Four months after joining the CYSM Sea Dragons team, I had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Chinese New Year dragon boat regatta. As a new paddler, I felt nervous but I was also thrilled to be able to experience this, my first regatta.

The Chinese New Year regatta which took place at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat saw us compete in two categories, the 200 m Mixed and 200 m Open, as well as the 2 km sweeps race. With 16 paddlers consisting of 11 girls and 5 guys, our steadfast determination and focus saw us making the major finals of the Open race. What a buzz the 2 km sweeps race was too! 

A big thank you to Carlos and Eric who were acting co-captains for this regatta in Crispy’s absence.  Thanks heaps to our regatta manager, Mandy, for all the preparation and organisation. Thank you to our drummers, Jing and Cindy, and to our sweep, Jack, who all did a sensational job at keeping us focused and guiding us through the races. Thank you to Coach Joe for all the hard work leading to this regatta. His confidence in us as a team and his patient instruction has seen us grow positively. 

We greatly appreciate the help of Wally and Andy for volunteering on the day.  Thank you to Eric, Tony and Elaine for capturing the fabulous moments with photos and videos.  Lastly thanks to the team for this exhilarating experience. 

Bring on the next regatta!

- Connie Li Wai Suen

​Photo: Connie and fellow first-timer to regatta Oana Sanislav

For photos and videos from the day, don't forget to check out our club Facebook page.