GATEWAY Lakes will play host to the Victorian Dragon Boating Championships this weekend, with 12 teams from across the state set to make the trip to the Border.
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Hundreds of paddlers will be competing in a number of different categories, including the 200-metre ‘thrash and dash', arduous two-kilometre races, and mid-range 500-metre events.
The peak event for the sport in Victoria, competitors will be racing to get into shape for the upcoming Australian Championships at the Sunshine Coast in March.
Following the national championships, a number of the clubs competing this weekend have their eyes on international events in Singapore, Italy and Canada, as well as the World Club Crew Championships in Hungary.
Former Wodonga resident and now head coach of the Victorian dragon boat team Jarrod Whitwell said the championships would be the ultimate test of strength and skill for many of the competitors.
“These races rely on high levels of fitness and skill with lots of aggression in the water - timing is critical for a team to move a boat forward,” he said.
“The cream of Victorian and Australian paddlers will be on show at Gateway Lake this weekend; over 150 are members of the current Victorian team and 30 paddlers present were medallists at recent World Championships in China.”
There's a home field advantage of sorts for the Albury-Wodonga Warriors, who also played host to last year's Australian Championships.
Sandra Nickel said a power of work had gone into getting the Gateway Lakes facilities up to a national standard between them and the Bravehearts club.
“It's fantastic for our community to have the Victorian titles here,” she said.
“Coupled with having the national championships here last year, I think the community is becoming a lot more aware of what is a really fast-growing sport.
“Hopefully events like this can bring more and more people to the region.”
Ms Nickel said it was her hope that larger events like this one could attract more young people to the sport, with the Warriors aiming to continue growing their junior presence.
“We've definitely had a lot more people coming to the club as a result of these events,” she said.
“We're also trying to grow our junior ranks.”
