If you are seeking sponsorship the survey being conducted by USA Dragon Boating is trying to identify the basic demographic information that typical sponsors are looking for. The results of the short survey which is endorsed by the IDBF president and should only take 5 minutes will be made available to the governing bodies of all participants.

As stated by the organisers 'your investment in time will truly help us support growth of the sport and bring more resources to teams and festivals throughout the dragon boat community worldwide.'

Visit the survey here...

Survey

The first officials course for the 2008 season will take place in Henley on January 19th. This is an opportunity for clubs to get some of their members and supporters qualified to perform the essential duties that make race days possible. Completion of the course and a season of participation at a number of events in different roles provides the experience necessary to become a qualified official.

Even non paddling members can make a key contribution to the sport by gaining this qualification which is presented in a fun and challenging format that leads the group through a typical race day with different race scenarios.

Your club will also benefit by having qualified officials for future fund raising events and the sport will have a bigger pool of local officials to call on reducing the cost of racing and our carbon footprint with less travel required. The course will be a full day, meeting at 10.00 for a 10:30 start and finishing at 17:00.

Book your place now with Andy Menzies - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Hot off the press!!

Following the withdrawal of Russia's bid to host the 2009 World Dragon Boat Racing Championships the Polish Dragon Boat Federation, with the endorsement of the Deputy Mayor of Poznan, have stepped up to the plate. Poznan has offered the Malta Fairway, the venue for previous European and World championships in 2002 and 2003, as the confirmed venue for 2009.

GB crews can look forward to a superbly run event again on a widely acclaimed racing site. Time to visit W H Smiths or Waterstones and exchange those Russian phrase books for Polish!

Congratulations goes to Lavy O'Hagen from Thames Dragons for winning the 'silver' paddle for all his efforts in designing a potential new logo for the BDA. Although Lavy's design was very eye catching, the Executive felt that it was not quite representative of the sport of dragon boat racing. The Executive therefore have commissioned a new design. Watch this space for the new BDA logo - Coming soon to the website.

Thank you also goes out to all those people who submitted a possible design.

On Saturday, 27th October 2007, Henley Dragons completed a Charity Marathon paddle for The Lymphoma Association which started at Benson in Oxfordshire and passed through Wallingford, Goring, Pangbourne, Reading, Caversham, and Wargrave before ending up back at Henley Dragon’s base at the Eyot Centre in Henley. “Just 26 miles to go!” cried Wendy Fowler to the boat full of Henley Dragons paddlers. Not the usual dragon boat distance, but then this was no usual event. The journey involved going through nine locks and some of the prettiest stretches of the River Thames. The 26 mile journey involved 17 paddlers and the helm and took 6 hours to complete. Over £2,200 was raised and the money will be split equally between The Lymphoma Association and The Eyot Centre.

Money donated to the Eyot Centre will be used for fixtures and fittings for the new Clubhouse which is due to be completed at the end of November this year. The Lymphoma Association was chosen because several of the clubs members are survivors and the daughter of two of the club members has recently successfully completed treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma. A celebration party was held on the river bank at Henley to welcome the weary paddlers back!” 

The Under 18 British National Training Squad (BNTS) will commence training on Saturday 17^th November at Silverwing Lake, Wraysbury (the home of BA Hurricanes) from 10.30am to 3.00pm. The next session is on Saturday 8^th December at Wraysbury. Dates in January and February are to be confirmed.

Training fees are £10 per session (brothers and sisters attending is £10 per family)

For more details and to confirm you will be attending please contact Joanne Griffiths at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phoning 07860773062.

It is with great regret that we have to announce the sad loss of Oliver Jesty Cock, the founding President of our Association. Oliver passed away on the 16th October. His funeral and a celebration of his life took place on 31st October at St Pauls church,Woldingham.

'Oliver Jesty Cock was our first President and was a great supporter of Dragon Boating from the early 1980s. He donated the Nations Cup to the IDBF for the 1st World Championships in 1995 and travelled to Yue Yang, China, when he was 83, to present it personally.

Most recently he donated the Golden Dragon Trophy for the Best Premier Crew overall at the BDA National Championships. It is only in the last few years that he was unable to join us at the National Championships and present the prizes but he made a special journey last year, at 94 years young, to present the Golden Dragon Trophy for the first time to Batchworth Dragons. He will be missed but never forgotten as his trophies will live on at both National and International level as a token of his life and his support of Dragon Boating world wide.'

Oliver's unique outlook on sport will be sadly missed by all those who were lucky enough to hear his views.