Recent Updates
Four paddlers from the Mandurah Vikings Dragon Boat Club took part in the 2012 Australian Dragon Boat Championships at Docklands in Victoria Harbour, Melbourne, earlier this month. Commencing on the 31st March, racing was held over five days with more than 2,500 competitors and nearly 80 clubs from every State taking part in 300 races in front of the Etihad Stadium. The Army, Navy and Air Force also participated.
Nick Celenza, Brett Jones, Rochelle Bishop and Angie Menna from the Mandurah Vikings Dragon Boat Club joined paddlers from Bunbury, Albany and Denmark to paddle in the WA Regional Team. The team was successful in reaching the semi finals in two divisions, but narrowly missed out on getting into the finals on both occasions.
Some WA teams were successful in the medal stakes. The Fremantle Dragon Boat Club junior team, the Cygnets, brought home two gold, two silver and one bronze medal. Hurricane Paddling, a Perth club, also won silver and bronze.
Rochelle Bishop from the Mandurah Vikings Dragon Boat Club participated in her second National Championships in a row. She said: "Some of the joys of Melbourne were the camaraderie amongst like minded people all passionate about the sport of dragon boating, and the weather for Melbourne was absolutely perfect.”
Next year’s National Championships will be held in Penrith, Sydney, on a course purpose built and very similar to WA's Champion Lakes. The Mandurah Viking Dragon Boat Club is hoping to be able to field a team on the water for this event.
State Championships Regatta Update
The Mandurah Viking Dragon Boat Club attended the third State Championships Regatta at Champion Lakes on 15th January along with teams from Perth, Bunbury, Albany and Demark.
The Mandurah team entered the 10's and 20's open and mixed races over 200 metres. It was the first time in two years that Mandurah entered a boat in the 20s races much to the joy of all team members.
It was a busy day of paddling and Mandurah showed again improvement on previous regatta results. Completing one of the 10's mixed race in the heads in under one minute recorded a personal best for the team. Being more than half way through the season coach Nick Celenza feels Mandurah is on track. “I am happy with the performance of all paddlers and the results show that the team is improving continuously. With more training and commitment we will be a force to reckon with.”
It was also the first regatta for Rhys Paul and Claire Storey, two young and committed members who have served to strengthen the Mandurah team considerably.
Storey, a former Mandurah Junior team member who won the State Championships in 2001, said: “I always had a passion for dragon boating but had to give it away for a few years. My mum, who has been paddling for 11 years, got me back into it and I love it.”
“It is always so much fun to get out on the water and the Vikings are such a supportive team.” she continued saying. “The technique has changed over the years but with a little bit more training I will improve my fitness and get back into it.”
The Mandurah Viking Dragon Boat Club encourages people of all ages to come along and try one of Australia’s fastest growing watersports. More information can be found under Training.
BODDINGTON REGATTA
2011
On the 5th November Mandurah Vikings Dragon Boat Club
hosted a fun regatta in Boddington as part of the
annual Lions Rodeo. Four teams from Perth attended the
event: Pirates, Lakers, Fremantle Swans and Amazons,
the breast cancer survivors team. Forza from Bunbury
and the Dragonflies from Denmark also travelled up to
Boddington. It was a beautiful setting on the river
and although the weather was wet, the day was very
much enjoyable.
The Boddington Rodeo took place with a street parade
to start off the weekend. Paddlers, cowboys and local
people put on a fantastic display and lightened up the
roads in Boddington.
Melanie Eager, Mandurah Vikings Dragon Boat Club
president, said: ”The Boddington regatta is a great
fundraising event for the Club and the continues
support of the Boddington Lions Club is always greatly
appreciated with the use of their BBQ and donations.”
“Mandurah places second in the regatta which is a
fantastic effort for the team” said Eager. “The
encouragement from the new coach and regular training
sessions have paid off. The team is really enjoying
their time on the water and getting results.”
CLASSIC PADDLE 2011
Four members of the Mandurah Vikings Dragon Boat Club
attended the 2011 Classic Paddle, a community event
organised by the Royal Life Saving Society WA. The
paddlers from Mandurah joined the women’s and men’s
teams from Cockburn and paddled the 12km from Narrows
Bridge in Perth to Stirling Bridge in Fremantle.
The 6 Dragon Boats from several clubs competed with
over 700 other watercrafts, from outriggers to surf
boats, kayaks and standup paddleboards. The Cockburn
men’s team finished the race 1st in their category and
the women’s team bet their last year’s time by 5
min.
Malcom Anderson from Mandurah was thrilled to be in
the winning team. “It was the 1st time for me to
compete in an endurance race and I am pleased with the
result.”
“The Cockburn team made us all welcome and supported
the paddlers from Mandurah.”
“It is also great to see the team spirit of the sport
with other Mandurah Vikings Dagon Boat Club members
cheering us on at the finishing line.”
3 SILVER MEDALS FOR MANDURAH DRAGON BOAT CLUB
IN KOREA
Recently four members of the Mandurah Vikings Dragon
Boat Club travelled to Busan in South Korea for the
2nd Korea Open Busan International Dragon Boat Regatta
(1st - 5th September, 2011). They arrived home
victorious with three silver medals.
Alida West, Lyn Paul, Pallavi Patel and Sue Tinney
participated in the Australian team with Dragon
Boaters from Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland and New
South Wales. The Australian team was successful in
gaining second place in the 200m, 500m and 2000m
races. The International teams competing in the event
came from Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Guam, Korea, Korea
Public Service, Indonesia, UK, Singapore and
Australia.
Lyn Paul said “We had a fantastic time and the Koreans
looked after us very well. The shining moment for us
was overtaking two boats in the 2000 metre race to
come in second. The crowd went wild. We were the
oldest team in the competition with a 73 year old in
the boat and an average age of 59 years. Other teams
found us inspirational and called us the ‘Granny
Express’.
Dragon Boating is a great sport and we are spoiled on
the beautiful Mandurah waterways. Often dolphins swim
with us to the Old Mandurah Bridge. Our club has some
wonderful people and there is always paddling and
social events happening. I would encourage people of
any age to come and give it a go.”
Alida West, Lyn Paul, Pallavi Patel and Sue Tinney
expressed their gratitude to Mandurah Vikings Dragon
Boat Club for their support in the months leading up
to the event. Every Saturday morning during autumn and
winter they were given the opportunity to paddle in
the Dragon Boat on the estuary. Then on Tuesdays’
members would meet for a 40 -60 minute walk or run and
on Thursdays’ they would do swimming training at the
Mandurah Recreation Centre.
Benefits of becoming a member
Do you want to get fit and have fun? Then becoming a
member of Mandurah Dragon Boat Club is a great way to
do both. Being a member of the club allows you to
train all year round on Sunday mornings and on Tuesday
and Thursday evenings during the summer months. You
get a training singlet and are able to race at all
regattas throughout the season. All this for only $200
per year.
