FOUR young paddlers from the Manning River Dragon Boating Club competed at the Australian Dragon Boat Championships held at Docklands in Melbourne.
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Tara Manahan from Wingham High School, Sean Page and Emily and Sam Thompson from St Clare’s High School paddled with the Torpedoes - a group of junior paddlers from Grafton to Sydney and west to Orange.
During the five days the Torpedos competed in seven junior events ranging from 2km races to 200m sprints. In each event they successfully made it to finals where they faced tough competition from teams from Queensland, ACT and Freemantle.
The junior women’s 10s team won a bronze medal. While the Torpedos had a great start they were beaten over the line by the Freemantle Swans and Queensland Sonics. It was a great effort from the team.
The Torpedoes finished fourth or fifth in all other events.
“The team showed such great improvement as the week of racing progressed. Being from across NSW this team only comes together a few times a year to train as a team, which is such a contrast to the teams they compete against who train together weekly,’’ coach Leanne Thompson said.
The Torpedos were also selected as the Northern NSW Junior Team to compete in the State versus State races.
Due to unforeseen circumstances these races were cancelled, which was disappointing for all of the teams, but all of the Torpedos are eager to try-out again next year.
Both Leanne and Martin Thompson, who take on the role of coaches, managers and support crew were excited by the Torpedoes performance at the Australian Championships.
“They are a great bunch of kids who work hard as individuals to be a successful team. They made us, their parents and their clubs very proud of their efforts - but the work isn’t over yet,’’ Leanne said.
In June the team is off to the World Club Crew Championships in Hong Kong where competing against international teams will be a highlight for many of these junior paddlers.
Manning River Dragon Boat Club has been eagerly seeking reports on the Torpedos performance over the last week. “The team has performed so well at the Australian championships - we are very proud of their efforts,” club president Jen Schubert said.
The club has been running a number of fund raising events to assist the Torpedoes going to Hong Kong, one of which is a trivia night on Friday April 20.
“We hope the success achieved by our junior paddlers will encourage more kids to join them in this great sport. With 20 paddlers in each boat it encourages teamwork and is great for keeping fit. It is also wonderful to get out and enjoy our river,’’ Jen said.
“ We offer five training sessions a week which means most people can find a session that they can attend.”
If anyone is interested in having a go at dragon boating or coming along to the trivia night they can contact Jen on 6553 7808.