Dragon boaters slay their rivals

By FLTLT Roddy van Rooyen
Volume 48, No. 4, March 23, 2006

The NAVMAT team paddle hard while competing in the 200m mixed racing class dragon boat race at the Chinese New Year Festival on Sydney Harbour. The Canberra-based team finished 23rd overall and fifth in the minor finals.

Photo provided by Alfred Pawlicki

IT was all hands on deck when the dragon boaters hit the water last month for the Chinese New Year Festival races on Sydney Harbour.

The Canberra-based NAVMAT team, made up of members from the ADF, Defence civilian community and other government departments, raced well to finish 23rd overall and fifth in the minor finals.

SQNLDRs Phil Beanland and Geoff Dyke joined the NAVMAT team for the festival, SQNLDR Beanland describing the experience as “fantastic”.

He said he had been involved in the sport for only a short time, posting to Canberra after 15 years of work with flying squadrons.

“I first saw a flyer in the gym and decided to give it a go,” SQNLDR Beanland said.

“I have a background in white-water kayaking and decided that dragon boating might be interesting.”

The team which competed in Sydney was a new team, with a number of members competing in a major regatta for the first time.

NAVMAT competed in the mixed racing class over a distance of 200m.

With 46 teams competing, NAVMAT needed to place in the top 24 in the heats to compete in the final, a big ask for a new group.

Coach Alf Pawlicki said, “By some miracle we managed to squeak in by 0.28 of a second. Even then we had to wait for the outcomes of the other races to see if we made it.”

When the results were posted, NAVMAT had secured the last spot in a minor final, the only Canberra dragon boat team to reach a mixed team final that day.

The NAVMAT Dragon Boat Racing Club is looking for Canberra-based men and women to be part of the team planning to travel to Penang, Malaysia, in late May this year.

For more information, contact Alfred Pawlicki on (02) 6266 4777 or alf.pawlicki@defence.gov.au or visit http://www.navmat.asn.au.

.