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.
An invitation to create some smoke on the water…………..
The Chinese New Year of the dragon commenced on 23 January and the dragon’s element sign for this year is water so what better way to celebrate than to take up the Chinese national sport of dragon boating. Dragon boat racing has ancient Chinese origins and its history goes back more than 2,000 years.
Powerhouse Dragonboat Club is based at the River Tees Water Sports Centre in Dugdale Street on the North Shore of the River Tees and they are looking for new members to train and take part in the British Dragonboat Association’s national league racing events. Racing is a colorful and exciting affair with dragon boats dressed with fierce dragon heads & tails. Drums are beaten to time the stroke rate and you can almost imagine smoke emitting from the dragons flared nostrils!
The first event of the racing season is on 21 April and a planned series of events culminates with a national cup at the National Water Sports Centre at Nottingham in late September or early October. Powerhouse will actually be hosting a national 2 day league event on the River Tees on 4 & 5 August this year.
Through the winter months training aims to get the crew fitter and stronger and more powerful with one river session on a Saturday morning. Once British Summer time begins the crew is on the river twice a week to practice technique and improve stroke rates and race times.
A crew consists of 22 members, comprising 10 pairs of paddlers, a drummer (cox) and a helm (steer). Powerhouse crew members range in age from ten to 60, with a mix of both males and females; it is for everyone to enjoy.
The Powerhouse Dragonboat crew will be in Captain Cook Square in Cleveland Centre, Middlesbrough, on Saturday 17th March and will have one of their dragonboats on display so you can go along and see what it’s all about.
So if your New Year’s resolution was to get fitter, take up a hobby or sport, lose weight – then dragon boating could be for you. Anyone who would like to give paddling a go can try two free separate taster sessions on a Saturday morning from 10.00 am.
For more information, call 07504 063023
The Stockton BDA Leauge event meets the Stockton International Riverside Festival!
See the flyer for more details:
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Powerhouse Dragonboat club are welcoming people to come along to give it a try and join in the fun. Dragon boating is an exciting and fast growing water sport in the UK which unlike many other sports is open to all ages and abilities. The powerhouse bunch is a very mixed bag with male and female members ranging from 11 to 63 years of age from all walks of life. Dragon boating has a very strong team ethos as each boat consists of a crew of 20 paddlers, 1 drummer and 1 helm so it has a great social side to it as well.
The club is busy starting to train for the coming racing season so now would be a great time to get involved, our training base is the river tees water sports centre and we train on the river most Saturdays, paddling along some surprisingly picturesque stretches of the river tees. With gym and circuit sessions at the fully equipped centre during the week for those who feel the need for the burn!
So before you sign up to that monthly gym subscription ask yourself if you’d prefer a low cost, no obligation, friendly and very fun way to get fit this year.
For more details contact: 07504 063023