Mission of Parkes Dragon Boat Club
The Parkes Dragon Boat Club aims to promote a healthy, active lifestyle and provide organised opportunities for physical fitness, wellness education and pyschosocial empowerment among people of all ages and fitness levels in the Parkes community.
Major Programmes/Activites
Our major activity is the sport of dragon-boating, conducting training sessions weekly and competing in various regional, state and national regattas. Our club provides the only opportunity in our local region for water sport.
Dragon boating is a fun and accessible sport for people of all ages and all abilities – catering for both competitive and non-competitive members. Whatever the commitment level, paddlers can enjoy the fun, social aspect of the sport as well as deriving great health and fitness benefits. Dragon boating is especially renowned as a sport which embraces and encourages breast cancer survivors.
Additionally, our club provides many opportunities for social interaction and development of friendships enriching social experience, relieving isolation and promoting community inclusiveness..
Users of Facilities and Engagement with Other Community Groups
We have 20 members, but many non-members turn up each week to participate as well. Our members’ ages range from 18 to 73.
Apart from our regular training sessions, we organise special events for a variety of different groups. These include:
- Special paddle events for breast cancer survivors.
- Corporate team building sessions.
- Regular junior paddling sessions for local schools.
- Paddling sessions for special events, ie Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Parkes Elvis Festival etcetera.
We also accommodate paddlers with disabilities, unlike other sports currently available in the community.
We have an open invitation to any members of other clubs visiting Parkes to join our training sessions.
Key Partnerships
PDBC is affiliated with Dragon Boats NSW (DBNSW) and enjoys a strong supportive partnership with Parkes Shire Council.
