Sunday, August 19, marked the start of the regatta season for Victorian dragonboat paddlers, with an event in Geelong – the Battle of the Barwon.
The Kingfisher Dragonboat Club of Paynesville sent a crew to compete and they came home with two third place trophies. The senior open 10s crew in the 3.5km event took over 30 seconds off their time from last season and the senior women’s 10 crew in the 100m dash.
All Kingfishers raced strongly and everyone enjoyed catching up with fellow paddlers from across the state.
The Battle of the Barwon was a great success with many clubs using it as a final event before going to the World Championships in Ravenna, Italy, in a fortnight, including local paddler Christina Thornton who will be competing with her Melbourne based club, CYSM.
Kingfishers also joined other successful crews in a variety of events throughout the day: Julie Kozaris and Karen Downie with Beechworth that won the senior mixed 20s 5.4km event; Linda Reardon with the combined crew of the two Dragons Abreast teams from Geelong and Gippsland that won their 3.5km event; Julie Kozaris and Leanne Forwood in the DA Gippsland Waratahs crew to get a second place in the 100m dash; Pam Peppler also enjoying drumming for other crews throughout the afternoon.
For anyone interested in seeing what dragonboat paddling is all about, head to the Paynesville foreshore on Saturday mornings at 8am or the Slip Road Jetty on Wednesday afternoons at 1.45pm. It’s free to try for a month and there is a seat in a dragonboat for all sizes, ages (10-99 years) and abilities.
You just need to bring a smile and drink bottle, the Kingfisher Dragonboat Club will provide the equipment, training and laughs.
