Teamed with the elite Mavericks Dragon Boat Club from Black Wattle Bay (with whom they tasted some success in 2013) they were able to go one better this year winning gold in the men’s Tens and sports mixed events after qualifying in first place from the heats of those events earlier in the day.

To add to the gold the women’s mixed team gained silver after winning their way to the final via the heats, being beaten into second place by a measly 0.8 of a second by the well drilled team Diamond Phoenix from Canberra.

The closeness of the final was a great testament to the paddling technique and skill of the Lithgow and Mavericks paddlers.

This was their first time in the boat as a team whereas the Phoenix are a full on drilled race team who consistently train and race together.

All the more meritorious was the fact that the “FlashMavs” were one paddler  short of a full crew (19 instead of 20) so gave away a one woman advantage to the Phoenix, yet nearly pulled of a great upset win.

The fledgling FlashDragons continue to amass a number of trophies for the trophy cabinet and combined with a number of paddlers who have achieved representative status at region and state level (and hopefully soon Australian representation) are laying claim to being the premier Dragon Boat side in the Western Region.

The FlashDragons are always on the lookout for new members, whether it be for competitive racing or just a social paddle.

You will always be welcome at the Lake Wallace Boat shed on Sundays at 9am and Wednesdays at 6pm to give it a go to see if the sport is for you.

For more information on Dragon Boating contact Pam on 0428 633 953, Jane on 0407 990 613 or Jenny on 0401 324 558 or just present to the shed and introduce yourself on training days.