Dragon boat racers go from disaster to Team GB

A dragon boat racing club which was taken to the brink of closure after Storm Henk washed its boats away is now celebrating after nine of its rowers secured a place on the Great British team.

Four boats owned by the Soaring Dragons club disappeared in January 2024 when Storm Henk caused widespread flooding across the East Midlands.

Paul Freemantle, the club's head coach, said they feared the loss of the boats would end the club, until three of the vessels were recovered and a fourth, which was smashed beyond repair, was replaced.

And five adult members of the club and four juniors are now set to represent Great Britain at the Dragon Boat World Championships in Germany.

Speaking about the loss of the club's boats, Mr Freemantle said: "If we're being honest, we probably could have lost the club.

"If you cannot get out on the river in your boat, you cannot train, and if you cannot train, you cannot exist as a club."

The club, which is based in Hathern near Loughborough, recovered three of the boats it lost soon after the floods, but its main £12,000 racing boat called "The Major" had vanished.

Members launched an appeal in an effort to find it, and it was found a year later about 28 miles away in Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire.

It had been damaged beyond repair and was missing its front end, which was later washed up near Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

The club managed to replace "The Major" with a new boat in time to compete and retain its position as national champions in March 2024.

Nine members of the club have now been selected to compete for Team GB at the Dragon Boat Racing World Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, in July.

Dragon boat teams, made up of 20 rowers, a helmsman and a drummer, from across the world will battle in a number of different age group categories.

"We have got five in the over-40 category and then we now have four juniors in the under 18s that are racing this year as well," Mr Freemantle said.

"For a club to have that many people selected for GB is brilliant.

"We're incredibly proud. To see the effort they have put in, especially the juniors is really quite something.

"They are studying for their GCSEs at the moment, it's an important time for them, and when they are not racing, they're studying. They've had books out studying in the club house between training sessions.

"That dedication is absolutely amazing and is inspirational for the rest of us."

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