2018 Australian Dragonboat Federation (AUSDBF) Championships

During November/December, 2017 registered DBNSW paddler could try out for selection for the NSW State team to compete at the 2018 Australian Championships which were held on 4th March, 2018 at Lake Kawana, Bokarina, Sunshine Coast, QLD.

Selection consisted of fitness testing and single craft racing within the individual squads. For the 2018 NSW State team, 4 members from our club were selected:

Clinton Lee – Senior A
Gai Harrison – Senior B
Amanda Mitchell – Senior B
Karen Chong – Senior C

Once selected, State training consisted of a combination of club paddling, off-shore training and single craft training. During January and February, State team members generally met with their squad once per week to train as a team in Sydney. This was to develop consistent technique, working as a team, race strategy and starts, composition of teams and position in the boat.

Racing for State vs State was fortunate to have typical Queensland weather – hot and steamy. All races were keenly contested especially between NSW and QLD with NSW winning the overall State Trophy.

A swag of medals were brought home to Newcastle, tallying 2 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze between the 4 paddlers. A great result for the hard training that preceded the competition.

So if you have any interest in taking your paddling to another level, just give it a go, because you never know what can happen with a lot of hard work.