Ladies Dragon Boating

Who are the Kingfishers?

Wokingham Kingfishers are a group of women aged between 18 and ‘fifty something’ who meet weekly to enjoy dragon boating. The group was started in August 2008, steadily increasing in number over the past year. Being part of Wokingham Canoe Club, we benefit from the wonderful facilities at Wokingham Waterside Centre situated at Thames Valley Park on The Thames in Reading.

When do we meet?

Our training sessions are held all year round on Sunday mornings, from 10.00am until 12.00pm. We are now fortunate enough to be able to use a full 20-seat dragon boat, although much of our training up until now has been in a 10-seat ‘baby’ dragon boat. The dragon boats are owned by Wokingham Waterside Centre who kindly allow us to use them. When the river conditions do not allow us to paddle, appropriate training is held indoors.

Why not come and try one of the UK’s fastest growing sports?

Beginners are very welcome to come along to the sessions to try dragon boating. You are invited for three trial sessions before making any commitment to join the club.

What you should bring

There are a few things we recommend you bring along with you:

• bottle of water
• clothing appropriate to the weather, lots of thin layers is best. No denim. (Cagoules and buoyancy aids are available to borrow).
• rubber soled shoes, i.e. trainers
• lots of enthusiasm!

If you would like to come along and try dragon boating for yourself or have any questions about the Wokingham Kingfishers, please email us at:  kingfishers@wokinghamcanoeclub.co.uk we look forward to hearing from you.

Our first ever race began with a mixture of nerves and excitement as we kitted up and took our places in the boat.  After a brief warm-up we were the first boat off and enjoyed our time holding the lead position!  Gradually we got overtaken by the other contenders of the race but it certainly didn’t dampen the spirits, Kathi was fantastic keeping up the encouragement even when we were battling the autumn wind and our brilliant rate-keepers, Clare and Jen ensured that we all pulled together to give it our all.  Our helm, Paul expertly guided us around the 7km course, taking the turns in his stride.  As we slogged under the bridge for the last time, Zoë, Mike and Clare’s family were there to encourage us on and finally the end was in sight – together with all the teams cheering us on till the finish, what a great feeling!  We even got a mention during the prize-giving at the end, welcoming us to our first ever competition – it certainly won’t be the last.

Thanks to our team: Jenny F, Jenny T, Sue, Mel, Karen, Clare and Katie with special guests Gary, Aaron and Sarah for achieving a fantastic time of 44min 31secs.