On Saturday 3 November, the CYSM Sea Dragons headed off to Horsham in preparation for the Horsham Regatta on Sunday 4 November. This was the very first time the team attended the Horsham Regatta, so we were excited to be racing in a new environment. 

For the Horsham Regatta, we joined forces again with the Geelong Dragon Boat Club to bolster our Senior crews and provide more opportunities for racing experience. The races consisted of only 200m, so they were very fast paced! 

After the jam-packed day was over, the CYSM Sea Dragons and Geelong Dragon Boat Club came 2nd in the Premier Open 10s, 2nd in the Senior A Open 10s, 2nd in the Senior A Mixed 10s and 3rd in the Premier Mixed 10s. Our Premier Womens 10s team also came 1st in the minor final, which is an amazing achievement. 

The Horsham Regatta was also the first regatta for a couple of our newest members, Anthony Alvior and Henry Chan. It was also Alex Nguyen’s second regatta since he joined our team. A huge congratulation to them for giving their best in the regatta! To relive the day, read about Anthony’s first regatta experience below: 

Someone asked me why did I choose CYSM as my dragonboat paddling club? My quick response was - it is the first club I trained with? I immediately fell in love with the sport? So… I signed up? 

I never knew that my first training on one hot Saturday morning would be first of the many good memories I spent on the water. 

Dragon boat paddling for newbies like me requires a lot of work, focus and dedication. “Keep it long, reach, drive, up, make every paddle count” were the common phrases I heard during water trainings. 

I could vividly remember paddling on one Tuesday night (my second training) - it was cold, windy and raining. After paddling 1km straight, I started to question myself if I made the right decision to train that day. “One down! Nine to go!” I hear a loud voice from behind. Believe me, every succeeding stroke that night was painful and a battle between mind and body. “Do not stop! You need to keep up with the team! Never give up! Keep going! Up until the last paddle!”

Fast forward after 6 weeks of training, I had my first race. Time to put all learnings to test. Am I ready? I hope so! My biggest fear during that time was to screw up and let the team down after putting so much effort in training. Focus, be attentive, be alert, follow Kai as he paddles, listen to your sweep, empty the tank were some of the words lingering on my head as I bury my paddle in the water waiting for the four big words! “Are you ready? GO!” Nevertheless, I had so much fun. You never know indeed what to expect on your first race. You’ll just have to DO IT! Will I do it again? Without a doubt I WILL!

If I’d be asked what’s the best part of my first race? It is the privilege of paddling with an amazing and inspiring team! I can really see the sense of community, commitment and drive to achieve success! Cheers to more Regattas!

Thank you team for inspiring me to give my very best!
--
Anthony Alvior