A cool wet Sunday morning saw the Nowra Waterdragons travel to Penrith for the DBNSW State Championships, the last regatta on their calendar before the National Championships in April.
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The club had been training for this event for several weeks and took a strong side to defend their title from last year.
The day started with Nowra in the first heat of the Senior B Mixed, which they won narrowly from the Newcastle team which has been a thorn in their side all year. The second heat was a little better with the team easily taking the opposition. As has been the case all year the final was going to be a close race with six strong sides all wanting the title of champions.
The Nowra Waterdragons showed their grit and determination once again to take out the race by two seconds form the Bei Loon team from the northern beaches, with Newcastle taking third place.
As the day warmed up and the sun came out, the races continued in the afternoon with the men joining with Sudu from Wollongong for the Opens; and the ladies joining with Port Hacking for the Open Women’s.
The men were in the races in the heats with two seconds getting them into the final where they ran a very close fourth.
The ladies took to the water with determination and won both of their heats, putting them in the second best lane to the much favoured Different Strokes team who have been the side to beat all year. The final was a great fight with the Nowra/ Port Hacking ladies giving the favourites a big scare and coming in second.
It was a great day with Nowra collecting the Perpetual trophy for best in races 1 to 4 of the regatta season.
We must also thank our faithful volunteers Dana Freeman who officiated at the event on behalf of Nowra and Jane Phillips who helped load the boats. Volunteers often get forgotten, but without them we would not have the events to compete in.
What is Dragon Boating?
Dragon Boating involves 20 paddlers, 2 abreast in a long boat. There is a steerer at the back and a drummer at the front who keeps the paddlers in time, motivating and encouraging the paddlers to pull the boat forward in unison.
Dragon Boating requires precise timing as each paddler strokes the water at the same time to accelerate to top speed from a standing start. Races are between 100m and 2km which requires some endurance, but the races are spectacular with adrenaline charging!
Come and try out on a Monday or Wednesday evening at 5pm or Saturday morning at 8am at Paringa Park, Nowra.
Check times on Nowra Waterdragons site or talk to Peter Phillips on 0410 040 507 or any of our friendly members.
Our motto is Paddle hard and have fun. We look forward to welcoming you.
