Central Coast Sea Dragons – 2014 NSW Dragon Boat Championships
11/4/14
The Sea Dragons racing crew from the Central Coast Dragon Boat Club has taken a clean sweep of the Masters categories of the 2014 NSW Dragon Boat State Titles held recently at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith. In a record breaking event involving 35 clubs and over 1,350 paddlers competing from all over NSW, the Central Coast has once again shown it has the winning formula. The club claimed gold in all three Master categories: Mixed, Open and Women’s in the hotly contested 500m finals as well as a close second in the Grand Masters Mixed final.
The Sea Dragons Master Open team has become a force to be reckoned with in the dragon boating community, continuing on with the form from last season where it won the State and National titles, to take out the points trophy for the 2013/14 season and now the coveted State title.
The Master Mixed team has built a strong rivalry with the DSA (Sydney Dragon Sports Association) over the last two years. DSA has taken out the points trophy in both seasons, however the Central Coast has continued to rise to the occasion and for the third year in a row has taken out the State Title.
The Master Women’s team has been the bridesmaid to the Pittwater Dragonboat Club over the past few seasons. On the weekend the Central Coast women got rid of any disbelief and working as a team, had a powerful start then led from start to finish to take out their first State Title since 2011. The Grand Masters, who were out of the medal placings last year, were strong all day and in the finals came a close second to rival club Nowra by only 0.69 of a second.
Coach Lorne Smith was incredibly proud of the club’s efforts. “We had some fantastic times and results. It was a great achievement having everyone from our Masters and Grand Masters teams walk away with a medal from the day. When everything clicks and we are paddling as one, we achieve excellent results.”
The club will take its winning form into the National Titles, being held at Kawana Waters on the Sunshine Coast. In four days of competition the Sea Dragons will compete in 200m, 500m and 2km events against the best teams in the country.
While this is the end of season for the Australian racing calendar, the Sea Dragons will continue a strong training schedule through winter as the team prepares for the World Club Crew titles in Ravenna, Italy. Competing on the world stage is a first for the team and they are hoping to continue this winning form.
The Central Coast Dragon Boat Club always welcomes new paddlers looking for fun and fitness on the water. All enquiries:0422 337 772