National at Ashburton (Lake Hood)
The NZDBA National Championship dragon boat regatta was held on Saturday 27th and 28th-March-2010 at "Lake Hood" about 6km east of Ashburton (click for venue info).
The day to day logistics of the event were effectively being run by local members of NZDBA; Meri as PR/Communications Director and Noel as Secretary. The board of Aoraki staged the two-day event on behalf of NZDBA - in particular two of Aoraki's key team members, Peter Mitchell and Rick Smith controlled the logistics of the two days.
Adult team racing - Saturday 27-March
The 33 degree-plus temperatures that the pack-in crew endured while setting up on Friday, were unfortunately swept away by a severe Southerly front on Saturday morning. Lake Hood developed a light swell and white caps as the 24 adult teams were setting up in their marquees.
The organisers knew that racing would be very difficult for the paddlers in cold conditions, so the start of racing was delayed until about 11 am to allow the winds to drop, and the waters to settle. Racing continued without mishap or tip out. Results were as follows:
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Breast Cancer Grand Final: |
time |
| 1 |
Busting With Life (Auckland) |
2:35.35 |
| 2 |
BoobOps (Tauranga) |
2:36.27 |
| 3 |
Abreast of Life (Christchurch) |
2:36.85 |
| 4 |
Pink Dragons (Auckland) |
2:37.65 |
| 5 |
CanSurvive (Wellington) |
2:42.19 |
| 6 |
Simply the Breast (Blenheim) |
2:43.98 |
Fastest Corporate: Beca Crewsaders
Fastest Council: North Shore City Council (sorry EW!)
Fastest 'Defense': Nga Waka Hoe Air Force
Fastest U23: Ridgeriders U23
Fastest open: HCWS
Outstanding effort: Waimak Attack
NZDBA Board Award: Noel Anderton
Schools Day - Sunday 28-March
The cold weather eased (just slightly) on the Sunday for Secondary Schools to strut their stuff.
Boys Schools
Christchurch team Shirley Boys High School again proved to be strong. However their local rivals St Bedes beat Shirley in Round 1 (race 3) by 0.15 seconds, despite SBHS making a very strong finish. Then in Round 2 Bedes posted a (1.19 second) faster time than Shirley, but SBHS took the honours in Rounds 3 and 4. But in the end, it counts for nothing in the final:
Mixed Schools
A late bid by Upper Hutt Storm to get to Nationals failed, so Hillmorton High faced a difficult task of chasing their own targets - and they proved they are true and worthy champions.
Girls Schools
Local team Christchurch Girls High performed well this season so were anxious to see how they performed against arch-rivals Epsom Girls Grammar who had been dominating the Auckland competition.
For seven years, Christchurch Girls High have been chasing Epsom Girls Grammar EGGS (who were National Champs in 2009), so they were particularly pleased to take the top honours on their home ground. Meanwhile Marian backed up a very strong season, coming a close third in the final.
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