The 12th Nowra Waterdragons Community Dragon Boat Regatta will be held at Gray's Beach, North Nowra, on the beautiful Shoalhaven River on Sunday, September 15.
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Experienced sports dragon boat teams from Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra and the South Coast will compete against each other on the day. Novice teams, both local and from out of town, will have the opportunity to try this sport (with an hour's training), to race against other novice teams. It's all for fun.
Schools, workplaces and groups of friends are encouraged to try out dragon boating in this enjoyable arena where total beginners can get a feel for the sport, and perhaps even come out winners.
Teams consist of between 16 and 20 paddlers (maximum of 10 men in a boat), and Nowra Waterdragons provide an experienced and qualified sweep who controls the boat, and a drummer to help you keep in time. If you can only round up a smaller number of people we can put you in a boat with other small groups.
For adults the cost is $25 per paddler. School student teams (students must be 12 or over) pay $100 per team. Half the takings go to charity. This year our chosen charities are Marine Rescue Shoalhaven and Jervis Bay, and The Homeless Hub. For more information or to put in entries, phone Peter Phillips on 0410 040 507 or email him at bindoncl@smartchat.net.au.
It's a great family day out. Come along and share a picnic on the banks of the beautiful Shoalhaven River, or pick up delicious food, including barbecues and cakes, and visit the coffee vans for top class coffee. There will also be raffles to enter with a variety of prizes.
The only certainties of the day will be that you will get tired, you will probably get wet shoes (closed-in shoes are compulsory, so dig out those ancient sneakers from the back of the cupboard) and you will have fun. If you really enjoy yourself you may decide to join Nowra Waterdragons for your weekly dose of fun, fitness and friendship.
There is no obligation to do anything but enjoy a paddle, but those who join and decide they really enjoy the competitive side of paddling, will have many opportunities to compete against other teams in regattas all over the state, and for the really competitive, some of our members travel interstate and overseas for major competitions.
Although many people in our club enjoy paddling just for friendship and fitness, not to mention fun and Saturday morning coffee, this week three of our members head off to Thailand as part of the Auroras, the Australian team in the World Dragon Boating Championships. Wendy Cooper, Doug Foley and Brett McCulloch are part of the Senior C team (for those over 60). We look forward to them returning in early September with a clutch of medals.