A group of Far South Coast dragon boat paddlers have brought home gold in extraordinary fashion over an open five kilometre race!
The over 55’s Southern Warriors Dragon Boating team made of athletes from the Merimbula Water Dragons and Nature Coast in Moruya defied the odds to win gold in the 2024 Pan Pacific Masters on the Gold Coast.
Gillian McCallum, from the Merimbula Water Dragons said our 14 paddlers (8 female, 6 male), were six people short because the Over 55’s Open event was the final event of the tournament, and some team members from Jindabyne and South Australia had to leave early.
But the 14 South Coast locals proved too strong, winning the event ahead of the Singapore team’s boat with 20 men on board.
“They actually missed their turn, because the currents and wind make it quite hard, so we came out ahead of them, so the chase was on, they tried to chase us home over the last 800 metres but we were just too strong for them,” Ms McCallum said.
“When we got off at the beach, the Singaporian guys got out of the boat and they were actually counting how many people were in our crew and realised ‘wow, we got beaten by a team of just 14’ so they were very impressed,” she laughed.
“We raced really well over the whole weekend but we left out best until the last event but by that stage it was only the Merimbula and Moruya people but we’re very used to racing with each other.
“We were all very happy after a great few days of racing.”
NSW is holding the Australian Championships in April 2025 in which Ms McCallum will be coaching but in the meantime she’s looking to recruit locals.
“We’re about to start a recruiting campaign specifically targeting men,” Ms McCallum said.
“Dragon boating is a great team sport, where no one person is worth more than anyone else, it’s fun and a good form of exercise,” she said.
“We paddle three times a week usually on a Monday and Wednesday afternoon around 5:30pm and then on Saturday mornings.”
Meanwhile, in other local sporting news, a director of golf from the South Coast has taken out a major gong at the 2024 NSW Golf Industry Award in Sydney overnight.
Catalina Club’s Rodney Booth was named the 2024 NSW PGA Club Professional of the Year.
A spokesperson from the Club congratulated Rodney and said it was well deserved recognition for his talents and commitment to the world of golf.
Images: Merimbula Water Dragons, Catalina Club
