Three of six teams representing New Zealand at the Dragon Boat Club Crew World Championships in Italy next month will be from the Bay of Plenty.
BOP Dragon Boat Club president Karl Nicholson says the three teams from his club will see the BOP have a strong presence in Ravenna, Italy, with supporters travelling over support the paddlers too.
“Our teams are leaving at the end of August ready for the competition to begin on September 3,” says Karl, with the early arrival allowing training days to shake off the jetlag beforehand.
The three teams are the BOP Flyers, a mixed team of 29 paddlers; the Bay Dragons, the club’s women’s team of 14 paddlers; and breast cancer survivors’ team the Boobops with 22 paddlers.
Karl says the trio will compete across a variety of divisions. “The teams qualified based on time thresholds being achieved at their respective national championship events.”
The Bay Dragons, the club’s women’s team of 14 paddlers, is competing in the world championships too. Photo: supplied.
The club crew championships is a bi-annual event – Karl says this year 50 nations, 500 clubs, 1000 crews and 7000 athletes will be involved.
“Our club is tremendously proud to have so many teams heading over to the world championships. It’s such an amazing opportunity for our athletes to test themselves on the world stage.”
But the trip hasn’t come without hard mahi and fundraising efforts. “Like most sports, this event is only the tip of the iceberg – all the work behind the scenes like the night/early morning trainings in freezing conditions, training camps, off-water training and technical work all play a part of the time and commitment our teams pour into the sport,” says Karl.
“Every week I see and hear examples of the teams pushing their limits and it’s really inspiring. We couldn’t be more proud as a club.”
The BOP Flyers, a team of mixed team of 29 paddlers, is also off to Ravenna, Italy. Photo: supplied.
And although largely self-funded, all teams have undertaken fundraising efforts over the last year. “There have also been several generous business and individual donors who have assisted greatly.”
This is the second time the BOP has been represented at the event after the Boobops paddled in Adelaide, Australia, in 2015. To keep up-to-date with the teams’ journey at: www.facebook.com/bopdragonboating/
- SunLive