MANNING River Dragon Boat Club head coach Wendy Orman is one of four Northern Region paddlers who will head to Pattaya, Thailand between August 7-13th to compete in the 16th International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) World Dragon Boat Championships.
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Wendy along with Port Macquarie's Ken Fitzgerald, Lorrae Fitzgerald, and Elizabeth Harrison have been named in the Senior C (over 60) Australian team.
This followed trials held in Canberra earlier this year.
The group had to perform a single 20s dragon boat strength paddle over 200m, full push ups for a minute, a three-minute plank, pull ups and a 500m Concept 2 rower ERG. They then spent a full day and a half racing against other competitors in dragon boats to gain selection.
Once the Australian championships were completed in April, the Auroras' training began with the members training three times per week, on top of the four club training sessions, two gym sessions and one aerobic session which included the concept 2 rower, jogging or high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions.
The Taree hub began their sessions on Thursday, May 4 and train Thursdays, Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings since, only stopping to attend compulsory training camps with the entire squad in Sydney.
This is the first time the national team has allowed paddlers to train in their regional areas in hubs, which has reduced travelling and costs for the campaign.
Ken, Lorrae, and Elizabeth all come from the Flamin' Dragon club in Port Macquarie and were delighted that they only needed to travel to Taree to train the three times a week. Other Auroras travel to the hub to join when they can. In the meantime, the Manning River Dragon Boat Club paddlers are happy to fill the boat and get the experience of the Aurora training. Many of the club paddlers are keen to try out for the next campaign.
Wendy is delighted at the club paddlers commitment and enthusiasm. State representative Paul Frankham, Jo Harris (sweep), and Geoff Reay rarely miss a session and are looking forward to putting up their hand to try out for the national squad next time.
Wendy is happy to talk to anyone keen keen to take up dragon boating. The club holds regular Learn 2 Paddle programs. Contact Wendy on 0407 543 813 check the club's Facebook page, Instagram or website.
