Latest news with #WorldDragonBoatRacingChampionships
NZ Herald
01-08-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Whanganui dragonboater Anne Kauika returns home from world championships with five medals
She won gold in the 2km senior B (50-plus age group) mixed small boat and in the women's small boat 500m race. Her silvers came in the 200m mixed small boat and in the women's senior B small boat for 2km and 200m. Kauika said the gold in the 500m women's small boat was the most satisfying race after winning by 0.2 seconds over Canada and nearly 0.5 seconds over the United States. 'That was the best race ever over 500m, there was less than a second across the first three crews, none of us knew who'd won, we had to wait until someone called from the bank,' Kauika said. 'Our team on the bank just went nuts, and it was like, 'yes', because they'd beaten us in the other races. So to win that on the last day was very cool.' Whanganui dragonboater Anne Kauika was a part of the New Zealand women's small boat crew which won gold in 500m race at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany last month. They went into the grand final as the fifth fastest qualifier from their heat and shaved off 2.5 seconds for their final time. 'It was just one of those sweet rides where you get to the end and you're all knackered but it felt easy, in a way, because everything came together,' Kauika said. The first-place 2km senior B (50-plus age group) mixed small boat won the grand final by 11 seconds over Canada. Kauika said the event was a great experience and the squad came together well, thanks to the help of the management team. 'As a squad, we were awesome. All New Zealand teams made finals in everything, and it's the best campaign medal count New Zealand has ever had – it was great, connected group of people and team atmosphere.' The dragon boat season is now over, but Kauika will switch her focus to her waka ama training for the upcoming season. She will head to Hamilton for a training camp on August 9 in preparation for nationals in January 2026.
RTÉ News
15-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ireland represented for first time at World Dragon Boat Racing Championships
Tara Byrne, member of the Irish Women's Dragon Boat team, discusses the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany.
Hamilton Spectator
11-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Take it away! St. Catharines company selling in Germany for World Dragon Boat Championships
Joe Camillo and Chris Cookson are heading to Germany this weekend with more than a little Niagara in their suitcases. The co-owners of RegattaSport in St. Catharines have shipped thousands of products from branded hats to water bottles across the ocean for their company's arrival as the official merchandiser of the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships. 'I think it's great to be there selling to the world with product made right in our backyard,' Camillo said this week before flying out Friday. The company, with headquarters on Queenston Street and a retail store in Port Dalhousie, won a competitive bid for the international event taking place from July 14 to 20 in Brandenburg an der Havel. Nearly 5,000 athletes and supporters from 33 countries will be at the races with thousands of spectators expected to cheer them on. Camillo said RegattaSport has already done close to $40,000 in pre-order sales of assorted merchandise and expects to be busy selling more over seven days of races. They've partnered with a German company and will have the ability to print more products on site as needed. Fans will be able to pick up long and short-sleeved shirts, hoodies, pins, mugs, socks and an array of other products with the official world dragon boat logo from the St. Catharines company. 'We plan to do significantly more than what we did in pre-orders there during that week. It'll be a big week for us,' Camillo said. Some of the shirts RegattaSport is selling as official merchandiser of the 2025 World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany. RegattaSport has been the official merchandise supplier for several international and national sporting events recently and has been strengthening European partnerships. They supplied the International Dragon Boat Federation's Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy in September 2024 and partnered with an Italian company there. They were the official suppliers for the 2024 World Rowing Senior, Under 23 and Under 19 Championships that took place in St. Catharines last August and for the 2024 Canoe Kayak Canada National Sprint Championships that same month in Welland. RegattaSport also supplied the Canada Summer Games in Niagara in 2022 and next month, they will be heading to Newfoundland for another big contract with the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John's. Camillo said RegattaSport, which was started in 1988, has worked with the dragon boat community for decades and within the last 10 years with the International Dragon Boat Federation where they've built up a good association. The company also makes products for the U.S and Australian dragon boat teams that will be competing. RegattaSport's manufacturer is Camillo's company Niko Apparel Systems in Hamilton, which cuts and sews the products. Between the two companies there are 50 employees. 'We're just really proud of what we built,' said Camillo. 'All the product is made right here in southern Ontario so it's keeping people employed, that's really important.' He said a lot of people may be surprised by RegattaSport's story, which he admits is pretty cool. 'You'd never think that this Canadian company, a southern Ontario, St. Catharines-based business, would be selling product in Germany and be popular too.'
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Health
- USA Today
I survived breast cancer. Now I race dragon boats for Team USA.
As a member of Team USA competing in the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, I carry the hopes of a global community, proving life after cancer can be powerful, vibrant and fiercely competitive. A sport rooted in ancient Chinese traditions and legends dating more than 2,000 years has changed my life in recent years, helping me to make new friends and to connect with other breast cancer survivors. In 2019, my husband and I were preparing to spend our winters in Jupiter, Florida. Since I was in my 50s, I spoke with a friend and fellow breast cancer survivor about how difficult it would be to make new friends at my age. She mentioned that dragon boating is an activity that many breast cancer survivors enjoy. I had never heard of the sport, but I thought it might be interesting. I joined a local team, the Hell Gate Sea Dragons, and met an amazing group of friends. Dragon boats resemble extremely large canoes, usually with 10 or 20 paddlers, a steerer in the back and a drummer in front to help keep the paddlers in rhythm. For competitions and other formal occasions, the boats are painted and decorated to look like dragons. The sport has become increasingly popular in recent years in the United States and around the world. Teamwork is essential in dragon boat racing Teamwork is one of the most critical aspects of the sport. Everyone must work together to move the boats forward, so there are no individual stars on a team. I loved the sport instantly. And was so committed to it, that I joined Hope Afloat, a team in my hometown of Philadelphia, as soon as I came back for the summer so I could paddle year-round. The reason why so many breast cancer survivors are drawn to the sport can be traced to the research of Dr. Don McKenzie, a sports medicine physician and exercise physiologist at the University of British Columbia. In 1996, he and other doctors in Vancouver challenged the commonly held medical opinion that strenuous exercise could be detrimental to breast cancer survivors. The doctors set up a group of survivors to participate in a six-month dragon boat training program to dispel this myth. Not only did the researchers prove that strenuous exercise did not harm breast cancer survivors, they also demonstrated that it helped the women physically and mentally. Since then, breast cancer survivors have been a driving force in the growth of dragon boating, with more than 260 teams worldwide representing 33 countries. Opinion: I did all the 'right' things to avoid breast cancer. Our medical system fell short. Breast cancer survivors join international competition The International Breast Cancer Paddlers' Commission was established in 2010 and has been instrumental in growing this movement worldwide. It has helped shift the view that paddling is solely a therapeutic activity for survivors to their acceptance as a respected and competitive part of the dragon boating community. This year, the International Dragon Boat Federation's World Championships will be July 14 to July 20 in Bradenburg an der Havel, Germany, with more than 4,950 paddlers and 33 nations competing. And this year for the first time, breast cancer survivors will compete in their own division. I was excited about possibly competing in the event but also scared. But in April, I set aside my fear and decided to try out for a spot on the team. The weeklong tryouts were an unforgettable experience, filled with determination, camaraderie and personal growth. Each day was packed with rigorous training and time trials that pushed us to our limits, both physically and mentally. Being selected for Team USA was just the beginning. We have continued to prepare ourselves physically and mentally for the competition. As I prepared to leave for Germany, I reflected on what it means to me to be part of this historic event. Beyond the strokes and sweat, it was the friendships I have made that have made this opportunity so special. Being chosen for Team USA as a breast cancer paddler is an extraordinary honor that goes far beyond athletic achievement. It is a celebration of strength, survival and the unwavering spirit of women who have faced one of life's toughest battles and emerged with courage and determination. Your Turn: What does patriotism mean to you? Here's what readers told us. | Opinion Forum Wearing the red, white and blue is not just about representing a country − it's about representing every survivor who has ever paddled through fear, pain and doubt to reclaim her body and her life. As a member of this team, you carry the hopes and pride of a global community, proving that life after cancer can be powerful, vibrant and fiercely competitive. It is a testimony to the idea that survivorship is not an ending, but a beginning. And that together we can rise, paddle strong and show the world what it truly means to thrive. Betty Becker, a retired teacher and school administrator, splits her time between Philadelphia and Jupiter, Florida. Since getting involved in dragon boat racing, she has paddled in New Zealand, Canada, the Bahamas and the Czech Republic. She plans to paddle in Greece this fall.
