Sydney Dragon Sports Association Dragon Boat Club

An early start with everyone asked to get to the Brooklyn site by 7.15am. Most made it by this time but a few thought that 7.15 request was an optional one and so opted for a later start of 8am. Parking was fun with about 500 cars and only 300 parking spots. It looked like a few of us had driven to Brooklyn only to find out we were parking at Hornsby. A few concessions were made though, some double parking and we all got in. worst of all there wasn’t a coffee van, maybe it will turn up later.

The day started with the usual motivational talk from the coaches and everyone was enthusiastic about applying the new technique we had been working on. Most of all we were keen about improving our timing knowing that this was an essential ingredient to perform well.

We had two mixed teams, Yellow and Blue,  a full womens team and a team competing in the mens event that was made up entirely of men, not a usual occurrence for DSA. To top this off we had some of our paddlers racing for the first time and others with only one previous race under their belts. It was going to be tough as there were more than 30 mixed crews and about 18 mens and 16 womens crews competing and some of these were ultra competitive.

The heats were good for us with each of team results in the top end of the field. This gave us a great chance to make the final later in the day. And we got better as the day went on, the first couple of races were good but there were still signs of timing issues, weak starts and concerns over rates. However, we talked about these and with each race we focused on doing the little things right. Still no coffee van on site, getting desperate.

We were rewarded with the Yellow Mixed team making the major final and the Blue team making the Minor final. We also had both the Mens and Womens crews in the Major finals for their events.

Where did we finish,

• The Mens team paddled strongly, their best of the day and came away with a third place, congratulations boys.
• The Mixed Blue team finished sixth in the minor final but what an effort, this was the first ever final for most of the crew and for most it was their first taste of a final. Well done to the Blue team.
• The Mixed Yellow team raced well but had some bad luck with water quality and missed out on a placing by mere seconds. If the circumstances were a little more in our favour we could have perhaps recorded another medal placing.
• The Womens crew toughed it out finished a credible 4^th place, only a second behind the third placed crew.

The worst thing we encountered on the day was the lack of a decent coffee. Where was that van? A decent coffee could have made all the difference.

We finished the day at the Bayview Hotel, a chance to cool down after a hot but rewarding day. Lots of stories about how well we all paddled and everyone claiming that their performance made the difference. No doubt we all contributed and collectively made it a great day. No coffee but a beer or two will do.

Some great results and we all believe we still have more to do. Bring on the next regatta at Penrith!