‘Leanne Warwick’

When did you start dragon boat paddling and what attracted you to the sport?

I started in 2009 when our current president Judy Keeley encouraged me to give it a try. I’d never really played sport but the fresh air and being on the water appealed to me. It took a while to get the hang of it, but the coaches and other paddlers were very patient.

Where has the sport taken you?

One of the great things about dragon boating is you can participate at so many levels. Training is local, but I have attended regattas up and down the coast and medalled at both state and national events. I even competed at the World Masters Regatta in New Zealand, and when we travel away for a regatta, we try and tag a holiday on to the trip. My husband Rob also paddles and when travelling within Australia, we look up local clubs and if it works out, we go for a paddle with them which is always fun.

The highlight of our paddling was participating in a regatta in Venice.  The following day we paddled along with nearly 2000 non powered watercraft in the ‘Vogolonga’, a race which celebrates the joy of travelling by oar (or paddle). What an experience paddling down the Grand Canal past historical buildings to St Marks Basin and out around the island of Burano, a trip of about 30kms.

Why should someone try this sport?

I feel we all need, as much as possible, to be responsible for our own health and fitness and paddling works for me. We also have the best river to paddle on. We’re a very social club, with coffee after training sessions, soup nights, movie nights, barbecues, live shows and regattas away.

Yearly membership is $230 which covers us for 3 paddles sessions a week which makes it a relatively inexpensive sport.

Please contact us on 0401 634 414 or on Facebook if you too would like to try this great sport.