Powerhouse Dragon Boat Racing Club & Middlesbrough Outrigger Canoe Club
Tees Valley Dragons have taken stewardship of the first OC6 outrigger canoe in the country. The name of the boat is Wa’alele and she arrived in the UK in 1977. With a long a varied past behind her we are taking the lead on bringing this piece of paddling history back to a racing life.
Along with the iconic boat herself, we have incorporated Middlesbrough Outrigger Canoe Club alongside Powerhouse Dragon Boat Racing Club under the banner of Tees Valley Dragons.
The weekend of the Stockton league event is nearly upon us. A bank holiday relaxing for some and a busy weekend of preparations, racing, partying and clean-up for the Tees Valley Dragons.
Saturday will see the crew welcoming travelling crews from all over the UK to the RTWC as we set out the buoyed racing course, kitchen and boat jetties ready for Sunday’s racing.
Stockton-on-Tees National League Event 2018
All are welcome to come and watch the racing from 09:30 to 17:00 on Sunday 27th of May.
Races will be over 200m, 500m and the exciting 2000m turn race. Crews will be arriving from 07:30 to get the boats onto the water dressed in the traditional dragon’s head and tail, with their team colours showing and setup their camp before the racing starts.
At 16:00, the RTWC bar will be opened to friends, family and visitors. Drinks can be taken onto the balcony through the Riverside room to have spectacular views of the final races of the day.
For new visitors to the River Tees Watersports Centre use the directions page to find us. Please note that the carpark will be full and the Fusion Hive carpark opposite will be open to us for the race day, marshals will show you the way.
If you missed some of the Tees Valley Dragons – Powerhouse DBRC team looking ahead to the event on the Tees this weekend, and their visit to Germany in August as part of the Great Britain team, here’s another chance to listen to Finn, Julie, Corey and Lisa – https://www.mixcloud.com/
Register here for a Free Session.
Tees Valley Dragons is a vibrant and developing water sports club located in Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside. The club has members of all ages, abilities and backgrounds who train together on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
You won't be expected to turn up to every session as we welcome all levels of commitment, from the serious athletes to the casual social and fun paddlers. Free taster sessions are offered to individual prospective new members (and their friends) to join us in the boat at any of our training sessions.
We offer you a free, safe, fun and exciting introduction to the sport of Dragon Boat Racing. The sport is suitable for all ages, both men and women, and you can start at any fitness or ability level. It won’t take long to develop your technique and strengthen your body. You don't have to be fit to start doing something, but you have to start doing something to get fit.
A typical free session will include the following:
Dragon boating is an all-body sport, which does not just focus on the arms and upper body. When done properly, Dragon Boat paddling works the muscles in your legs, back, shoulders and core abdominals. It’s a great sport to help get rid of those love-handles and bulgy tummies!
We can be found at River Tees Water Sports Centre: The Slipway, North Shore Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 2NL. Bring comfortable clothes (eg, tracksuit and trainers, no jeans) and a small bottled drink, a change of clothes might be a good idea too! We will provide all the relevant equipment. More details are in the FAQ's page.
For groups wishing to have a full boat to themselves will need to contact us for prices (to cover the equipment and coach/helm costs). Our usual day fees may apply, but discounts are available.
Register here for a Free Session.
Tees Valley Dragons have had a very busy weekend of dragon boat activities, despite the Powerhouse Crew not racing at Milton Keynes.
Jo and Colin made the trip to Milton Keynes to officiate the event. Jo being on the finish line all day and Colin moving from boat marshalling to the searing heat of the start line. As well as Cooper keeping the ducks and geese off the grass.
Paul, Andrea, Mikey and Pippa all travelled to Milton Keynes to guest paddle for the very welcoming Pershore Pheonix team as well as the ladies being part of the Powersaints women’s crew with St Neots.
Powersaints and Powerspartans crews continued to rack-up the points on Saturday in the women’s and junior leagues, and even without turning in a team Powerhouse have held onto the third place in the Standard League! All looking positive for the rest of the season and the coming national finals.
The Northfield School Summer Fair was used a promotional event on Saturday. The Tees Valley Dragons put on an ergo display and banged the drum for us with plenty of interest from both the pupils, teachers and their family members.
Sunday saw the annual Hong Kong Lions dragon boat event in central London with Jo and Colin among the 15000 crowd cheering on Brian and Lisa in the Purple Warriors team and our friends the St Neots Spartans paddling with a celebrity (you can ask them next who time you see them). The Purple Warriors raced four times and won four times taking home the charity trophy – Excellent work from both seat buddies Brian and Lisa you did us proud.
Allyson led the first training session for the GB senior squad (over 40s) on Sunday, on the Thames at Longridge Activity Centre in Marlow. This was the first training session for the seniors (over 40’s) looking to enter the squad for the European Championships in Germany in 2018.
All-in-all just another reminder of the opportunities for travel, making new friends and generally having a bunch of fun that comes from dragon boat racing. It makes the winter training worthwhile.
Fun in the sun!
A lovely day on Saturday promoting dragon boat racing at the Armed Forces Day in Middlesbrough town centre.
Thanks to everyone that came along and chatted with us and those that tried out the ergos.
To take advantage of your free "try-it" sessions click on the link at the top of our home page.
Picture source: Love Middlesbrough facebook page credited to Doug Moody Photography (thanks Doug)
Stockton-on-Tees National League Event 2016
Powerhouse DBRC are hosting the 3rd National League event of 2016 on Sunday 29th of May at the River Tees Watersports Centre in Stockton-on Tees.. The watersports centre is fully equipped with on-site changing rooms, toilets and showers. There will be on-site catering all day and use of the bar after the event (enjoy the bank holiday!).
Enjoy one of the only fully buoyed courses available to Dragonboat racers in the country.
When the racing is complete, join the paddlers at the River Tees Water Sports Centre http://rtwc.co.uk/ where we will be partying until late. We will have a grandstand view of the river, from the private balcony, of the River Tees and the Infinity Bridge.
Stockton-on-TeesNationalLeagueEvent2016
Racing Venue: River Tees Watersports Centre (RTWC)
Facilities include: Changing rooms and showers
Gym with 3 dragonboat ergos
Function room and café
Full disabled access, including changing facilities
Free car parking
Address:
The Slipway, North Shore Road, Stockton-on-Tees,
TS18 2NL
(Type ‘River Tees Water Sports Centre’ into Google Maps and it will take you directly to the car park).
Directions:
From A19: Take the turn-off to the A1046, Portrack Lane towards Stockton;
Continue past Asda straight over the next roundabout and traffic lights;
Take the first exit at the next roundabout onto Dugdale Street;
Turn right at the end onto North Shore Road;
From A66: Take the turn-off to the A135 heading to Stockton
Keep in the right-hand lane at the traffic lights and take the third exit
Keep in the second lane at the lights and follow the road off to the right to the North Shore (A135)
Keep in the third lane and once past the lights, take the turning to the left, North Shore Road.
Parking:
Parking is limited on site. There are 40 parking spaces available within the RTWC car park, but these will be prioritised for officials and volunteers first. However, nearby free parking will be 2mins walk away from the RTWC, as directed by volunteers.
Trailer Parking:
Trailer storage is strictly off-site. All trailers to be stored (as always) in the nearby Prestons of Potto haulage yard, roughly 1min drive away. See picture below.
Boat Loading:
Please aim to arrive as early as possible as access to the slipway is limited and becomes congested quickly. Boats are to be loaded onto the water with the aid of other crews, then moved away from the slipway to the jetties.
Provisional Race Program:
We will have four lane racing (each lane is deeper than 5m) with a round-robin format over 200m, 500m and 2000m (single turn) distances. The course is buoyed, all races count towards league points.
Race Categories:
200m Open, 1st 2nd 3rd.
200m Plate, 1st 2nd 3rd.
200m Ladies Cup, 1st 2nd 3rd.
200m Juniors, 1st 2nd 3rd.
500m Open, 1st 2nd 3rd.
500m Plate, 1st 2nd 3rd.
2000m Open, 1st 2nd 3rd.
2000m Plate, 1st 2nd 3rd.
Scratch Competition WInner.
Crew Managers:
The crew managers meeting will take place in the bar at 08:45. Racing will commence at 09:30, boat loading for the first race should be at 09:20. Racing is expected to be complete by 17:00.
Tents & Marquees:
These can be erected directly in front of the boathouse shutters. However please keep the public footpath open, this is marked by the change in the concrete blockwork, roughly 5m in front of the shutters. Weights will be required to secure tents/marquees if windy, due to the hardstanding.
Additional Notices:
Please note that there is limited locker storage space within the RTWC for valuables. Paddlers are reminded to take personal responsibility for any valuables that you choose to bring to each event.
