By Deirdre Sutcliffe
This is the third Donegal Regatta that the Suir Dragon Paddlers have attended and this year a total of 12 traveled to Donegal to participate in the regatta on Saturday 10th August.
Saturday saw a full day of racing from the pier with 13 teams from all over the country as well as teams from England, France, Australia and Canada taking part.
The Suir Dragons raced as a composite team called the Lady Nuala after the boat and our team was comprised of paddlers from Grainne Mhaol as well as French and Australian paddlers.
We participated in 3 races, Race 1: 2nd Place, Race 2: 3rd Place, Race 3: 2nd Place.
As a team who had not paddled together before we were very pleased with this. Kendra Warriors won the Cup Final and the Donegal Dragons the Shield final on the day. Adding glamour to the event was the Donegal rose who presented the trophies to the victorious teams and we didn't go away empty handed as all participants received a medal and t-shirt.
The regatta was extremely well organised and as usual we were made very welcome. Loads of people came up to say hello and the staff and helpers loading the boats were extremely polite and friendly, with fantastic facilities at the pier. A fancy dress theme of Help the Environment helped to add to the colour of the day and our Bee costumes while they didn't win any prizes certainly looked the part.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the event and we are already looking forward to next year.
This is the third Donegal Regatta that the Suir Dragon Paddlers have attended and this year a total of 12 traveled to Donegal to participate in the regatta on Saturday 10th August.
Saturday saw a full day of racing from the pier with 13 teams from all over the country as well as teams from England, France, Australia and Canada taking part.
The Suir Dragons raced as a composite team called the Lady Nuala after the boat and our team was comprised of paddlers from Grainne Mhaol as well as French and Australian paddlers.
We participated in 3 races, Race 1: 2nd Place, Race 2: 3rd Place, Race 3: 2nd Place.
As a team who had not paddled together before we were very pleased with this. Kendra Warriors won the Cup Final and the Donegal Dragons the Shield final on the day. Adding glamour to the event was the Donegal rose who presented the trophies to the victorious teams and we didn't go away empty handed as all participants received a medal and t-shirt.
The regatta was extremely well organised and as usual we were made very welcome. Loads of people came up to say hello and the staff and helpers loading the boats were extremely polite and friendly, with fantastic facilities at the pier. A fancy dress theme of Help the Environment helped to add to the colour of the day and our Bee costumes while they didn't win any prizes certainly looked the part.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the event and we are already looking forward to next year.