, Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and throughout North America compete in elaborately decorated “dragon boats” with teams of paddlers. Read more