Pōneke Watersports are a Wellington based Dragonboat club. Recruiting always. DM us for more info We currently have five teams. Must be able to swim 50m.
Pōneke Watersports, previously known as Valley Dragonboat club was established back in 2009. We are the largest Dragon boat club in The lower North Island with women's, masters, and mixed teams. Hutt Valley Heat - Women's
Kakariki - Mixed
Silver Dragons - Masters (40+)
Force - Women’s
Ika Moana - Mixed
The dragonboat season in Wellington starts late December and goes until mid March with schedule
09/05/2026
This week is NZ Sign Language Week, so there’s no better time to introduce you to our paddler, Emily 💙
Here’s Emily in Boracay signing with a Filipino paddler from the adaptive team.
Emily was part of the crew that travelled to the Philippines for the in 2026, and one of the coolest parts of travelling is the connections you make along the way.
Sport has a pretty special way of bringing people together 🐲
02/05/2026
A sweeps view 👀
First Sunday back for club training post .boat.festival and
We even spotted our mates from enjoying their paddle into Whairepo Lagoon
More Sunday mornings like this please. 🙏
Wish you were here 📍
27/04/2026
Photo dump from the last few days.
Such a great experience paddling in Boracay and meeting crews from all around the world.
We could definitely get used to this heat. Where will Pōneke head next? 😉🌏
What an epic few days 🥰🐲🏝️
25/04/2026
Just taking the Pōneke blue abroad 💙
Repping hard with paddlers from our Nationals and Wellington Festival crews, plus some borrowed legends from our mates at and a couple of corporate paddlers who paddled at .boat.festival - and let’s not forget our support crew … safe to say we’ve made our stamp on the Philippines 🇵🇭
So good connecting with crews both local and international, the energy here is something else.
Day 1 done. More updates tomorrow 🐲
23/04/2026
Hello from the Philippines 👋
Pōneke content incoming…
What a crew. What a team. What an atmosphere at this year 🔥
Off-season training kicks off in May. Join us for some paddling through the cooler months, build your skills, and who knows, you might be lining up with us at Nationals in 2027 🐲
New paddlers always welcome. Come give it a go. Links in bio
09/04/2026
Fourth in the country, baby!!! 💪
It’s not often you see people celebrating just missing out on the podium, but in our case we couldn’t be happier.
First time entering a women’s standard crew into and we showed up. What started as a goal just to make a grand final turned into making both - and finishing fourth in the country in both the 200m and 500m. Safe to say… we shocked ourselves.
Big shout out to our coach Anita Taggart, who pushed and tested us over the past six months. Captains Steph Jones and Mika Hiroi for being the therapy this women’s crew oh-so needed. Manager Sophie Pételaud for being the organisation machine she is. And finally, sweeps Amanda Shrapnell and Rachel Sommerfield for being queens on the back of the boats. 👑
With 1/3 of the boat experiencing Nationals for the first time and several others returning after a few seasons off, we’re pretty excited to see what a Pōneke Watersports women’s crew could achieve.
Dangerous mode activated 😉
Twizel 2027 locked in!
Also shout out to Dave Hart for all the epic action shots. We’re still fizzing!
09/04/2026
The lads brought it and were riding a high all weekend long 🔥
With the club changing up our entries for this season, it meant the men were on their own.
A small but mighty crew stepped up in the 200m and 500m Open Premier divisions, placing 5th in both Grand Finals 👏
Coached by Baz Taniwha and Ngatau Hemopo, captained by Jamie Brathwaite, and swept by Michael Elwood-Smith, these lads were in very good hands every step of the way.
Beyond the water, they were also the number one cheerleaders and water boys when the girls raced … meeting crews after every race with high fives, hydration sprints from the tent to crew loading, and plenty of hype throughout the days.
The club is proud of the energy, the teamwork, and the way the backed the whole club all weekend.
Bring on the South Island and Twizel for Nationals 2027
| 8:30am - 10am |