Gippsland Water Dragons Dragon Boat Club

Fantastic start to the 26.27 Regatta season last Sunday, 26.07.2026 at the Footscray Regatta on the Maribyrnong River. Gippsland Water Dragons Dragon Boat Club, with the support of our secondary members from Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club Therese, Lisa, Wendy, Dee, Brenda, Rachael and Leanne bagged 1 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 Bronze trophies in various events. Past president and founding member Heather Watts also added her support to the team effort. Sally spent the day as our VIP volunteer, because without volunteers and our supporters the day would not go ahead. Thank you to our coaches who spent many many hours putting the crews together- Well done! Gippy Water Dragons has not stopped paddling and training during the winter and it shows! Many members are striving for and achieving significant personal goals! Thank you to our family and friends who support us in our endeavours! Thanks to our photographers - and all the posts and stats on the ClubWhatsApp Chat page - those of us at home love to see whats happening!

Finishers are grinners! Just saying....Ord River Marathon 7/6/2026
https://youtu.be/sJ_JEXTZ3w4

Well, its done!! The Ord River Marathon 2026 was conquered yesterday, and we all survived! Many of us are very pleased with how we are feeling today, (all be it a bit sore) which is a reflection on the training and preparation we have been doing over the last 10months or so. Many personal challenges have been overcome, and many personal goals, including bucket list items, have been met! For an overview of the course click https://strava.app.link/snFvoGB0M3b Thanks Liz!
Thank you to ALL of our fellow club members, family and friends, who have supported and encouraged us all the way! A few photos to give you an idea of the days events! I will continue to add more when they are available.

Medal Tally is in!! Congratulations to all!!
Australian Championships
Victorian State Senior C side.
Gippsland Water Dragon Dragon Boat Club Members
Jim Callaghan, Karen Shell and Mick Curran
Gold - Senior C Mixed 20’s 500 metres
Silver -Women’s 10’s 1km turn race
Bronze - Women’s 10s 500 metres
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Australian Club Crew Championships
Gippsland Water Dragon Dragon Boat Club Members
Denise McMillan, Karen Shell and Kim Costin
paddling with Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club
Silver- Senior B Women’s 10s 2km (Oceania medal) raced against New Zealand
Bronze - Senior B Women’s 10s 200metre
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Australian Championships
Victorian State senior B side.
Gippsland Water Dragon Dragon Boat Club Members
Eleisha Keogh and Dione King
Bronze - Senior B Mixed 20’s 500 metres
Bronze Senior B Women’s 10’s 500 metres (This was the Trans-Tasman Championship-incl NZ)
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Australian Club Crew Championships
Gippsland Water Dragon Dragon Boat Club Members
Eleisha Keogh, Dione King, Mick Curran, Jim Callaghan and Paddy Horgan
paddling with Beechworth Golden Serpents Dragon Boat Club
Bronze- Senior B mixed 20's 2km
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Australian Club Crew Championships
Gippsland Water Dragon Dragon Boat Club Members
Gary Shaw, Johann Ruth, Neville Clow and Liz McCormack paddled with the Kingfisher Dragon Boat Club and had a fantastic time too, bringing home many fun memories!

We will be thrilled to welcome our members home, who have just finished competing at the AusChamps in Queensland. Some have heavier carry-on luggage to deal with 🥇🥈🥉 but they will also have a spring in their step!🎊 Medal detail to follow soon! They joined with Beechworth Golden Serpents Dragon Boat Club Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club and Kingfisher Dragon Boat Club and have made so many more paddling friendships! Well done and congratulations to you all!

Gippsland Water Dragons Dragon Boat Club is excited for this weekend! 13 of our members are joining forces with 3 other Dragonboat Clubs to compete at the Australian Dragonboat Championships in Queensland. They will be competing with Kingfisher Dragon Boat Club based in Paynesville, Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club, based in Albury and Beechworth Golden Serpents Dragon Boat Club , based in Beechworth and then coming together to also represent Victoria against other State Representative teams. Congratulations to you all- your hard work is already paying off!

Gippsland Water Dragons Dragon Boat Club did not have enough paddlers in our own right to compete at the Victorian Championships last weekend BUT 11 members were welcomed into other clubs' boats who were very pleased to have them aboard! Beechworth Golden Serpents Dragon Boat Club (in black) were joined by Dione King, Paddy Horgan, Eleisha Keogh, Mick Curran and Jim Callaghan. Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Club ( in green) were joined by Denise McMillan, Karen Shell and Kim Costin. Kingfisher Dragon Boat Club ( in orange/blue) were Neville Clow, Gary Shaw and Johann Ruth. Spectacular effort from Victorian regional clubs with trophies to be carted home by all, I hear! Details to follow! Thank you to our neighbors for your friendship! Congratulations to you all!!!

Gippsland Water Dragons Dragon Boat Club participated in Clean Up Australia activities today, collecting rubbish from the Sale Canal, which we use regularly. Items recovered included a number of fishing rods, a traffic bollard, milk crate, a broom, and assorted cans etc. The broom was presented to the sweep (😜) and 3 shopping trollies reported. Thankyou everyone for your help today, organising and registering, reaching and balancing from the boat, in rather precarious positions!

We had a fantastic day out at the Paynesville Classic Boat Rally February 28th and Sunday March 1st 2026 this morning! The weather was fantastic and Paynesville is a great place to be!! Thankyou to all the organisers, including our own members who suggested, planned, entered and otherwise organised the many details that need to be managed to make a Club day out like this happen!! Thanks to our photographers and stat manager! Great fun catching up with our neighboring dragonboat clubs Kingfisher Dragon Boat Club and Gippsland Waratahs DA Great to see you all!🤩 See you all next time!

Congratulations to Kim and Mick, on being selected as Captains for their respective Vic26 teams. There are a number of Gippsland Water Dragons in the Vic26 teams. Congratulations to you all and wishing the best of luck in the upcoming Championships! Remember, we are behind you all the way!

Vic26 Regional Crew
Team Manager - Johann
Captain Womens Crew - Kim
Denise
Paddy
Gary

Vic26 Senior B Crew
Dione
Eleisha

Vic26 Senior C Crew
Captain - Mick
Karen S
Jim

24U
Team Manager - Zonda