DSNSW Regatta Series Round 1 | Racing into Father's Day!

Sunday’s Father’s Day was a little different for the DSA crew with gourmet breakfast omelettes and lunch BBQs with family and friends postponed for DSA’s first race of the season - and rightly so!

The team paddled through the entire day of events, enjoying coffee and pre / post-racing fuel from a conveniently located food truck and a DSNSW BBQ for some sausage rolls! DSA’s very own Petro was the MC for the day and ensured all team clubs were entertained throughout the day with expert-level Dad jokes 😊.

There were many trial and tribulation moments on Sunday, and not only in the water. The day started promptly at 6:45am for the crew as we all scrambled for side street parking. The crew gathered around our team camp area, eagerly re-checking the race schedule and seating positions.

A slight delay in the morning proceedings gave our crew plenty of time to warm up and welcome our new members, James, Rose and Adrian DB (DB is not an abbreviation for Dragon Boat, as one member suggested) to their first regatta! Following our pre-race warm-up, Club Captain Declan presented each first-timer with a ‘My first regatta survival kit’, filled with nutrient-rich consumables such as 'sugar-reduced” gummy bears and oat muesli bars. This was no coincidence and carefully pre-planned to ensure our new members were fuelled correctly before each race - a very strategic move!

Image: Club captain Declan (third from left) with first-time racers James, Rose and Adrian

By mid-morning, the premier crew got into their first races. The mixed, open and women’s teams kicked off the day in the opening heats. Each team’s crew, in single file, steadily entered the boat, paddles laid flat with legs firmly pressed to the gunnel, and a makeshift bailer (half a milk bottle) was passed around the boat to help with a little extra weight reduction.

Racing 200m sprints flew by so quickly (52~ seconds). Paddles cycled through the water at a super-fast rate, keeping level with the water line and digging deep for power, while the drummer kept us all in rhythm. In literally half a second, each crew member cycled through the cycle of catch, drive, exit, recovery, and repeat! George can comment on the technique efficiency here 😂

Image: DSA's premier women's and open crew heading out to race

Our premier mixed and women’s crews both did incredibly well to make it to the final, and our premier open crew gave it their absolute all but narrowly missed out on a place in the final.

Moving into the afternoon, we saw our Senior A open & Senior B mixed teams hustle for placements, with the Senior A open team coming home with the gold after a very convincing win in both of their heats, and the Senior B mixed team coming in third in their final.

The day was supercharged with an

atmosphere of camaraderie and teamwork, not only within the DSA crew but also amongst other teams! There is even photographic evidence of a DSA team member (who can only be identified in the photo) receiving a free sausage roll from the other team’s camp BBQ! Fair play! 🤔

Thank you to the team in making this event possible, for your support throughout the day, and for snagging the camp area with the best race-view vantage point, allowing us to get in some great team shots.

Looking forward to racing in our next regatta!