On the weekend of 1st September, most of the Aoraki Board directors took a road trip to Twizel to further scope out the site and facilities in preaparation for taking Dragon Boat Racing to the deep and wide waters of Lake Ruataniwha for the first time ever.

Our strategy is to run South Island Championships at least once at the venue so that we can sort out the finer points of how Dragon Boats could use this venue, that has been the home of South Island Rowing for at least 4 decades. Once we prove that it is a world  class venue, we will lobby hard for Ruataniwha to be the venue of choice for the NZDBA National Chapionships.

We found that the water course is excellent, with 10 lanes permanently buoyed, for the full 2,000 meter course. The site has excellent Finish Line Tower facilities, with commmentators box, photo finish, first aid and drug testing rooms, cafeteria, and ample toilet blocks. We will have excellent grassed areas that South Island teams can set up their tents, within very easy reach of Marshalling, Crew Loading while having perfect views of the Finish Line.

When it comes to running Nationals, we will need to stretch teams a little further down the course, but they are still within easy reach of the facilities, parking, food and coffee stands etc.

Twizel town is just 4 minutes away, with excellent facilities. The 8 bars and many restaurants will look after crews, and we will be using the Top Hut Bar and Restaurant for our Prize Giving, although we will be presenting the medals for at least one race distance from the podium in front of the Finish Line. So this means that our facilities will be somewhat closer to hand than Karapiro, where teams tend to spread from Hamilton to Matamata to Te Awamutu.

When it comes to Nationals, the Twizel Events Centre (somewhat bigger than the Sir Don Rowlands Centre in Karapiro) will provide the Prize Giving and After Party venue.

We can't wait to race there!