Junior dragons on fire at Henley

Junior dragon boat teams from Wokingham Canoe Club have once again put in impressive performances at The Henley Dragon’s Annual Junior Regatta, winning three of the four main trophies. The club entered three teams; ‘Dragonflies’ U14 girls, ‘Wrymlyns’ U14 boys and ‘Warriors’ U16 boys.

Round one saw the Warriors get off to a fantastic start with a time of 1:12.53 which was beaten only by the Blazing Paddles team who were racing in the U18 category and included a number of GB paddlers. The Wrymlyns set the standard for the U14 teams with a time of 1:28.09 with the Dragonflies not too far behind on 1:34.24.

An increasing wind meant that the next two rounds were slower but exciting nonetheless and the teams from Wokingham worked hard to keep their noses in front of the opposition. The Warriors narrowly missed a place in the major final by just over half a second, the place going to Beccies Babes, another U18 team. They had to be content with a place in the minor final against the Severn Spiritz who had travelled from Worcester to take part in the event. The race was a closely fought affair which saw the Warriors victorious by the narrowest of margins but enough to secure the U16 trophy.

The Dragonflies won their tail race, seeing off teams from Woodley Scouts and Hurst Air Scouts. The girls won the trophy for the highest placed all-girls team.

The Wyrmlyns fought magnificently throughout the competition to secure the U14 trophy.