Junior Dragon Boating

Wokingham Dragons are a group of juniors who got together in 2007 with a view to entering the Henley Junior Dragon Boat Regatta. That year we entered one team ‘the Wyrmlins’ who were runners up in the U18 category. The following year we were back with a girls team, ‘The Dragonflies’ joining ‘The Wyrmlins’. The Dragonflies won the U18’s and the Wyrmlins the U14’s.  In 2009 we added a third team, The Warriors and came home from the event with three trophies!

Interested?
Our training sessions are held on Wednesday evenings, at 18:30 during the summer months and at 14:00 on Sundays between October and April.
Beginners are very welcome.  You are invited for three trial sessions before making any commitment to join the club.  For more information contact Rod Hart on 07771 685834.

This is one of the best events in the dragon boat calendar. A whole day of racing at Longridge, near Marlow. Teams come from all over the country to take part. It would be great if we could win the fantastic dragon trophy once again!

So make sure you don’t miss out, sign up on the notice board at the club or let Rod know if you are interested in taking part.  There is plently of room for spectators so parents can bring a picnic and make a day of it. More details

Our junior dragon boat teams were ‘on fire’ at the recent Henley Junior Regatta. We have always done well at this event and this year was no exception. The Wyrmlyns, our U14 team  raced brilliantly throughout the day and were once again victorious in their category, beating a number of older (and bigger) teams along the way.  The U14 trophy is an almost permanent fixture in our trophy cabinet!

The Wyrmlyns

The Warriors, our U16 team, also raced fantastically well in all their races, they finished third overall and were narrowly beaten into second place in the U16 category by their old nemesis Maidenhead Rugby Club. The Warriors also had the honour of clocking the fastest time of the day in one of the earlier heats.

The Warriors

Wyrmlyns receiving the trophy and individual medals

Other highlights of the day were the ‘Wokingham Wave’ -  parents and supporters managed to get a Mexican wave going along the tow path and also the supporters race which saw some parents stepping into a dragon boat for the first time.  In some cases (particularly the drummer) it may well be the first and last time.

Wokingham Supporters winning their race.

As always the team spirit at this event was second to none, with everyone playing their part in a very successful day’s racing.  A big thank you to Rod for all his hard work with the junior dragons.

Click here to see more photos of this event

Aaron Thompson 15yrs, Marie Lucas 14yrs and Ben Rollinson 13yrs were all successful at the GB Trials held in Liverpool in March this year. Click here for more details.

All juniors are invited to take part in this regatta. If you are interested please contact Rod Hart.

A big well done to Aaron Thompson who competed in the World Dragon Boat Championships in Prague.
Aaron has been training with the GB junior team since being selected in April.
During the four days of competition the team took part in junior ‘open’ and ‘mixed’ events over 1000m, 500m and 200m. They won through to the major final in the ‘mixed 200m’ event and paddled brilliantly to win the bronze medal. 
It is the first time in six years that the team has won a medal at the world championships and the juniors were the only GB team to win a medal at the event! So it really is a fantastic achievement.

If you look carefully you can just see the top of Aaron’s head, third from the back.

Junior training will continue on Wednesday evenings at 18:30 until further notice.  New paddlers are welcome to come and give Dragon Boating a try.

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. (more…)