Aoraki Dragon Boat
Association (Inc)
Christchurch, NZ

Christchurch city venues

Aoraki Dragons see three key strategies to growing the sport;

• make it affordable,
• make it flexible,
• make it visible.

Previously, training on Lyttelton required a safety boat and crew (at a cost!) and a keen eye out for changeable weather. And while Lake Roto Kohatu is a great venue, it has a high rental cost and is out of the public's eye. So Aoraki Dragons have great solution...

The Avon River provides a perfect venue for training, practices, regattas and festivals. Boats are in relatively shallow waters, never far from the shore and even extreme weather doesn't pose the same risk as on open seas.

Kerr's Reach

Porritt Park in Dallington is home to Canterbury's rowing community for a good reason. The Avon River is about 45 metres wide along this reach, and runs straight for about a kilometer. Kerr's Reach is ideal for Dragon Boat racing, making it easy to set a course of nearly any distance; the Internationally run 200 or 250m sprint, the middle distance 500m or a full 1,000m course.

The stretch of water is also ideal for training runs, with a broad turning circle at the southern end (past the finish line). Click here for more details...

New Brighton

Further downstream, Canterbury Paddling Club have been using the City Council compound off Owles Terrace for many years. This venue has the advantage that it is well clear of the stretch that rowers and kayakers practice on. Click here for more details...

Out of town

Aoraki is also looking at other venues in Canterbury and the South Island for hosting events, and for fostering new teams (schools and corporates). 

Lake Hood (just out of Ashburton) is high on the list, for a number of very good reasons. Click here for more details...

Dunedin Harbour has been used in the past, and in January 2009, Otago Museum and Aoraki will stage a special regatta in conjunction with their installation: "THE EMPEROR’S DRAGONS, Precious Collections from the Shanghai Museum".

Longer term, Aoraki is also looking at the Southern Lakes which give plenty of options. Queenstown and Frankton Arm are superb venues, as would be Wanaka shorefront.

And once the sport grows with more Otago/Southland teams, Aoraki will look toward Lake Ruataniwha near Twizel to stage events.