Dragon Boaters from all over Ireland are hotly contesting a place on the Irish Women’s International Dragon Boat team that will be travelling to the European Dragon Boat Championships in Rome in late July, and the World Championships in China in 2017.
At the end of March, these women will be travelling to Murcia, Spain, for intensive training at the world renowned Dragonboat Pinatar Training Camp. This will be followed by an international regatta at the same location. All this is ahead of the final selection in April for the team that will travel to Rome to compete in the European Championships.
In Dragon Boating physical strength, extreme fitness, technical supremacy and mental endurance is the name of the game. The Irish team is made up of 20+ women that have those attributes running through their veins.
They will need it, as the races we will be entering are run over 200m, 500m and 2,000m distances during which we will be propelling the boat at speeds 4 meters per second.
Exceptional strength is needed to carry the combined weight of our 22 woman crew, drum, steering oar and a boat weighing 250kg. All the while battling the elements, currents and the wake of other boats. The dedicated squad is made up of ex provincial rugby players, marathon runners, karate champions, endurance athletes, competitive rowers and dedicated sportswomen from all backgrounds with one thing in common – the will to win.
The Irish women’s coach is Carlow man, Mick Doyle! The World Championship gold medallist has over 24 years’ experience in the sport and has raced competitively for Great Britain. Through his work with the Irish Dragon Boating Association (IDBA) and his attendance at a number of Dragon Boating regatta’s being held around Ireland, Mick said that he noticed a number of ‘highly athletic, competitive and committed paddlers’. Since July 2015, in conjunction with the IDBA, Mick has been running gruelling training and selection camps. He said he could not believe ‘the drive, the competitiveness and mental strength that these incredible women were displaying during these camps’
Support the Irish International Women’s Team through their Fundraising initiative with Pledge Sports:
https://www.pledgesports.org/projects/irish-international-womens-dragon-boat-team-2/
Follow the progress of the Irish International Women’s Dragon Boating team http://www.facebook.com/IrishInternationalWomensDragonBoatTeam
http://twitter.com/IrishDBT #Trainhard #Hardtobeat #irishDBT #COYGIG
Sitting there reading this wondering, “What is Dragon Boat Racing?” well keep reading to find out more!
About Dragon Boating.
Dragon Boat racing is the fastest growing team sport in the world and is gaining an increasing amount of exposure on television, radio and in general media! Modern day dragon boating has evolved as a high performance, extremely competitive sport with over 50 million paddlers participating annually in competitions worldwide and is the fastest growing water sport in the world. The fast growing Dragon Boating clubs can be seen training at a river near you! Check out the IDBA website for a list of clubs and their training times.
Dragon boating was originally introduced to Ireland in the early 1990’s when boats were first brought from the UK to hold events. In 2005 the IDBA was formed, though only really in name, until the Association was formally launched in Dublin in October 2010 and now has 8 full time Dragon Boat clubs affiliated to the IDBA in addition to a considerable number of clubs who are not yet members.
Figures show that there are over 1,500 competitive Dragon Boat Paddlers in Ireland.
About the Irish Dragon Boat Association (IDBA)
The Irish Dragon Boat Association (IDBA) is the National Governing Body of the sport of dragon boat racing in Ireland. The IDBA is responsible for all aspects of the sport from community development through to managing Irish teams racing abroad. The Irish Dragon Boat Association Limited is registered in Ireland as a company limited by guarantee without share capital; registration no. 540321.
Follow the progress of the Irish International Women’s Dragon Boating team on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/IrishInternationalWomensDragonBoatTeam and on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IrishDBT #Trainhard #Hardtobeat
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