How DSA Dominated 2024—and What’s Next

As I reflect on 2024, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride in all that we’ve achieved, but more importantly, in how we’ve achieved it. This has been a place filled with happiness, fun, and challenging training programs, and we have walked away stronger and wiser. The word "reinvention" has become a buzzword in the corporate world, and it truly rings true for DSA. The synergy between reinventing our approach and welcoming new, enthusiastic members has sparked a renewed sense of belief deep within the club. Our results at recent regattas have been phenomenal, and this success is only fueling our hunger for even more in 2025.

Goals and ambitions set by our club leadership are just words on paper unless they have the support, buy-in, and commitment from our members. One of our key goals is to be a competitive club, competing at the highest level—and this year, we truly did just that.

Earlier this year, 50 members travelled to Perth to compete in the Australian Championships, with a third of this crew also stepping up to join the NSW team. Following this, our Senior B "over 50s" team stepped up their efforts, training through the winter to represent DSA on the world stage at the Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy (July 2024). The preparation for these competitions was intense, gruelling, and at times onerous, but it was also filled with fun—a crucial ingredient for building a unified team. They performed wonderfully and made us incredibly proud.

At the same time, three of our members qualified to represent their country in the Australian dragon boat "Auroras" team at the Asian Dragon Boat Championships, with Sam and Josh making their debut. More recently, they have been accepted into the 2025 Aurora team, which they will compete in Germany at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, alongside Felix (also new to the team) and veterans Jeremy and Gary. The preparation was demanding, but this crew truly showed their true colours through their dedication and support for one another. They should be immensely proud of all they have achieved so far—and all that lies ahead.

Running a club at such a high level requires many well-connected components, and our Board has worked tirelessly to enhance these structures. This includes expanding our coaching team with an increased focus on Premier paddlers, embedding a sweep coordinator, and actively training 10 new sweeps. Additionally, over 200 individuals from our local community have had the opportunity to try out dragon boating, and this is all made possible by the grassroots support that keeps these initiatives thriving.

The addition of a new dragon boat, supported by the NSW Office of Sport, has been a welcome enhancement, enabling us to deliver better sessions for new members.

On a personal note, I would be remiss not to mention my recognition as Canada Bay Sports Citizen of the Year 2024, awarded for my role in driving wellbeing and active lifestyles through initiatives like Rhodes Runners, Rhodes parkrun, and dragon boating. I firmly believe that anyone can make a difference, but it requires stepping out of your comfort zone to do so. It was an honour to receive this award from the Council, and it motivates me even further to continue giving back to the community.

Looking ahead to 2025, I am beyond excited to be a core part of our team as we continue to push our bodies, our cardio, and our mental stamina. It’s an exciting time to wear the blue and yellow as we prepare for the NSW State Championships and the pinnacle event, the Australian Championships, in April 2025.

See you in 2025!