MANNING Dragon Boat Club competed at the Australian championships for the first time this year.
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They headed to Champion Lakes, Armadale, Perth to take on the best teams in Australia.
With just 19 paddlers, the Mighty Manning team entered the small boat category and made it to the finals of the senior A mixed event.
With only two of the 12 team members for the small boat in the senior A category, the remainder being over 50 and 60 years of age, head coach, Wendy Orman, was ecstatic.
"The MRDB club has worked so hard this year to recruit keen paddlers and to make it to the Grand Final in the 40-50 age bracket, was amazing,'' Wendy said.
The conditions were so tough in Perth, with winds of up to 47km making it extremely difficult to keep the boats under control. The first morning of racing had five boats tip over during the racing.
Manning River had three boats sweeps (steerers) work in the difficult conditions and managed not to tip and get over the finish line safely. To then qualify for the finals was so thrilling.
The senior A mixed team also did extremely well in the 2km turn race finishing ninth out of the field of 12.
"Everyone was thrilled to see a regional NSW team doing so well against such strong city and metropolitan area teams from around Australia,'' Wendy said.
The 16 Manning River Dragon Boat Club representatives who were selected for the NSW Northern Region state team paddled on the Friday of the Australian championships and picked up a bronze in the small boat women's 500m, silver in the small boats open 500m, a bronze in the standard (20s) boat mixed 500m and a bronze in the small boat women's 1000m.
Manning River Dragon Boat Club are back in training preparing for the Kalang regatta in the first weekend of May and are then immediately starting a new Learn2Paddle Program.
They hope to attract some more keen paddlers and are setting their sights on nationals in 2025 in Sydney, where they hope to compete in the standard boat and small boat events.
Any community member interested in joining the Mighty Manning Dragon Boat Club and the Learn2Paddle Program starting on Saturday, May 11 can contact Cassandra Kyle on 0402 114 645.
