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Dragon boaters take on world

Members of the Tri-Port Dragon Boat Society return from the World Dragon Boating Championships in Ravenna, Italy.
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Joy Zwicker of Port McNeill

Gazette staff

Members of the Tri-Port Dragon Boat Society will return with lifelong memories — and a bit of hardware — after competing last week in the World Dragon Boating Championships in Ravenna, Italy.

Irene Paterson of Port Hardy and Joy Zwicker of Port McNeill earned silver medals in the 2,000-metre Senior C Women’s race and followed with a bronze-medal showing in the 200-metre sprint.

The pair were competing on one of four crews entered by the Victoria-based Gorging Dragons, competing under the umbrella of Vancouver Island Paddlers.

Three more North Islanders, Sandra Logan of Port McNeill and Adele Schoeman and Sherri Whitehead of Port Hardy, paddled with the Gorging Dragons’ Senior B Women’s crew, and managed a fourth-place showing in the 500-metre Grand Finale in a larger field of 13 competitors.

The event drew approximately 4,500 paddlers in men’s, women’s and mixed divisions, representing an estimated 130 clubs from 30 countries.

The Gorging Dragon crews qualified for the world championship by placing in last year’s Canadian Nationals in Victoria.

 

 

 

Sproat Lake regatta

Closer to home, two teams from the Tri-Port Dragon Boat Society competed last weekend in the annual Sproat Lake Regatta in Port Alberni and came away with hardware.

The Tri-Port Warriors claimed silver in the Ladies' Gold division, while Namaxsala snared bronze in the Mixed Gold division.