Canberra – March 2014
It was now one month away from Nationals, training hard with
Komodo and getting ready for our last regatta for the season in Canberra. ACT Championships this year was also an
invitational regatta, which allowed interstate clubs to come down and compete
alongside the Canberra clubs that were about to battle out for the best in the
ACT. Komodo was training hard and coming into this regatta feeling strong, and
the whole club was ready for as the regatta was spread across two days. Day one
was 200m and 2km’s while day two was 500’s, which we were all strong and fit
enough to put in the effort.
The first day went with reasonable weather, which didn’t
burn and was perfect for racing. We remained focused and we did deliver to come
out winning silver across 200m and in the 2m. By the end of the first day we
had felt it and needed a good rest if we were going to have to be able to pull
an effort the next day. Previously
before, we had been told we were expecting to benchmark on Sunday afternoon at the
end of the two day regatta, but at the end of the first day, we got let off,
due to the fact that we were racing.
Day two went by without any hassles, we raced, we laughed and
we were happy without results and set us in a good mind set for nationals. Interacting
and talking to other clubs that are from Canberra was also good and got us
prepared for the amount of teams we would be racing against. Seeing some other
auroras paddlers who had come down with their clubs also added on, the whole
weekend really captured the sense of community that dragonboating has in Canberra.
Everyone is always smiling no matter the result, everyone works together and
puts in their all and this sense of community and family is an aspect that
brings everyone closer. Dragonboating is
a team sport, and it really feels like a second family, and this happens in the
auroras too, as we prepared for china.
The weekend had passed, we rested our time and got straight
back into training, this was the point to where we had to be on our game. For komodo
not just to be one of the top teams in the ACT but now it was time to prove it
to the rest of the country. Along with competing at nationals, in Queensland,
we would also be presented with our auroras jersey. This was a moment that we
had been waiting for and it was also there.
