We would like to wish Di all the best as she leaves this Friday for the Dragon Boating World Championships held in Hungary. Di has been training with Drive Fitness at our Mt Gravatt personal training studio for a couple years now with Jared and we very proudly support her with her upcoming international competition.. You can read more about Di's Dragon Boating experience & the upcoming World Championships below (thank you Di for sharing)..
Almost 5 years ago I began Dragon Boating - a sport that I knew little about however, Dragon Boating is one of the oldest sports in the world having originated over 2000 years ago in the Southern provinces of China. The modern sport of Dragon Boating consists of a long fibreglass canoe with twenty paddlers, a drummer and a sweep to steer the boat. Dragon Boat racing competes over distances of 200m, 500m, 1 km and 2 km. There are categories for women, open (usually men) and mixed teams which are predominantly based on age groups. These age groups range from Juniors (over 12yrs - 18yrs) to Masters C (over 60yrs).
I paddle for Manly Dragon Boat Club and have successfully competed at State, National and International level. In 2012, Manly qualified to compete at the World Club Crew Championships in Hong Kong. I was a member of the womens team that won Gold at this International event over 500m and the Bronze medal over 200m.
2013 was another extremely successful year for me within the Manly Dragon Boat Club, defending our National Title and winning Gold medals in both the Womens 200m and 500m events for the 3rd year running, Silver in the mixed events and also qualifying for the team to compete in the 2014 World Club Crew Championships in Italy. Manly Dragon Boat Club podiumed in a total of 16 events this year - a record for the club and taking out 2nd position overall for the clubs in Australia.
I have been lucky enough to be selected to represent Queensland at the National Championships since 2010, however this year I am proud to say that I have been selected in the National team for the Australian Dragon Boat Federation- the "Aurora's". As a member of this team I will get to represent Australia at the World Championships held in Szeged, Hungary from 24 - 28th July 2013. This has been a very challenging experience both physically and mentally - demanding a commitment to training both on and off the water.
I look forward to competing at this level and wearing the Green and Gold, paddling for Australia at this International event. The team I am part of is defending their Gold medal in the 2 km event and wish to better their silver medals in the 200m and 500m distances they won in Tampa, Florida. I am looking forward to being a part of that challenge.