12/05/2025
🏅🐉📣 Coach Spotlight
Eugene Sweetoo
Eugene started paddling in 2018 with a college team and with True Grit, 22Dragons’ competitive 24U team, where he stayed until 2025. During his time with True Grit, the team won two overall 24U championships, their mixed boat earned gold three years in a row at the Canadian National Championships, and they brought home multiple medals at the 2024 Club Crew Championships in Ravenna, Italy.
In 2021, he joined 22Dragons’ premier open team, earning (and continuing to earn!) medals nationally and internationally. Recently, Eugene was selected as one of the captains for the 24U Canadian National Team at the 2025 World Nations Championships in Germany, returning with 8 medals.
In fall 2024, Eugene became one of the senior competitive program coaches at 22Dragons, coaching alongside Matthew Smith as head coach.
Outside of coaching and paddling, Eugene serves as 22Dragons’ club manager, is a director on Dragon Boat Canada’s Board of Directors, chairs the DBC Youth Committee, and sits on the International Dragon Boat Federation’s Youth Commission.
