Warriors - Albury Wodonga Dragon Boat Club was formed in September 2012 with 10 members. Our focus is on being an all-inclusive club for all ages providing fun, fitness, social and sometimes, a very competitive environment. We are affiliated with Dragon Boats Victoria (DBV) and our member base lives within a 60km radius of Albury/Wodonga. Our racing season commences in August, concluding with Australian Championships typically in April. Warriors regatta schedule means that we are travelling and competing in events each month through the racing season. These events ordinarily are held in venues across Victoria, ACT and southern NSW. Outside of the competition schedule we have also accepted opportunities to participate in Dragon Boat all over the world, including China, Doha, Egypt and Indonesia. This sport is a fantastic opportunity to see the world while participating in an exciting team sport.
We have an accredited coaching team that spend much time planning and developing our paddlers to achieve our goals throughout the season. We train upwards of three times a week with paddlers participating in both on water and land based activities. Each season our primary competition goal is to achieve success at a Victorian State level, Australian Championship level which potentially qualifies the club for international competitions held biennially. In our short 9 years we have qualified for Club Crew World Championships (CCWC) on two previous occasions.
While we have an experienced crew, we do welcome new paddlers by encouraging them to take advantage of a "Dragon Pass". This pass gives newcomers access to training sessions for four weeks. The aim of these sessions to give a new paddler an overview of technique, understand the importance of paddling as part of team, all done in a friendly and supportive environment. The development of technique and fitness is fully supported within the clubs training program under the guidance of our accrediated coaching team. New paddlers are encouraged to participate in a regatta as soon as possible to experience excitement of this fast paced sport. There is nothing quite like competing on the water with 21 team-mates against 4 or 5 other teams.
Each season Warrior members have the opportunity to extend their paddling experience by putting themselves forward for selection into the Victorian State Team and also the Australian National Team, The Auroras. In our 9 year history we have had significant representation in the Victorian State Teams and six Warrior members achieving National Selection.
Since forming in 2012 the club has established a homebase at Gateway Lakes, Wodonga. From a bare site and with extensive fundraising, successful grant applications and the hard work of our members, we have built storage facilities which now house our boats and safety equipment. Together with DBV, Warriors played a significant part in planning, organising and running the 2017 Australian Dragon boat Championship held at Gateway Lakes. This event saw teams from all across the country participate in 5 days of racing. On average we had close to 1000 paddlers on site competing each day. This event had a considerable positive impact on the Albury/Wodonga economy. The success of our women’s and mixed teams at this event qualified Warriors to participate in the CCWC in Hungary in July 2018. It was an amazing achievement for a regional team to qualify on their home turf, for such an elite event.
Warriors sent 22 paddlers plus 8 support crew to Hungary to compete on a world stage at the CCWC in 2018. We are so proud that our team was highly competitive amongst such tough competition. Our world placings are:
Women’s 200m 7th in the world
Women’s 500m 8th in the world
Mixed 200m 10th in the world
Mixed 500m 12th in the world.
These results are outstanding for such a small, regional based team.
The sport of Dragon Boating is one of the fastest growing sports in Australia. Dragon Boat Racing is one of the most exciting, competitive team sports you can take part in on water. It is a totally inclusive team sport and features Men, Women, Mixed gender, Adaptive, Breast Cancer survivors and junior crews from as young as 10 years old all competing against one another. Dragon boating is open to all fitness levels and can help you to gradually increase your fitness. It is a whole body workout which can improve cardiovascular fitness, endurance, stamina and coordination. Dragon boating also provides an opportunity for a diverse range of people to get to know other like minded people in their community. Warriors have held a one day school carnival for year 9 students to expose and potentially attract young people to the sport. All participants are given training and are provided with a personal floatation device and paddle. A mini regatta is held at the end of the day to determine an overall winner.
At our 10 year Anniversary on 22 September, 2022 4 founding members were awarded life membership for their continued support of our Club - Graham Poynter, Linda Elkington, Sandy Nickels and Helen Martin. Without their dedicated efforts the Club would not be where it is today.
We welcome new paddlers all year round to come and try the sport. All equipment is provided and all you need is a drink bottle and wear clothes that are ok to get a little wet. See you at the first shed around the bend on Lemke Road, Wodonga. For more information go to our website www.warriordragons.com.au or search for our Facebook page. Alternatively email us at info@warriordragons.com.au
At Warriors “We Train to Race and Race to Win”
