18 members of CDBC competed for Western Australia in three age groups at the National Championships at Champion Lakes. Some members were lucky enough to bring home some “bling” – a silver medal in the Senior B (over 50s) and bronze medals in the Senior A (over 40s) and Senior C (over 60s).
14 April was the Mixed, Mens and Womens 200 metre 10s teams and all the CDBC teams exceeded expectations, particularly for a club with very small numbers. All these teams did very well, especially the mens’ team who managed to get a full team and competed strongly.
15 April was the 500 metre 10s races and we entered a Women’s A and B team. Both of these teams made the semi-finals and overall it was the best that we had ever done at any Nationals.
Congratulations to “Moose” (Graeme Bradbury) Life Member of Cockburn Dragon Boat Club for winning this prestigious award for his outstanding contribution to dragon boating over many years.
David Blackley Award 2015 Winner ‘Moose” (Graeme Bradbury) CDBC Life Member
Absolutely awesome effort by all CDBC paddlers at the State Titles. We had 99% of our paddlers compete, 22 women and 8 men. It was fantastic to see a mixed team on the water and we improved by 28 seconds in the 2 km over the whole season. As well as this, our women’s team had the most points for the season and then we managed to win 4 x silver medals against a very strong, fit Fremantle Swan team who boasted three Aurora paddlers and some juniors!
Fantastic effort at the 10s State Dragon Boat Titles on Sunday, 15 March. It was especially great to have an open team as well as the mixed and women’s. A huge effort was made by our women’s team in both the 200m and 500m races against a strong field of seven teams. The girls paddled with 100% fitness, aggression, focus and determination winning both heats. But, Freo Swan, who had three Aurora National paddlers, out foxed us at the finish line by taking gold in both races. The coach is very proud of the girls as she believes that Freo thought it was going to be easy to beat us. We lost by 0.8 secs in the 500m!!!
Thirteen Cockburn members travelled to Bunbury during the long weekend to compete in the ‘Aqua Spectacular’ afternoon and evening regatta. Our Mixed team won its event, and a cash prize, and enjoyed the relaxed style of competition. As the sun set, paddlers added glow sticks and face paint to their attire, making an impressive sight on the water.
Coach’s Report. Awesome effort from both the women’s and mixed teams winning six out of ten races. Job well done. So back to the drawing board for the State Titles in three weeks. We still all need to work on our sit-back, length of stroke and race plan as the other clubs will be training harder to catch us. Let’s make a big team effort to support our team mates by turning up to three training sessions per week plus doing other training to improve our aerobic fitness.
Coach’s Report. Great to see CDBC field a Mixed and Open 200 metre crew for the first time this season. Unfortunately, Viv’s strength, sweeping the 2 km race saw her snap the sweep ore and that’s an example of her strength paddling in the boat! The Women’s 20s, 200 metre crew had three close second places to Fremantle Swan, which was very pleasing. We now have to work on our fitness for the 500 metre racing which will be much harder. In the 10s, 200 metre Women’s race, I was hoping to improve our ratings by coming two firsts and a second which, unfortunately, we were unable to do in the third race, where we placed third behind Perth Pirates who were a good half a boat length in front, followed by arch rivals Freo Swans. All in all, these were pleasing results. It is very important to improve our overall fitness by training two to three times a week in the boat as well as running, swimming or cycling the rest of the week at a level to at least double the heart rate. Onwards and upwards! Sue
At this Regatta, CDBC saw an increase in paddler numbers and the amount of races we competed in. The Women’s 500 metre 10s crew were awesome placing 1st, 2nd and a very, very, close 3rd. We were able to put in a competitive 500 metre Mixed 10s crew and as some of the men were new to the sport, we can only get better. Our 400 metre 20s Mixed team fielded eight men and 12 women and improved in each heat winning the start in the third heat. The club did extremely well in the 2 km race, coming fourth out of eight teams, an improvement of three places and looked very fluid with great timing and length of stroke. We can only get better by improving our numbers and fitness.
From the Women’s Coach, Sue Roberts: “I’m very proud of the Women’s 10s crew who won two seconds and one first. It was great to have a Mixed 10s crew with only two men. We can only improve as the season progresses. The 2 Km was a wonderful experience for our ‘newbys’ and we hope to have a 10s Mixed team for the next Regatta. Onwards and upwards CDBC!”
Long-serving members honoured at first regatta
The day started bright and early for the Cockburn Blades as the first regatta of the season also celebrated the clubs 30th Anniversary. The members proceeded to set up the tents and the BBQ. The substantial raffle prizes were well displayed and caught the eye of many a paddler willing to try their luck. Club members also contributed to setting for DBWA and helping other clubs unload their boats.
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