Meet the Canberrans in Australia's national dragon boating team

ABC NEWS (Australia)

More than 300 of Australia's best paddlers have travelled to Germany to compete in next week's World Dragon Boat Racing Championships — and there are 32 Canberra-based competitors among them.

Transcript

00:00Ten of your best in three, two, one!

00:07The countdown is on until these paddlers take on the world.

00:14They're the Auroras, Australia's national dragon boat team.

00:19It took me a few years to admit to people that I was a dragon boater, but yeah, very proud now.

00:24The sports origins date back more than two millennia,

00:27but for 16-year-old Joon Lee, the reaction from his peers

00:35is still one of wonder.

00:37Usually something like, what is a dragon boat?

00:39It's a pretty niche sport at the end of the day, so not many people know about it.

00:44But that's changing.

00:45This month's World Dragon Boat Championships in Germany will be the largest ever.

00:51More than 300 Australians, from teens to retirees, will compete against teams from 34 countries.

01:00The first time you're on the start line and you just sort of look down on your shirt,

01:04you see the national emblem, the coat of arms on your shirt, it's very special.

01:08If we get to podium, that'll be unreal.

01:10The preparation has been intense.

01:15We've been training five days a week at the moment with an extra three gym sessions.

01:20So coming down every single afternoon when it's freezing cold or every single morning has been really tricky.

01:26For the first time, Australia is sending over a para-dragon team.

01:31Paralympic cyclist Lindy Howe switched the bike for the boat to stay fit in retirement.

01:37It's just an inclusive sport in a way that anybody can do it, regardless of ability.

01:44The Auroras are entirely self-funded, propelled by a passion for paddling and people.

01:51You have 20 people in a boat, so that's 20 people to make friends with. It's, yeah, lots of fun.

01:56You have the drums going, you have, you know, water umpires yelling at you. It's a crazy environment.

02:03An ancient sport in safe hands.

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