Medals galore for dragon boaters

Victorian paddlers did well in Adelaide recently when four major events were held.

Held in late March and early April, Victorian clubs participated in the Australian club versus club championships, state versus state competitions, the Asian Championships and the Club Crew World Championships (CCWC).

In the Australian club championships, Docklands-based clubs were in the top 10 in all the categories they raced in.

The Melbourne Flames won nine gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals. The Yarra River Dragons won one gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal, while the Dragon Masters won two silver medals.

In the state versus state competition, the Victorian team were represented by many Docklands-based teams such as the CYSM Sea Dragons, the Dragon Masters, the Melbourne Flames, the Southern Storm and the Yarra River Dragons.

Following selection trials and fitness testing, Victoria sent five teams to the championships to compete against other states – a premier team, senior B (aged 50+), senior C (aged 60+), a team from regional Victoria and, for the first time ever, a junior under-18 team. 

In all of these categories there was a women’s team, an open team and a mixed team, racing in heats and finals over a 200 metre and 500 metre course. The Victorian team was lucky to be coached by Serghei Cucsa, who is also the Australian Dragon Boat Team coach.

Each of the teams competed in six finals with the following results:

Under 18    6 silver
Premier     4 gold; 2 silver
Senior B (over 50)    3 bronze
Senior C (over 60)    1 silver; 5 bronze
Regional Victoria    3 silver

The Australian dragon boat team, the Auroras, with representatives from Melbourne Flames and the Yarra River Dragons, competed against 10 other countries, including China and the Philippines, to win five silvers and two bronze medals.

The Dragon Masters, Melbourne Flames and Yarra River Dragons qualified to compete in the CCWC, where the Melbourne Flames continued their strong effort over the two weeks, winning two gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals.  The Dragon Masters, competing in their first CCWC, won two silver medals and a bronze medal.

Not standing still

Not satisfied with the haul won in Adelaide, two teams from Docklands, the CYSM Sea Dragons and the Yarra River Dragons, are competing in the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour in early June and paddlers from the Melbourne Flames and Dragon Masters will travel to China with a group from the Albury Wodonga Warriors dragon boat team to take part in events across four Chinese cities celebrations held around June 9.