Spotlight on the Junior Dragon Boat Paddling Programme

WORDS: YVERAIN OLIVARES | IMAGES: STANLEY LAM

I’m sure you are familiar with the Club’s dragon boat team, Royal X, but did you know the Club also runs courses for younger paddlers? In fact, it has been almost 10 years since the Club started offering dragon boat courses to junior athletes. When it first started, our juniors would train for eight weeks and compete in the VRC Deep Water Bay regatta, and the Lamma 500 in the Under 18 category. This year our Head Paddle Sports Coach Melissa Davis has developed junior dragon boat paddling into a full programme for youth paddling including two junior dragon boat ‘eight weeks terms’ and a record four races! The first term from March to April will see our young paddlers compete in the MI Cup and the Lamma 500 while the second term from May to June will have the juniors compete in the VRC DWB regatta and the KI Cup.

The training sessions are on Saturdays from 1330 to 1500hrs at Middle Island (and Kellett Island) to learn the fundamentals of the dragon boat stroke, team and seat dynamics, race strategy, training drills, water and safety awareness, plus a whole lot of fun activities. Paddling together is one of the key aspects of the dragon boat: only when paddlers hit the water together can the boat reach maximum speed. While gaining more confidence, our young paddlers will also build the strength and stamina to compete on the standard 500m distance.

The feedback from both the parents and the paddlers has been very positive. While the course aims to put together a competitive team, dragon boat is at its core a very social sport. As Club member Clarissa Becker, whose daughter has entered the programme twice, points out “It’s such a great way to get teens outdoors and on the water on a Saturday afternoon. My daughter has made many new friends and really enjoys both the camaraderie and competitiveness of the sport.”

While all the training helps build the confidence of our young paddlers, making friends in the process, racing really is the highlight of the programme. Club member Cissa McVey quotes her daughter who joined the programme for the first-time last season: “It’s great fun because you get to learn how to dragon boat and then you get to race! On race day it’s exciting to see all the other teams.”

The team is always looking for new junior paddlers and welcome paddlers aged between 12 and 17 years old of all fitness levels. If your child would like to take on this challenge and make fun memories on the water, the course is now open for registration please visit the Club website for more details.